Maintenance Engineer Salary in Leicester

Let’s talk about salaries in Leicester – the unexpected winner of salaries in the East Midlands.   

Over the course of October ‘23 – March ‘24 I reviewed 121 maintenance engineer job adverts in Leicester. So, we have a fantastic data set to review.  

In fact, the average salary we found is 6.8% higher than what Indeed is sharing. Indeed’s average likely included facilities, field, and fitter roles. So, compared to our findings, it is a less accurate representation of a maintenance Engineer’s salary in Leicester.  

Use the links below to jump to an area of interest, or just scroll to see all! 

Let’s start with an overview of the city.  

An overview of the Leicester: £44,529 

Leicester has seen an increase since last time, at 1.6% (it was at £44,151). Which is great news but could be more. Let’s look at the averages when we break them down into sifts vs. days:  

The shift average is great – go on Leicester!! But it’s a shame the day average is lower than last time, but it’s not awful – I’ve got no qualms with this number.  

The fact that salaries are near enough where they should be is good overall. But it’s finding engineers that’s an issue in Leicester. There doesn’t seem to be many on the market (passive or active). And as those who are looking have so many available options, it makes attracting them to your role more difficult! 

Let’s get into what salaries look like when it comes to skill sets.

The Average Salary for an Electrical Maintenance Engineer – £45,201

This average shows a 2.4% increase since our report in September 2023 – very happy to see that. Electrical engineering roles made up 39% of the job adverts we reviewed in Leicester. And on average, pay the most out of the biases. This seems to be consistent with the other areas we have reviewed. 

It makes sense that the lowest salary we came across was a Monday-Friday-based role. These pay pretty low on average compared to shifts with unsociable hours. Regardless, this amount is far too low and would definitely need bumping up to be filled by a decent engineer.

The highest salary also makes sense being a Panama pattern. It’s a less common shift type, but some big companies are paying well for it. Spoiler alert: Panama was actually the highest-paying shift in Leicester.

The Average Salary for a Mechanical Maintenance Engineer – £43,564

Only 11% of the job ads in Leicester were after mechanically biased engineers. This may be why the average mechanical salary has decreased by 2.8% since last time.

However, in the last report, I did say “over the next 6 months, I wouldn’t be surprised if mech roles decrease in terms of salary growth”. And that they did. 

The lack of mechanical demand is surprisingly low though. As Leicester has a lot of heavy industry, and mechanical roles are more associated with this.

Also, this average is the lowest out of the biases. But there’s only a couple of grand in it, so it’s not too much of an issue. 

A reason why the minimum salaries could be so high is because there was such a small amount of mechanical jobs in our dataset. So, even a couple of high salaries would bump up that average.  

This is a great salary for a Mon-Fri Days shift. And for the Nights role, it’s okay. But some of the offered salaries for Nights in Leicester put this one to shame… keep reading.

The Average Salary for a Multi-Skilled Engineer – £44,227

Half the roles in Leicester were directed to multi-skilled maintenance engineers. And sits middle of the pack in terms of average salary. This average is a 2.5% increase since the last report which is always good news. 

This minimum salary for multi-skilled is actually the lowest we came across in the whole of Leicester. But the advert didn’t state the shift type. Regardless of shift type though, it’s offensively low.

And this maximum salary is that Nights role I was hinting at before. What a whopper! And it was also the highest salary across Leicester – this is a very competitive salary.

Given that all of these averages included Days roles, they’re pretty good. We’ve had a look at the average salary each of the biases could earn. Now let’s turn our attention to shifts. 

What do the Shifts Pay engineers? 

Again, there is a rich mix of shifts available to engineers in Leicester. I suspect that this is because there is quite a bit of variation in industry here. But these are some interesting points:  

So, let’s talk about what the most common shifts in Leicester are paying their engineers on average. We’ve got lots of info for you. So, to make things simpler, have ordered it starting with the most frequently advertised shift.

4-on-4-off – £45,933

If you’re after a good engineer, then this is the absolute bare minimum you’ll need to get them to move on a 4-on-4-off shift. Some will move for that £43,000. But most are already on this so need that uplift to move.   

Like I mentioned previously, this was the most popular shift type in the area. Making up 26.5% of the job adverts we reviewed. 

Mon – Fri (£41,292) and Mon – Fri Days (£41,409)

Roles with a Monday-Friday element made up a combined 25.6% of the data. 

These shifts are about where I’d expect them. But it does depend on what you want as an employer. If you’re after someone with 7 years of experience in your industry, then you won’t find someone. But if you’re open with your requirements, then this should be ok.  

The Mon-Fri one though is a little confusing, as this could include shifts like 3 shifts. In which case, this salary would be too low. So, a key takeaway would be to be open and transparent with what the shifts actually are. Otherwise, you’ll have a lot of annoyed engineers on the phone and that will damage your hiring reputation.   

3 shift – £45,908

Now this is not a bad average for the 3 Shift pattern. This shift had a strong electrical presence, and ZERO ads for mechanical engineers – weird one hey?  

Most clients are after an electrical skillset at the moment as you can generally train these guys on the mech side (if that’s what they want). But it’s also more difficult to find, due to their being more stringent qualifications needed for the bias.  

Panama – £50,637

It’s a pretty underrated shift that clearly pays well. You get every other weekend off! 

In Leicester, Panama had the highest average salary out of all the shifts we came across. Companies that do this shift pattern are usually bigger, so that doesn’t surprise me.   

Double Days – £41,111

Happy to see that this is a higher average than days as there is an unsociable working aspect to the shift. But it doesn’t seem to be as popular as the previous report, as only 7.4% of the reviewed adverts sought this shift.  

Roles in the manufacturing industry made up most of the Double Days roles in Leicester. 

Nights – £47,930

The second highest salary average out of the 9 shifts we came across. But not a very popular one, with only 5.8% of adverts. I’d expect Night’s roles to be a bit higher. But with bonuses and shift allowance, this will be in the £50,000s. 

Days – £38,160

There wasn’t much demand for this shift at all (1.7% to be precise). And this salary average isn’t great – it’s fillable but not competitive. It’s crazy that it only needs to be upped by a couple of grand to be in a competitive space. Days wins (or loses) for being the lowest-paying shift in the area. 

What is going to happen with salaries in Leicester? 

In Leicester, the numbers are where they need to be. But it’s the people that you need to attract and that’s where things become more difficult because of the skills gap. 

So, what can businesses do? Well salary is important, but you also need to think about things like the extra earning potential within your job and how you position this in your adverts.  

Additionally, looking at your wider benefits package can also help attract engineers to you. This is particularly important when you aren’t able to keep increasing your salaries. Things that I’m finding engineers care a lot about now is: 

Truthfully, the market has got to turn at some point. Things can’t keep going on as they are, but I don’t see that happening soon. And, despite the salaries being about where they should be, I do think that salaries will continue to increase. As it’s the first thing engineers see, so you want that to be competitive.  

So, if you’re paying the average and wondering why you can’t hire. It’s because you’re not standing out in the market. You do need to go that little bit further than the average, and your competitor, and if you’re unsure how to do this then reach out. It’s something I help my clients with all the time.  

Looking for where to go next? 

Well, you should check out my blogs on Nottingham and Derby to see how Leicester compares. Or check out the blog with a detailed overview of the East Midlands region. Don’t forget to download the full report that gives a more thorough insight into the area!

But, if you are in the market for a new role. Then check out our current Maintenance Engineer jobs.