Working from home
Jobs you can do from home with no experience
Yes, but they are a small share of jobs. The home-based jobs open to people new to the work are mainly in customer service, admin, data entry and typing. ONS puts median full-time pay for these jobs at £27,035 to £30,495a year, below the UK median of £39,039, and new starters usually earn less. Most people in customer-facing jobs still travel to work.
Updated
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a, published . Median gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs in the UK, tax year ending 5 April 2025. Figures are for whole SOC 2020 occupation groups and exclude the self-employed.
Home-based jobs that take people without experience
These are common home-based roles that do not ask for experience in the same job. Pay is the ONS median for full-time employees in the whole occupation group, wherever they work. The right-hand column is ONS's own summary of how people get in.
| Job | Median pay | Lower quarter | What ONS says about getting in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer service adviserPhone, email and live chatONS group 7219: Customer service occupations n.e.c. | £27,848 | £24,583 | There are no formal academic entry requirements, although many employers expect candidates to possess GCSEs/S grades. Training is typically provided on-the-job, supplemented by specialist short courses. |
| Call or contact centre agentONS group 7211: Call and contact centre occupations | £27,035 | £24,282 | There are no formal academic entry requirements, although many employers expect candidates to possess GCSEs/S grades. Training is typically provided on-the-job, supplemented by specialist short courses. |
| Telesales adviserONS group 7113: Telephone salespersons | £30,495ONS: reasonably precise | £24,589 | Academic qualifications may be required. Training is typically received on-the-job, supplemented by short courses in practical skills. NVQs/SVQs in Sales at levels 2 and 3 and apprenticeships are available. |
| Administrator or admin assistantONS also codes proof readers hereONS group 4159: Other administrative occupations n.e.c. | £28,294 | £24,636 | There are no minimum academic requirements, although entrants usually possess GCSEs/S grades. Training is usually provided on-the-job. NVQs/ SVQs in Administration are available at levels 2 and 3. |
| Data entry clerkONS group 4152: Data entry administrators | £28,316ONS: reasonably precise | £24,870 | There are no minimum academic requirements, although GCSEs/S grades or equivalent qualifications may be useful. Entrants are expected to have relevant experience and some employers require minimum typing speeds. |
| Sales administratorONS group 4151: Sales administrators | £28,745 | £25,000 | There are no minimum academic requirements, although entrants typically possess GCSEs/S grades or equivalent qualifications. Training is normally provided on-the-job. NVQs/SVQs in Administration are available at levels 1 and 2. |
| Claims handlerInsurance and pensions administrationONS group 4132: Pensions and insurance clerks and assistants | £30,269 | £26,429 | There are no minimum academic requirements, although entrants usually possess GCSEs/S grades. Training is usually provided on-the-job. NVQs/ SVQs, apprenticeships and professional qualifications are available in some areas. |
| Audio typist or transcriberONS group 4217: Typists and related keyboard occupations | £27,170ONS: acceptable | not published | Entry is most common with GCSEs/S grades. Entrants are normally expected to have obtained minimum typing speeds and hold vocational certificates. |
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a, published . Median gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs in the UK, tax year ending 5 April 2025. Figures are for whole SOC 2020 occupation groups and exclude the self-employed.
Entry text: ONS, SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups. Contains public sector information from ONS SOC 2020 Volume 1 licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How many of these jobs are really done from home
Home working is common in office jobs and rare in customer-facing ones. In the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey for April to June 2026, 14% of all working adults in Great Britain worked only from home in the previous week and 26% split their time between home and a workplace.
- Sales and customer service jobs: 8% worked only from home and 7% were hybrid. 69% only travelled to work.
- Administrative and secretarial jobs: 19% worked only from home and 35% were hybrid, so admin is the likelier way into home working.
- People with no qualifications: 9% worked only from home and 5% were hybrid, compared with 16% and 40% of people with a degree.
So remote customer service jobs are real, but you are competing for the smaller share of roles that are fully home-based. Hybrid roles outnumber fully home-based ones, so a hybrid admin job is a realistic first step. Before you apply, check three things in the advert or at interview: where the training takes place, whether the employer supplies the laptop and headset, and whether you need a quiet room and a wired internet connection.
Source: ONS, Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: working arrangements by personal characteristics, 1 April to 28 June 2026, published . Great Britain, adults who were working, asked about the previous seven days. Survey estimates with a margin of error; ONS notes that occupation is self-reported.
What you will earn at first, and where it can lead
ONS pay figures only include people who have been in the same job for more than a year, so a new starter usually earns less than the median. The lower-quarter column is a better guide to early pay. The legal floor from April 2026 is £12.71 an hour if you are 21 or over and £10.85 an hour at 18 to 20 (GOV.UK National Minimum Wage rates). If you work part time, your yearly total will be lower.
