ASHE 2026: new care earnings data published for Periodical Payment Orders

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today, 22 October 2026, published its latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), including provisional 2026 earnings data. The release is particularly important for insurers and practitioners administering Periodical Payment Orders (PPOs) linked to carers’ earnings.

Although commonly referred to in PPOs as “ASHE 6115”, the relevant care-worker data are now published under SOC20 classifications 6135 and 6136, following earlier occupational classification changes. For many PPOs, the relevant measure is Table 26.5a, gross hourly pay for all employees, commonly at the 75th, 80th or 90th centile. The ONS Table 26 dataset provides earnings estimates for care workers, home carers and senior care workers.

2025 Revised figures

Practitioners are used to seeing minimal, if any, changes between first released and revised figures for "ASHE 6115".

2025 is the exception, with increases seen across many of the centiles, but particularly more noticeable increases at the higher centiles generally used in PPO calculations:

• 75th centile: £15.50, compared with the 2025 first-release rate of £15.46
• 80th centile: £16.20, compared with the 2025 first-release rate of £16.12; and
• 90th centile: £18.56, compared with the 2025 first-release rate of £18.45,

This year, particular care should be taken with the revised 2025 figures in calculations. 

2026 First-Release figures

The key 2026 first-release hourly rates are:

• 75th centile: £16.11, compared with the 2025 first-release rate of £15.46, an increase of 4.20%;

• 80th centile: £16.87, compared with the 2025 first-release rate of £16.12, an increase of 4.65%; and
• 90th centile: £19.23, compared with  the 2025 first-release rate of £18.45, an increase of 4.23%.

The increases are therefore relatively consistent across the centiles most commonly encountered in PPOs, and lower than the increases last year, where increases were between 6.5% and 7.6% across the same centiles. 

Wider context

Price inflation using the CPI measure saw a 3% increase in the same period, the 12 months to April 2026 (Consumer price inflation, UK - Office for National Statistics), so care-worker growth at the key PPO centiles has outpaced price inflation

It is, however, broadly in line with the National Minimum Wage increase of 4.1% on 1 April 2026 (National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates - GOV.UK), and sits below overall full time earnings growth of 5.79% (ASHE Table 1.5a).

The full ASHE release and supporting datasets can be accessed via the ONS Employee earnings in the UK: 2026 release and ONS care workers Table 26 dataset.

If there are any queries in relation to the contents of this article then please contact Clyde & Co’s PPO Unit here. The PPO Unit are also available for any queries in relation to periodical payments including administering the annual payments, drafting orders and advising in relation to case specific issues.