jobfacts

Debt, rent and other cash collectors

SOC 2020 7122

Debt, rent and other cash collectors collect payments due or overdue from households and businesses and empty cash from prepayment meters or machines.

Also calledBailiffEnforcement agentEnforcement officerHigh Court enforcement officerCollection agentCollectorand 66 more titles
Typical full-time pay£29,1002025 Provisional
People in the job16,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month795↓ 4.3%on last year · 212th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time debt, rent and other cash collectors earn between £26,200 and £33,600 a year.

What full-time debt, rent and other cash collectors earn, 2025
£29,100 typical£25,500lowest 20%£33,60075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£26,200–£33,600)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£25,500
25%£26,200
Median£29,100
75%£33,600
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £29,100
London!£37,300
North East!£32,100
North West!£29,700
South East!£28,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£27,700
Scotland!£27,200
East Midlands!£27,200
Wales!£27,100
South West!£26,900
East of England!£25,200
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £29,100
London£37,300 (small sample)
North East£32,100 (small sample)
North West£29,700 (small sample)
South East£28,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£27,700 (small sample)
Scotland£27,200 (small sample)
East Midlands£27,200 (small sample)
Wales£27,100 (small sample)
South West£26,900 (small sample)
East of England£25,200 (small sample)
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £24,200
  • 2024 £26,900
  • 2025 Provisional£29,100
↑ 20% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 795 jobs for debt, rent and other cash collectors are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026691
Jul 2026781
Jun 2026758
May 2026879
Apr 2026782
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026Not published
Jan 2026852
Dec 2025413
Nov 2025892
Oct 2025905
Sept 2025994
Aug 20251,009
Jul 2025906
Jun 2025864
May 2025936
Apr 2025761
Mar 2025870
Feb 2025850
Jan 2025799
Dec 2024420
Nov 2024708
Oct 2024945
Sept 2024954
Aug 2024910
Jul 2024912
Jun 2024953
May 20241,000
Apr 2024839
Mar 2024726
Feb 2024727
Jan 2024905
Dec 2023624
Nov 2023748
Oct 2023671
Sept 2023757
Aug 2023907
Jul 2023958
Jun 20231,386
May 20231,216
Apr 20231,138
Mar 20231,197
Feb 20231,249
Jan 20231,431
Dec 20221,070
Nov 20221,286
Oct 20221,370
Sept 20221,392
Aug 20221,513
Jul 20221,509
Jun 20221,531
May 20221,688
Apr 20221,300
Mar 20221,476
Feb 20221,567
Jan 20221,731
Dec 20211,279
Nov 20211,475
Oct 20211,721
Sept 20211,542
Aug 20211,381
Jul 20211,327
Jun 20211,337
May 20211,195
Apr 20211,124
Mar 20211,353
Feb 2021891
Jan 2021920
Dec 2020758
Nov 2020944
Oct 2020981
Sept 2020866
Aug 2020646
Jul 2020756
Jun 2020381
May 2020328
Apr 2020547
Mar 20201,087
Feb 20201,195
Jan 20201,225
Dec 2019868
Nov 20191,092
Oct 20191,092
Sept 20191,126
Aug 20191,188
Jul 20191,367
Jun 20191,279
May 20191,369
Apr 2019889
Mar 20191,058
Feb 20191,056
Jan 20191,106
Dec 2018725
Nov 2018901
Oct 20181,170
Sept 20181,060
Aug 20181,084
Jul 2018993
Jun 20181,168
May 2018994
Apr 2018948
Mar 2018985
Feb 20181,049
Jan 20181,150
Dec 2017722
Nov 2017963
Oct 20171,056
Sept 2017956
Aug 20171,088
Jul 20171,032
Jun 20171,415
May 20171,300
Apr 20171,224
Mar 20171,397
Feb 20171,155
Jan 20171,351
Is there a shortage of debt, rent and other cash collectors?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
17%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for sales related occupations, which includes debt, rent and other cash collectors. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London375
Manchester70
Birmingham58
Leeds51
Bristol, City of48
Glasgow City35
Somerset32
Nottingham29
Liverpool29
Newcastle upon Tyne29
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where debt, rent and other cash collectors are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of debt, rent and other cash collectors
n/p
n/p
27%!
33%!
21%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–4427% (small sample)
45–5433% (small sample)
55–6421% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!37%
Higher education below degree!3.4%
A levels or equivalent!23%
GCSEs or equivalent!31%
Other qualifications!17%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent37% (small sample)
Higher education below degree3.4% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent23% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent31% (small sample)
Other qualifications17% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: general public administration activities (14%), activities of collection agencies and credit bureaus (12%), legal activities (7.5%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
37%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through an apprenticeship or by applying directly.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do do a Senior Credit Controller and Debt Collection Specialist Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, for example, with a debt recovery company or the courts service.

This can take up to 2 years to complete and combines on-the-job learning and time spent with a training provider.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Apply directly

You can apply directly to debt recovery companies for trainee roles. Employers will give you full training if you're taken on.

As part of the job involves being able to handle difficult situations, experience gained in parking enforcement, police, armed forces or security work may be helpful.

To work as a bailiff or enforcement officer for the courts, you may need GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English and maths.

More about this route
Bailiff General Certificate

Before you can collect debts from someone on your own, you need to get a Bailiff General Certificate. If you do not have a certificate, you'll have to work with someone who does and do on-the-job training at the same time.

To get a certificate you'll need to:

  • successfully complete a training course
  • be interviewed by a judge to prove you're a 'fit and proper person' without a criminal record or debt
  • provide an insurance bond to the court - you can take out an insurance policy to cover this
  • get references from 2 professionals
Training

You can get:

  • debt collection training from the Chartered Institute of Credit Management
  • high court enforcement officer training from the High Court Enforcement Officers Association

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks
  • have a full driving licence
  • be over 18 years of age

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Job vacancies can be for permanent staff or self-employed. In both cases, advertised salary rates may include a basic figure plus on-target earnings (OTE) or commission. These depend on meeting individual or company targets. It's important to check what proportion of the salary is made up of OTE.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for bailiff. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • receives payment at centralised office or calls on household/business premises
  • records details of transaction, issues receipt or annotates rent book
  • reads gas, water and electricity meters
  • cleans, services and fills vending machines and collects money from meters, vending machines and other cash operated machinery
  • collects tolls from persons wishing to gain access to private roads, bridges, piers, etc. and operates tollgates to control entry
  • remits cash, cheques or credit notes to cashier, supervisor or bank, building society or post office
  • serves summonses and, on court authority, takes possession of goods to the value of outstanding debt

Skills

  • maintain client debt records
  • perform debt investigation
  • analyse financial risk
  • assess customers
  • calculate debt costs
  • communicate with customers
  • create cooperation modalities
  • create solutions to problems
  • enforce customer's debt repayment
  • facilitate official agreement
  • handle conflicts
  • handle financial transactions
  • have computer literacy
  • identify clients' needs

Knowledge

  • debt collection techniques
  • debt systems
  • credit card payments
  • credit control processes
  • debt classification
  • insurance law
  • types of insurance
  • actuarial science

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for sales occupations, a group of 13 jobs that includes debt, rent and other cash collectors.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 255,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035671,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.