UK HGV driver wage increases
UK HGV driver wage increases, tracked quarterly by the Department for Transport through the HGV business survey.
| Indicator | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | Q4-2023 | Q3-2023 | Q2-2023 | Q1-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wage increases — Yes | 266 | 249 | 411 | 559 | 246 | 245 | 360 | 484 | 242 | 264 | 370 | 534 | 367 | |
| Wage increases — Plan to | 211 | 117 | 128 | 170 | 178 | 112 | 103 | 161 | 153 | 105 | 107 | 132 | 167 | |
| Wage increases — No | 1,618 | 1,618 | 1,395 | 1,129 | 1,487 | 1,454 | 1,449 | 1,167 | 1,601 | 1,438 | 1,432 | 1,254 | 1,377 | |
| Wage increases — Do not know | 324 | 254 | 309 | 281 | 278 | 242 | 300 | 272 | 254 | 266 | 242 | 251 | 277 | |
| Wage increases — No response | 5 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 41 | 22 | 35 | 85 | 126 | |
| Wage increases — Total number of responses | 2,424 | 2,242 | 2,252 | 2,150 | 2,201 | 2,067 | 2,226 | 2,101 | 2,291 | 2,095 | 2,186 | 2,256 | 2,314 | |
| Wage increases — Yes (%) | 11 | 11 | 18 | 26 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 23 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 24 | 16 | |
| Wage increases — Plan to (%) | 9 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| Wage increases — No (%) | 67 | 72 | 62 | 53 | 68 | 70 | 65 | 56 | 70 | 69 | 66 | 56 | 60 | |
| Wage increases — Do not know (%) | 13 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | |
| Wage increases — No response (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| Hourly wage increase amounts — Minimum wage increase (£) | 0.25 | 0.16 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.23 | 0.02 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.1 | 0.12 | |
| Hourly wage increase amounts — Median wage increase (£) | 1 | 1 | 0.96 | 0.75 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.06 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hourly wage increase amounts — Maximum wage increase (£) | 4.5 | 5.68 | 4.13 | 3.7 | 5 | 3.31 | 3.12 | 3.25 | 2.75 | 2.92 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 3.7 | |
| Hourly wage increase amounts — Number of responses | 187 | 101 | 188 | 248 | 96 | 113 | 156 | 230 | 82 | 130 | 171 | 246 | 203 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — Planned pay rise | 155 | 116 | 218 | 391 | 139 | 113 | 224 | 354 | 154 | 135 | 189 | 360 | 195 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — To retain existing drivers | 110 | 138 | 194 | 175 | 107 | 138 | 168 | 155 | 104 | 133 | 200 | 220 | 207 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — To attract new drivers | 58 | 87 | 108 | 89 | 43 | 68 | 84 | 55 | 38 | 55 | 94 | 102 | 87 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — Other | 4 | 6 | 20 | 34 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 21 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 15 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — Number of responses with wages increases | 616 | 580 | 687 | 567 | 528 | 497 | 619 | 500 | 430 | 374 | 495 | 514 | 490 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — Planned pay rise (%) | 25 | 20 | 32 | 69 | 26 | 23 | 36 | 71 | 36 | 36 | 38 | 70 | 40 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — To retain existing drivers (%) | 18 | 24 | 28 | 31 | 20 | 28 | 27 | 31 | 24 | 36 | 40 | 43 | 42 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — To attract new drivers (%) | 9 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 18 | |
| Reasons for wage increases — Other (%) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Latest reading
Wage increases — Yes stood at 266 Responses in Q1 2026. That is +6.8% from Q4 2025 and +8.1% from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q4 2021 to Q1 2026. Source: GOV.UK official statistics.
- Latest
- 266 Responses
- Q1 2026
- vs previous period
- +6.8%
- Q4 2025
- vs a year earlier
- +8.1%
About this data
UK HGV driver wage increases, tracked quarterly by the Department for Transport through the HGV business survey. Counts are survey responses, not population totals. Conditional questions use different denominators; reasons can be multiple-choice. Includes responses and published percentages without recalculating them. UK coverage. Published by GOV.UK official statistics.
Frequently asked questions
- What do the UK HGV driver wage increases statistics measure?
- They track quarterly responses from freight businesses on whether they have raised or plan to raise HGV driver wages, the reasons for pay rises, and minimum, median, and maximum hourly wage increase amounts in the UK.
- How often is UK HGV driver wage increase data updated and what is the coverage?
- Data is published quarterly by GOV.UK official statistics from the Department for Transport survey, with UK coverage beginning in 2021.
- What reasons for UK HGV driver wage increases are reported?
- The survey records whether wage increases were a planned pay rise, implemented to retain existing drivers, introduced to attract new drivers, or due to other reasons.
- How are response counts and percentages presented in this table?
- Figures reflect counts of survey responses and published percentages rather than population totals, with conditional questions and multiple-choice reasons using different response denominators.
