Pay in museums

Read the 2024 update on our research and recommendations to address low sector pay

In November 2022 we published our Salary Research and Recommendations and have encouraged employers, staff and funders to use the findings in this report as an advocacy tool to highlight the serious issues around low pay in the museum sector, negotiate better salaries and demonstrate the urgent case for reform.

Our commitment to fair pay continues and we are delighted to now share a refreshed report with greater clarity on our expectations of the sector and how we can support everyone to address the realities of low pay and its implications on attracting and retaining talent, as well as the impact on the wellbeing of our workforce.

This inflationary review and update will now take place annually to enable the sector, managers and individuals to have the most up-to-date information to support advocacy and change in the sector. In addition to this annual review, we will undertake deeper pay research every 4-5 years.

The MA’s director Sharon Heal said: “We have a talented and passionate workforce in museums but low pay in the sector is a long-standing issue which must be urgently addressed. Museum workers are our most valuable asset, without them we cannot care for collections, work with communities and share exciting and engaging stories.

“We recognise that the sector is under financial pressure and we call on funders and decision-makers to support better pay and conditions and to implement the MA’s salary guidelines.”

Salary benchmarks: 2024 update summary

Our recommendations

• We recommend that employers and funders use the upper quartile of salary ranges to set salaries, regardless of the size, type or location of their institution.
• Employers and funders should not use the lower quartile ranges to set pay rates.
• We recommend that all workers, regardless of contract type or hours of work, should at a minimum be paid the Real Living Wage set by the Living Wage Foundation, which is calculated annually based on what people need to live.
• We recommend that organisations work with trade unions and staff to develop progressive working policies, terms and conditions.
• We recommend that employers embed fair and inclusive recruitment practices, ensuring that job specifications are based on competence and knowledge, and that formal qualifications are sought only where necessary for the role. See our inclusive recruitment and selection guidelines.
• We recommend that employers and funders consider the recruitment, remuneration and wellbeing of the workforce in a holistic way.
• Our workforce wellbeing research, Front-of-House Charter for Change and Competency Framework may be used as complementary documents to this report to support progressive workforce policy.
• We recommend that employers set aside budget for staff wellbeing initiatives and listen to and act on staff and freelance concerns in this area.
• We recommend that funders use these guidelines to assess whether applicants for funding are paying fairly and have best practice workforce policies in place.
• Although the salary ranges in this survey do not cover freelance rates, we recommend that museums:
  – Respect and value freelancers as a core part of the sector workforce.
  – Pay on time or ahead of payment terms recognising that cashflow for freelancers is an issue.
  – Pay fairly: don’t put downward pressure on freelancers’ rates because of the cost-of-living crisis. Recognise that a freelance day rate covers costs such as such as pensions, training, tax and insurance.

“Our research into workforce wellbeing highlighted that poor pay was one of the most significant factors affecting wellbeing, as well as the financial precarity of temporary or zero-hour contracts. In addition to this impact on wellbeing, these levels of pay have an impact on attracting and retaining staff from more diverse backgrounds, who may not have access to other financial support. This refreshed guidance should be used to affect change within organisations and the sector as a whole.”

Tamsin Russell, workforce development lead, Museums Association

We have previously published a number of reports and guidelines on salary levels in the sector, beginning with the Pay in Museums report in 2004, followed by salary guidelines in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2017.

We welcome comments, particularly from those who have used the document as an advocacy tool or as a practical guide for setting salaries.

Please email with any queries: cpd@museumsassociation.org

Image: Participants in the Multaka Project at Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. Photograph by Ian Wallman