Part-Time Jobs in UK for Indian Students: 12 Roles and Hourly Pay (2026)

  • Last Updated on: October 15, 2026 by
  • Shiva Sai Bejawada
Part-Time Jobs in UK
Part-Time Jobs in UK

Teaching assistant, care worker and retail cashier are the best-paid common part-time jobs in UK for Indian students. In April 2025, the typical worker in these jobs earned GBP 13.32 to GBP 14.48 an hour, while waiting and bar work paid GBP 12.21. On a full-time degree course at a UK university, your Student visa lets you work 20 hours a week in term and full-time in holidays. From 1 April 2026, the National Living Wage (the legal minimum at 21 and over) is GBP 12.71. A job won’t pay your tuition, but it covers groceries and travel.

Written by
Shiva Sai Bejawada
Senior Counsellor (British Council Certified) -UK & Ireland
Shiva Sai Bejawada is a British Council Certified overseas-education counsellor at AOEC India who guides Indian students through UK and Ireland university selection, admissions, and student visa documentation.
6 Years, 96% visa approval rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • Master’s student, 21 or over: GBP 12.71 an hour minimum (INR 1,618), 20 term-time hours, and a dissertation summer may still count as term. Get a share code and term-dates letter; apply to campus schemes in September.
  • Undergraduate, 18 to 20: GBP 10.85 minimum (INR 1,381). Twenty hours pays GBP 217 a week (INR 27,623), too little for National Insurance to come off.
  • Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Fiverr income: banned at any hours; work on a payroll or on campus.
  • Below-degree course: 10 hours only if a university or other higher education provider sponsors you; part-time: none.
  • London: a waiter earns only GBP 0.58 an hour more (INR 74) than in the West Midlands. Check rent first.
Table of Contents
Part-time jobs in the UK and what each pays per hour in 2026 Scroll here ↓ Student visa work rules: 20 hours in term, full-time in vacations Scroll here ↓ Where to find part-time jobs: campus schemes before the high street Scroll here ↓ Your first UK payslip: documents, tax code and take-home pay Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Part-time jobs in the UK and what each pays per hour in 2026

Across all part-time jobs in the UK, the middle worker earned GBP 14.11 an hour (about INR 1,796) in April 2025: half earned more, half less. Below is that middle figure, the median, for 12 jobs students do. Only teaching assistant pays more than the all-jobs figure. Who you work for matters more to your pay than the job title.

Role (April 2025)Median per hour (GBP)Weekly at 20 hours (GBP)
Teaching assistant14.48 (INR 1,843)289.60 (INR 36,864)
Care worker13.50 (INR 1,718)270.00 (INR 34,369)
Retail cashier13.32 (INR 1,696)266.40 (INR 33,911)
Warehouse operative13.18 (INR 1,678)263.60 (INR 33,555)
Sports and leisure assistant13.02 (INR 1,657)260.40 (INR 33,147)
Receptionist12.73 (INR 1,620)254.60 (INR 32,409)
Customer service12.71 (INR 1,618)254.20 (INR 32,358)
Cleaner12.60 (INR 1,604)252.00 (INR 32,078)
Sales and retail assistant12.50 (INR 1,591)250.00 (INR 31,823)
Kitchen and catering assistant12.31 (INR 1,567)246.20 (INR 31,340)
Waiter or waitress12.21 (INR 1,554)244.20 (INR 31,085)
Bar staff12.21 (INR 1,554)244.20 (INR 31,085)
All part-time jobs14.11 (INR 1,796)282.20 (INR 35,922)

The easiest shop, kitchen and bar jobs pay the least; a campus job often pays more.

From 1 April 2026, the National Minimum Wage at 18 to 20 is GBP 10.85 an hour. Your pay goes up to the adult rate from your first pay period after you turn 21, not on the birthday itself.

In April 2025, a London waiter typically earned GBP 12.79, just GBP 0.58 more than one in the West Midlands. Check what London rent costs first in our UK cost of living breakdown.

Student visa work rules: 20 hours in term, full-time in vacations

You get 20 hours only if your course and your university both qualify. In 2026, if you’re on a full-time degree-level course, your Student visa lets you work 20 hours a week in term and full-time outside it. Your sponsor must be a university or other higher education provider that the Home Office rates as reliable.

Your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) names your sponsor and course level, which decide how many hours you can work:

  • Full-time course at degree level: 20 hours a week in term.
  • Full-time course below degree level, sponsored by a university or other higher education provider with that rating: 10 hours a week in term.
  • All other study, including all part-time study and a below-degree course at a college that is not a higher education provider: no work at all.

A part-time master’s may cost less to study in the UK, but it carries no right to work.

You can work full-time before your course starts, in vacations and after you finish. If term ends on a Friday, you can work full-time from that Saturday, because the work week runs Monday to Sunday. Your summer may still be term, though: at Edinburgh, a one-year master’s student writing a dissertation stays on 20 hours all summer.

Where to find part-time jobs: campus schemes before the high street

Job boards are the usual first stop for part-time jobs in UK for Indian students, but your own university often pays more. At 8 of the 9 universities below, a student ambassador (a paid campus guide) earns more per hour worked than the GBP 12.71 minimum wage for over-21s.

