Sports and leisure assistants Pay Data UK — 2025

Sports and leisure assistants roles in the UK earn a median of £28,000 per year, equivalent to £14.09 per hour as of 2025. Pay increased 12.6% compared to the previous year. Regionally, pay ranges from £21,500 in South West to £30,500 in Wales. Pay has risen over the past 4 years. The ONS national median for this occupation is £26,934/yr (4% above our computed national average).

Labour Market

Employment figures from ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). Counts are estimates; suppressed cells (small samples) are excluded from totals.

Pay by Region

Annual pay for Sports and leisure assistants across UK regions. The bar shows the typical pay range (25th–75th percentile); the diamond marks the median.

Source: ONS ASHE. Based on broad UK regions (NUTS1).

How Pay Has Changed Over Time

Annual pay grew by +12.6% from 2024 to 2025.

National average (NUTS1 actuals) based on ONS ASHE April snapshot. Shaded band shows 25th–75th percentile range.

Year-on-Year Pay Change

Annual percentage change in median pay for Sports and leisure assistants.

Percentage change from the prior year's April figure.

About Sports and leisure assistants

Sports and leisure assistants, provide and maintain facilities for sporting and recreational activities and supervise their use, maintain the continuity of entertainment and social events, offer odds and accept bets on the result of sporting and other events, control gambling activities, work behind the scenes in production and broadcasting enterprises in a supporting role to ensure operations run smoothly.

Typical Tasks and Duties

• maintains sports and leisure equipment and prepares equipment for use
• supervises the use of swimming pools, gymnasium apparatus, fitness machines and other recreational equipment
• work in teams patrolling popular stretches of the coast, advising people when and where they can swim safely and making rescues when necessary
• maintains hygienic operation of swimming pools and associated facilities such as hot tubs, showers and changing areas
• carries clubs for golfers, advises on the layout and distance of golf courses and appropriate choice of golf club
• announces acts, makes introductions, proposes toasts and maintains the continuity of entertainment events and social functions
• assesses likely outcome of an event and establishes odds, accepts and records bets, issues receipts and pays out on winning bets
• controls the progress of games of cards, roulette and other gambling activities according to established rules
• provides support in production and broadcasting operations, such as helping set up and maintain the set, running errands, moving equipment, looking after guests, and transporting crew and cast between locations

Entry Routes and Qualifications

There are no formal academic entry requirements, although some employers may require GCSEs/S grades. A variety of vocational qualifications are available in Sports and Recreation and Leisure and Tourism.

Related Occupations

Salary data is sourced from official UK pay datasets and updated periodically.