These jobs are a way in, and a year or two of experience opens better-paid options. ONS medians for full-time employees in 2025:
- Customer service supervisors and team leaders: £35,723a year.
- IT user support technicians, which includes help desk roles: £35,128a year.
- Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks: £31,560a year. They sit in the administrative group, where home and hybrid working is more common.
For roles that pay more and are commonly done from home, see the best-paid remote-friendly jobs. For the wider picture of who works from home and your right to ask for it, see our guide to home and hybrid working.
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a, published . Median gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs in the UK, tax year ending 5 April 2025. Figures are for whole SOC 2020 occupation groups and exclude the self-employed.
Tutoring, freelance and online tasks
Tutoring. For the group that includes private tutors, ONS says entry is possible with a range of academic or professional qualifications or relevant experience, and that a DBS check may be required. ONS's pay figure for the group that includes private tutors is £34,396a year for full-time employees, but many tutors work for themselves, and the survey behind that figure leaves out the self-employed. It cannot tell you what tutoring through an app or agency pays.
Surveys, website testing and mystery shopping. These are side income, not a job. ONS did not publish a reliable 2025 pay figure for market research interviewers, the group that includes mystery shoppers. Treat any site that promises a full-time income from surveys with suspicion.
Working for yourself. If you are paid for a service or sell things regularly to make a profit, GOV.UK says you are probably trading. The first £1,000 of gross trading income in a tax year is covered by the trading allowance; above that you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the tax year ends. Our side hustles guide and freelance guide cover the rules.
How to spot a work from home job scam
JobsAware, quoted by the Disclosure and Barring Service, says the rise in remote jobs and online hiring has made it easier for fraudsters to fool jobseekers. These warning signs come from the DBS's guidance on job scams (GOV.UK, 2023) and other official sources.
- You are asked for money. Never send money before starting a job, including for training, uniforms or DBS checks. Recruitment agencies cannot charge you a fee for finding or trying to find you work.
- You get an offer without an interview, or the advert has no named contact person or company email address.
- The pay does not fit the job, or the advert leaves out basic details such as duties, hours and salary.
- The company cannot be checked. Look up any UK company on the free Companies House register before you send your passport, driving licence or bank details.
- The job involves your bank account. A “job” that asks you to receive money and pass it on, or to buy crypto for someone, is money muling. The National Crime Agency says it is a crime that can mean up to 14 years in prison, and that recruiters use social media job offers.
If you think you have been targeted
GOV.UK says to contact Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 if you have lost money and live in England or Wales, and to report it to Police Scotland if you live in Scotland. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and suspicious texts to 7726.
Where to look instead
Apply through employers' own careers pages, the government's Find a job service (England, Scotland and Wales), or our live vacancy search, and check anything you find elsewhere against the signs above.
Common questions
Can I get a work from home job with no experience?
Yes, mainly in customer service, contact centres and admin, where ONS says there are no formal academic entry requirements and training is usually given on the job. They are a minority of jobs, though: in ONS's survey for April to June 2026, 8% of people in sales and customer service jobs worked only from home and 7% split their week. Admin work is more often home-based (19% home only, 35% hybrid).
How much do work from home jobs with no experience pay?
ONS does not publish pay by where people work, but for the jobs in this guide the 2025 median for full-time employees ranges from £27,035 to £30,495 a year, against £39,039 for all full-time jobs. Those medians cover people who have been in the job for more than a year, so starting pay is usually lower. The legal minimum from April 2026 is £12.71 an hour if you are 21 or over.
Should I pay for training, equipment or a DBS check to start a job?
No. The Disclosure and Barring Service warns jobseekers never to send money before starting a job, including for training, uniforms or DBS checks. GOV.UK also says recruitment agencies cannot charge you a fee for finding or trying to find you work. Being asked to pay up front is one of the clearest signs of a scam.
Are data entry jobs from home real?
Some are. ONS codes data entry clerks to its data entry administrators group, where the 2025 full-time median was £28,316. ONS also says entrants are expected to have relevant experience and some employers ask for a minimum typing speed, so adverts that promise high pay for simple typing with no checks deserve suspicion, especially if they ask for money or your bank details.
Do I need to tell HMRC about money from online tasks or surveys?
If you earn money for yourself rather than through an employer, the first £1,000 of gross trading income in a tax year is covered by the trading allowance. Above that you must register for Self Assessment, by 5 October after the end of the tax year. GOV.UK has a checker for additional income if you are unsure.