UniversityRoleAdvertised rateWhat you earn per hour worked
Imperial College LondonRecruitment and Outreach Student AmbassadorFrom GBP 15.96 (INR 2,032) plus holiday payGBP 17.89 (INR 2,277)
University of EdinburghStudent AmbassadorGBP 13.45 (INR 1,712) plus holiday payGBP 15.88 (INR 2,021)
City St George’s, University of LondonTutorGBP 13.88 (INR 1,767) plus holiday payGBP 15.56 (INR 1,981)
University of YorkStudent AmbassadorGBP 13.52 (INR 1,721) plus holiday payGBP 15.15 (INR 1,928)
University of ExeterStudent AmbassadorGBP 15.07 (INR 1,918) including holiday payGBP 15.07 (INR 1,918)
City St George’s, University of LondonStudent Insight AmbassadorGBP 14.83 (INR 1,888) including holiday payGBP 14.83 (INR 1,888)
York St John UniversityStudent AmbassadorGBP 12.83 (INR 1,633) plus holiday payGBP 14.38 (INR 1,830)
City St George’s, University of LondonWidening Participation AmbassadorGBP 12.71 (INR 1,618) plus holiday payGBP 14.24 (INR 1,813)
City St George’s, University of LondonMarketing and Events AmbassadorGBP 14.24 (INR 1,813) including holiday payGBP 14.24 (INR 1,813)
University of SuffolkStudent AmbassadorGBP 14.24 (INR 1,813) including holiday payGBP 14.24 (INR 1,813)
University College BirminghamStudent AmbassadorGBP 12.71 (INR 1,618) plus holiday payGBP 14.24 (INR 1,813)
Robert Gordon UniversityStudent AmbassadorGBP 12.71 (INR 1,618)GBP 12.71 (INR 1,618), holiday pay not stated

Compare what you earn for each hour worked, not the advertised rate. York’s GBP 13.52, with holiday pay on top, gives you about GBP 15.15 for each hour worked, more than Suffolk’s GBP 14.24, which already includes holiday pay.

Search your careers team first, then the campus temp agency, then public job sites. At Newcastle University the agency is Unitemps, with GOV.UK Find a Job, StudentJob and Indeed after it. Ambassador schemes recruit early: York’s closes in early October, so on the September intake apply in your first fortnight.

Don’t expect a job in your field: part-time work linked to your degree can be hard to find. Treat the job as income and a UK reference; the highest-paying jobs in the UK for Indians are full-time careers.

Your first UK payslip: documents, tax code and take-home pay

Before your first shift, have three things ready:

  1. A share code, so the employer can check your visa online. You get a share code online from your UK Visas and Immigration account, and it lasts 90 days.
  2. Your term-dates letter. The employer must keep a copy.
  3. Your National Insurance number application. You can start work before the number arrives, which can take up to 4 weeks.

Check the tax code on your first payslip: one ending in W1, M1 or X is an emergency tax code, which can take the wrong amount of tax at first. HMRC usually corrects it within 35 days of your start, and if you’ve paid too much you can get a refund.

At 21 or over, 20 hours at GBP 12.71 pays GBP 254.20 a week. That’s above GBP 242 a week, so 8% National Insurance comes off the part above it: about GBP 0.98 a week.

At the minimum wage, 20 hours a week works out at GBP 1,101.53 a month before deductions at 21 or over, and GBP 940.33 at 18 to 20; our guide to the UK minimum wage for international students breaks down the tax. A full adult year, GBP 13,218.40, is above the GBP 12,570 you can earn tax-free in 2026-27 (your Personal Allowance), so expect a little income tax. Neither deduction is a reason to cut your hours.

Get in Touch

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Your visa bans business activity as well as self-employment, with no exception for clients outside the UK. Designing logos for an Indian firm, running an online shop or selling tutoring sessions all count. Take paid work only as an employee on a UK payroll.

You break a condition of your visa, and the Home Office may cancel your visa. Hours can’t be averaged, so 25 hours one week and 15 the next is still a breach. Unpaid hours count too: with 15 paid hours, only 5 voluntary hours fit.

Only if your own programme’s calendar marks the summer as a vacation. Programme dates override the standard semester dates, so you stay on the term-time limit even while students on other courses are on holiday. Ask your registry for your programme’s dates in writing.

Probably not. The median, the middle pay for that job, includes staff with years in the job, and a new starter is usually paid the minimum: GBP 12.71 an hour (about INR 1,618) at 21 and over. These medians date from April 2025, and the Office for National Statistics hasn’t yet released its 2026 figures.

No, it’s your legal holiday entitlement paid as you go. An employer may roll it into each hour’s pay only for staff on irregular hours or who work only part of the year. If the rate says inclusive, you’re already being paid it.

Ardent Overseas counsels Indian students on UK admissions from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati. Our counsellors work through course choice, proof of funds and the term-time work rules with each family before an application is filed, so the hours you plan match your course.

Sources

Official sources first, then universities.

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