Security guard cost

Under every rate

What a security guard costs a firm per hour before any margin

Updated

Whatever a firm charges, it pays at least these. A rate close to the wage leaves little for supervision, cover and insurance.

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Wage

National Living Wage

From April 2026 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour.

Source: GOV.UK: National Living Wage increases to £12.71 per hour

Real Living Wage

The Living Wage Foundation's voluntary UK Living Wage is £13.45 an hour, and £14.80 in London.

Source: Living Wage Foundation: the real Living Wage

Employer costs on top

Employer National Insurance

Employers pay 15% on earnings above the secondary threshold, £96 a week in 2026 to 2027.

Source: HMRC: National Insurance rates and allowances

Pension

Under automatic enrolment the employer's minimum contribution is 3% of qualifying earnings.

Source: GOV.UK: workplace pensions, what you and your employer pay

SIA licence

Both first-time and renewal SIA licence applications cost £204 from 1 April 2026, when the £20 rebate ended.

Source: GOV.UK: SIA licence fee rebate ends in April 2026

As data

Each figure is a row with its source in the cost floor dataset.

Source: UK security guard cost floor: every row, with its source

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Sources

This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

  • The UK Security Guard Cost Floor carries 4 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages, from 12.71 to 204 GBP, read 28 October 2026.
  • The median published figure in the UK Security Guard Price Index is 17.50 GBP across 2 sources' own pages (range 14.99 to 20 GBP; 3 sources publish a figure, some priced per guard per hour), read 28 October 2026.
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