We're halfway through 2026, the JIB rises have been sitting in pay packets for six months, and pay is still the conversation that won't go away. I'm on the phone to M&E and FM businesses across the South Coast most days, and the thing catching people out isn't the headline numbers. It's how far apart two people with the same job title are getting paid.
I published a full salary benchmark back in April, so rather than run through the whole matrix again, this piece is the bit that actually matters when you're making a hire or weighing up a move. Where someone lands in a range, and why.
The job title stopped telling you the salary
Here's what the data keeps showing. The gap between the bottom and the top of the market for the same role is huge. Not a few grand. Tens of thousands.
Take an Estimator. There's around £45,000 between someone earlier in their career and a proven one doing the same job on paper. Fire and Security runs from £28,000 at the entry end up to £60,000 at the top. These aren't different jobs. They're the same job, valued completely differently by different businesses.
The numbers below are basic salary only. No van, fuel, overtime or bonus in these, and they're drawn from Vecta Search benchmarking across Hampshire, Surrey and Dorset.
| Role | Entry (£) | Market (£) | Stretch (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimator | 35,000 to 39,000 | 60,000 to 70,000 | 60,000 to 80,000 |
| Project Manager (M&E) | 50,000 to 55,000 | 65,000 to 75,000 | 75,000 to 85,000 |
| Contract Manager (FM) | 45,000 to 52,000 | 55,000 to 65,000 | 66,000 to 80,000 |
| Commercial Gas Engineer | 40,000 to 44,000 | 47,000 to 52,000 | 53,000 to 60,000 |
| Mechanical Maintenance Engineer | 37,500 to 40,000 | 40,000 to 48,000 | 50,000 to 62,000 |
| Fire & Security Engineer | 28,000 to 34,000 | 36,000 to 45,000 | 46,000 to 60,000 |
What's driving the spread
Three things, and the job title isn't one of them.
- Specialism. Multiskilled engineers who can cover HVAC plus pumps plus controls are scarce, and they get paid for it. On a Mechanical Maintenance Engineer that's a fair part of what separates the low 40s from the low 60s.
- Region. The South East tracks at or above the national average, and Surrey carries a premium on top of that. A Commercial Gas Engineer sitting around £47,500 to £52,500 in Hampshire is closer to £50,000 to £55,000 once you cross the Surrey border.
- Package. Van, fuel card, overtime rates, healthcare and call-out pay decide more offers than the base salary does. Flat-rate overtime is a particular sticking point for gas and HVAC engineers who are used to time and a half or double time.
Where pay is moving in the second half of 2026
A few clear patterns for the rest of the year.
- Mechanical maintenance is seeing the strongest upward pressure, with uplifts of 4 to 7% as FM and estates contracts keep growing. Multiskilled candidates are the scarcest, so they command the premium.
- Contract Managers in FM are in rising demand off the back of contract renewals and tighter compliance, with uplifts of 3 to 6% through the year.
- Fire and Security engineers with the right certifications and commissioning experience are in steady demand. On-call pay, van and call-out arrangements are increasingly what decides where they land.
If you're hiring
- Sanity check the number in your head. If your last offer was built more than 18 months ago, it's probably starting below the market.
- Work in three tiers, not one. An entry, market and stretch band gives you room at the offer stage and stops you undershooting a strong candidate or overpaying for a borderline one.
- Build the package, not just the base. Van, overtime rates, healthcare and a 12-month review clause often land an offer that an extra £1,000 on the basic wouldn't.
- Budget the JIB rises early. The 2026 increase has been live since January, and 2027 and 2028 are already published. Build them into your project pricing now.
If you're on the tools
- Know which end of the range you sit on. The spread is wide, so comparing your salary with a mate's tells you very little without the package alongside it.
- The package is where the real money moves. Travel, overtime rates, pension and whether the work is local or has you living out of a Travelodge can be worth more than a few grand on the headline rate.
- Multiskilling pays. If you can credibly cover more than one discipline, that's the single biggest lever on where you land.
None of this is complicated, but it does mean the advert is the worst place to judge a salary from. The title gets you in the room. The specialism, the region and the package decide the money.
Want a straight read on where you sit?
If you're hiring and want to sense check your pay structure, or you're on the tools and want to know what you should be earning, give me a shout. No pressure and no pitch, just an honest read on where the market actually sits right now.
Get in touch