Administrative Officer Salary
AO and AA Pay and Take-Home (2026/27)
| Measure | Salary | Take-home per month |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative Officer (AO) median | £28,020 | £1,889 |
| Administrative Assistant (AA) median | £30,660 | £2,039 |
| AA/AO median at Ministry of Justice | £31,990 | £2,113 |
| AA/AO median at HMRC | £28,020 | £1,889 |
| Next grade up — EO median | £32,140 | £2,123 |
Civil service pay below the Senior Civil Service is delegated: each department negotiates its own pay ranges within the Cabinet Office pay remit, and they settle in different months. There is no national scale, so the figures here are published medians — what people at this grade actually earn — rather than a rate you are entitled to.
Administrative Officer is the main entry grade for operational and administrative roles. The published median is £28,020, giving take-home of about £1,889 a month after tax, National Insurance and a 4.60% alpha pension contribution.
Median pay at AA/AO level rose 5.2% in the year to 31 March 2026 — the largest increase of any grade, as departments lifted the bottom of their ranges to keep pace with the National Living Wage.
The published AA median of £30,660 is higher than the AO median, which looks wrong but is what the data shows. AA is a small population, and because departments map their own grades onto these reporting levels, a few specialist roles can pull the AA figure above AO. Treat both as rough reference points.