Maintenance Engineer Salary in Nottingham 

Original post date: April 12, 2023
Danielle Bridgewater

It’s time to go through Maintenance Engineer Salaries in Nottingham. Between October ‘23 and March ‘24, I reviewed 104 adverts. When looking at how much some of the job board’s averages compare, I found that ours is 14% more than Total Jobs. They also had a tiny sample size of only 33 job adverts. Ours is likely more representative of the market. 

The area has a very similar issue to Derby, in that salaries on the whole fall behind expectations but there are more engineers out there.  

So, let’s dive into how far they fall behind.  

Overview of the Area – £40,369 

Nottingham came in last out of the 3 areas in the East Midlands. Mind you, the fact that Leicester came in top still baffles me.

Unfortunately, this average is a 1.2% decrease from what we found in our last report. When you look at the numbers, it’s only £500 difference – so not the end of the world. Although, salaries in the area did range from £30,000 – £51,000 which does show how much discrepancy there is. 

Let’s look at the breakdown of the area in terms of just shifts and day shifts. Shifts made up 49% of the data, days 38%, and the last 13% is accounted for by adverts that didn’t state a shift type. 

Shifts Only Average: £42,500 

1.5% increase since the last report

Days Only Average: £38,287 

2.3% decrease since the last report

These really aren’t great compared to the other areas in the East Midlands. I’d have thought these would be higher. There’s bigger companies in Nottingham, so thought the averages would reflect that. What’s interesting is that the Days average has seen a decrease. Maybe they’re trying to get away with a lower salary. 

The Average Salary for an Electrical Engineer – £41,054

Electrical Maintenance Engineer salaries saw a 4.2% decrease from last time which isn’t good. But it was the highest salary out of the biases. So that sets the scene for what we found the Nottingham salaries to be like. 

38% of Nottingham jobs were for electrical engineers. And with this skillset being in such demand with clients, it makes sense that this would come out on top. As companies are going to do all they can to attract what electrical engineers are out there. But they won’t be attracting top talent with this salary! 

Minimum Salary – £31,000

(Days)

Maximum Salary – £51,000

(Nights)

The minimum salary being a Days role makes sense. But it’s still far too low, even for this shift type. And then the other end of the spectrum is a Nights role being the highest Elec salary found. Spoiler alert: Nights was the highest-paying shift in Nottingham.

The Average Salary for a Mechanical Engineer – £39,914 

There was only a 17% demand for the mechanical skillset in this area. This average is slightly below where I’d expect the average for Mechanical engineers in Nottingham to be. It’s only seen a 0.4% increase since last time. But hey, at least’s gone up!  

Minimum Salary – £30,000

(Shift Not Specified)

Maximum Salary – £49,140

(4-on-4-off)

The lowest salary here didn’t mention the shift pattern. But it was likely a more junior Day’s role as the salary is far too low!

4 on 4 off takes the top spot for the mech salary in Notts. This is great, and much higher than the average we found for this shift type (keep reading to see what it is). 

The Average Salary for a Multi-Skilled Engineer – £40,115 

The multi-skilled average has seen a 1.8% decrease. Which isn’t a lot at all, but the average does fall behind where it should be. What was expected (and a reality) is Nottingham being in the middle of the Mechanical and Electrical roles. Typically, multi-skilled roles pay more than just mech roles because of that electrical skillset. And they were definitely the most popular, making up 52% of the region. 

Minimum Salary – £31,500

(Shift Not Specified)

Maximum Salary – £51,000

(Nights)

Similar to the mechanical minimum salary, this is far too low. But on the other hand, the maximum salary is something I’m happy with. You may have expected that this was going to be a Night shift! This is around where I’d have thought the max. for this area would be.

Again, all of these are just too low to attract those engineers. You might get someone who is active on the market, but you won’t get those passive job seekers wanting to join the company at this rate. Which is really who you want to be targeting.   

What does each shift pay engineers on average? 

