Unfortunately, Security Guards in the UK do not make much of a private security salary. Furthermore, security companies in the United Kingdom have revenue issues as well: low profit margins. So, how much is a Security Guard salary in the UK? The salary for a new UK Security Guard with no experience will be around £17,000. This can go up to around £19,500 for an experienced United Kingdom Guard. However, a salary is not commonly used for UK Security Guards, an hourly rate is.
UK Hourly Rate For a Security Guard
An hourly rate for a rookie United Kingdom Security Guard is usually just the UK minimum wage rate: around £8 per hour.
This would equal a salary of approximately £17,000 per year. The hourly rate for an experienced UK Security Guard will just be a few pounds more, around £10 per hour. This would slightly increase the salary from £17k for a new UK Guard to around £19,500 for an experienced UK Guard. It's unfortunate that it is not that much of a jump in pay.
Security Guard Salary UK Summary
New Security Guard £17,000 per year
Experienced Security Guard £19,500 per year
Executive Protection Salary UK Summary
New Body Guard £32,000 per year
Experienced Body Guard £55,000 per year
The low pay is generally due to the low rate UK security companies charge their clients. This leaves a small profit margin for the UK security company and not much left over for the Security Guard. To run a very profitable security company in The United Kingdom, the security provider must have an enormous client base. So, a United Kingdom Security Guard might have a chance to increase their salary by working for a larger UK security company.
The low pay issues are also due to the fact the UK does not have the specialized security fields other countries do. A UK Security Guard's job will just usually involve patrolling and site security, this does not pay that well. However, the UK does have a little bit of an executive protection (Body Guard) industry. This will require specialized training in "close protection." The rate for an experienced and capable Body Guard in the UK will be around £30 per hour which is roughly a salary of £55,000. The only issue with UK executive protection is that it's a small industry and very difficult to get into.
About the Author
Peter Sandru is an Instructor & Co-Founder of NDIL with over 15 years working in security. Peter has spent more than a decade conducting security operations throughout the world, primarily for corporations, law firms, and government agencies. Peter has assisted in the creation of numerous security training programs in various capacities.