The median salary for senior HR professionals has increased for a second consecutive year, with HR directors seeing the largest rise, according to the latest research by Incomes Data Research (IDR).
The data shows that the median salary for HR directors rose by 20.9 percent from £111,982 in 2024 to £135,381 in 2025. Pay for HR function heads also increased, with median salaries rising by 8.7 percent from £73,246 last year to £79,600 in 2025.
By contrast, IDR’s research found that the latest median pay rise for the whole economy was 3.2 percent. The pay gap between HR directors and HR function heads has widened, increasing from £38,736 in 2024 to £55,781 in 2025.
The rise follows a similar trend from the previous year. In 2024, HR directors saw a 12 percent increase in median salary, up from £100,224 in 2023 to £111,982. HR function heads also experienced a pay rise, with salaries increasing by 6 percent from £69,091 in 2023 to £73,246 in 2024.
Pay for junior HR roles sees minimal change
In contrast to senior HR positions, pay increases for lower-level HR roles have been modest. The median salary for HR advisors increased by 1.5 percent, from £40,303 in 2024 to £40,902 in 2025. HR assistants saw no significant change, with the median salary remaining at £25,000.
The findings reflect a continuation of trends observed in 2024. HR advisors saw an 8 percent increase in pay that year, while salaries for HR assistants showed little movement.
Training managers saw a significant increase in pay between 2023 and 2024, with salaries rising from £41,146 to £52,000, an increase of 26 percent. This suggests that companies were prioritising training as a strategy for staff retention amid labour market challenges.
Recruitment challenges for senior HR roles
The research also explored recruitment and retention issues in HR. Most employers did not report widespread challenges, but difficulties were concentrated at the senior level.
Seventeen percent of respondents described recruiting HR directors as “very difficult”. However, retention of HR directors appears to be less of a concern, with 94 percent of organisations reporting no retention problems in this area. Recruitment difficulties may partly explain the sharp rise in HR director salaries, as organisations increase pay to attract candidates.
HR function heads did not face significant retention issues either, with nine out of ten respondents reporting no problems retaining employees in this role.