Now that the averages for the biases are out of the way, let’s talk about what the common shifts are paying Maintenance Engineers (on average) in Nottingham.   

Just like Leicester and Derby, Nottingham had a range of shifts on offer to engineers. But let’s look at some key points before I start talking about what they pay:   

  • There are 9 shifts up for grabs in the area  
  • 13% of roles didn’t state the shift type in the advert  
  • Rotating and Double Days are the least common shifts  
  • The most popular shift type was 4-on-4-off

Now, let’s get into the averages. 

4 on 4 off – £41,636 (6% increase) 

32% of ads in Nottingham asked for 4 on 4 off shifts have seen a 6% increase since last time, which isn’t at all bad. And when looking at the past year, salaries have increased 10% for this shift type. So, that is a great thing to see.  

But there is still huge disparity between what some companies are paying engineers. I saw one multi-skilled, paying £37,500 per annum (which is nowhere near good enough) then the highest was £49,000 for a multi-skilled engineer. 

This is really concerning, as if your current team are on close to £36K, you need to be reviewing them before bringing new engineers in. I’d expect to see this shift offering between 44-46K. And it’s the most sought-after shift, so standing out is paramount.  

Days – £40,563 (0.1% increase) 

Next on the shift list is Days. With a 0.1% increase from last time this average is ok but you’ll still struggle to catch the attention of those passive engineers at this level.   

What a lot of companies did for day shifts (44% in fact) was give their salary as a range. With this varying from £30K – £32K, to one that was £40K – £45K. Now, this is quite a smart thing to do when you have the scope to, as it can attract more engineers to your role. With you still having some flexibility to adapt the salary based on experience. 

Mon – Fri £38,042 and Mon – Fri Days £37,688 

Ok, these averages baffle me as they should be the other way around.  

Mon-Fri: 2% increase 

Mon-Fri Days: 4% decrease 

This is about right and where we’d expect it. But ideally, it should be above £40K. Over the past 6 months, I’ve noticed Days roles becoming more popular. Some companies are dropping production and moving to a Mon-Fri schedule. Due to production need decreasing. 

With Days, a high percentage (71% of the adverts) displayed the salaries as a range. Which, I’m also seeing more and more companies do. 

What are my thoughts about these averages?

Well, I’m not over the moon. Salaries have pretty much seen a decrease across the board. And they’re nowhere near where they need to be to attract engineers in this market. So, I’m 100% expecting to see salaries go up! 

I didn’t expect Nottingham to come out with the lowest average across the East Mids. This took me back as I assumed it would come closer to the top. Especially when you take into account that there are a lot of big sites here. But it might just be that they’re not recruiting right now.  

More and more companies are starting to show their salary as a range, which is a smart thing to do if you can. As it opens up your options. But don’t be ridiculous withe  

But it’s the smaller businesses who will struggle to keep up with salaries rising, especially when you’re competing with big brand names. Reviewing your full package is a good way of keeping up. It’s important to look at other benefits as well as just salaries.  

Something that I have noticed a lot of engineers in Nottingham ask me is what the sick pay is like at companies. Is it Statutory? Does it improve with length of service? So, I’d recommend starting there if you’re looking to improve your benefits package.  

Where to go next… 

Well, you should check the other areas in the East Midlands, Derby and Leicester, to see how Nottingham compares. But, if you’re after more insight into Nottingham you should download our full report on Maintenance Engineer Salaries in the East Midlands. 

If you’re paying similar to these averages, then you may struggle to recruit the top talent. As I’ve mentioned, these salaries may get you an engineer onboard who’s active on the market. But there aren’t that many engineers who are. And with just this, you won’t be attracting passive engineers. You need to be tailoring your package to attract that talent – and retain the engineers you’ve got. 

Being realistic, you could hire someone that is active on the market.  Nottingham and Derby have more than Leicester, but it still isn’t great.  

If you need some help with what to do with your package, reach out today! It’s something I can help with! 

If you’re on the lookout for a new role, take a look at the Maintenace Engineer vacancies I’ve got live right now.