The art of being a Butler is n revered and unique skill. From Downton Abbey to the Royal Family of England, the Butler plays an important role in the household. How much a Butler earns varies dramatically on the position on offer.
But what does a Butler typically earn and why has it become the latest profession to witness lawyers, accountants and builders all leave their day jobs to re-train?
Polo & Tweed has the low down on the often secretive world of salaries in the Butler world.
Who hires a Butler?
It’s true, hiring a Butler is not the first member of staff to enter a typical family. Most likely the first member of staff to be hired is a Housekeeper closely followed by a Nanny should care of children be required. The Housekeeper and Nanny are the most popular client searches with our agency, typically families with household income of upwards of £75K a year. But families who earn £500K+ a year upwards will often have multiple properties and thus require multiple staff.
Once families income per year goes over the £1million mark then it is typical they will have a PA or Family Office who is in charge of recruitment/support of the staff and properties they employ and own. These are the families who look to us to hire a Butler, but you will be surprised the type of clients who look to hire a Butler – it certainly breaks the mould of what one ‘might’ expect.
We’ve had clients who are multi-billionaires, travel the world and require their Butler to be their right hand – there to help them in every walk of life and then we’ve had more informal clients who own a large townhouse in Chelsea, London and just require the Butler to manage their home. Keeping the housekeeper in check, taking the dogs for walk and doing all other odd-jobs about the home. How much responsibility the Butler has will affect how much the Butler will earn.
How do you become a Butler?
Individuals become a Butler in a variety of ways. The old school Butlers seem to have become Butlers from the off start. The CVs reflect long standing employment as Butlers. Typically these would be amongst the highest earning Butlers. They’ve started in the domestic service world perhaps in hotels, the royal family or other households. We love the old school Butlers as they bring with them an air of calm, discretion and professional finishing touches. You can read more about what makes a great Butler.
Now we see a fresh new modern Butler on the horizon. These freshly trained Butlers are being given excellent earning opportunities, and it is an exciting industry to be part of. They can work in large households or in small households – and how much they earn will be dependent on the overall package on offer.
What is a starting salary for a Butler?
It very much depends on the package being offered outside of the salary, but for salary alone with no additional perks (accommodation etc) provided, then an entry level Butler salary for domestic employ is around £30,000 gross per year. We see the amount the Butler earns vary significantly depending on the overall package.
This type of salary and earning capacity would be offered to a Butler who is fresh out of Butler school and has no proven history of working as a Butler. For the hotel sector this would drop to around £24,000-£28,000 gross per year. If the package being offered for domestic employ includes accommodation/car/food etc then the salary will often reflect this.
What is a mid-range salary for a Butler?
Typically once you’ve worked as a Butler for over 5 years you would qualify as a mid-range Butler (in our eyes). This means you’ve got enough experience to work either in a team environment, or to work towards a leadership position. Your earning capacity will certainly increase.
You may well have worked as an assistant Butler and be ready to move onto Head Butler. Mid-level Butler salaries start at around the £35,000 gross per year and go upwards to around £50,000 gross per year. In the hotel sector you can expect to be paid from around £28,000 gross to £35,000 gross per year. How much you earn will again vary depending on the package on offer.
What is the upper-range salary for a Butler?
Once you’ve worked as a Butler for over 15 years, you would be considered for upper-range salaried positions. Now you are able to earn the some of the highest potential in the roles on offer. Again this is entirely flexible depending on the position and additional package, remember the more money they pay, the more hours worked and the more flexible you must be.
In this salary bracket you can expect to be paid from £50,000 gross to £100,000 gross per year. In the hotel sector, you can expect to be paid between £35,000 to £60,000 gross per year.
What is the most a Butler can earn?
There are some rare, but incredible placements for Butlers. This is the ultimate earning potential. To be considered for these roles you should have demonstrated over 20 years of professional Butler experience in the specific area that the client is looking for. You should have also demonstrated longevity and commitment in your positions.
For these placements you can be paid anything from £100,000 gross per year upwards. Ultimately there are clients willing to pay a very high salary to the right Butler when they are looking for one.
These special placements are generally only found in the domestic Butler placements.
I want to become a Butler!
That’s great news. Start by doing your research, read our blog about becoming a Butler and do as much internet exploration. Then you can look to re-train. There are a number of training academies out there. Don’t just sign up for one because it looks good on paper, always ask to speak to previous students and get references from at least 2 students before signing up.
You can also talk to us. 🙂 Once you’ve completed your Silver Service & Butler training, or you’ve already got experience, check you’ve got a perfect CV and then register with us to make sure you get all the latest job opportunities straight to your inbox. It’s a brilliant career which will give you excellent career progression and earning capacity.
I want to hire a Butler!
Polo & Tweed are the leading British agency in placing Butlers in London and around the world. We’ve placed Butlers in Monaco, Zurich, Austria, China, The Middle East, USA to name a few countries!
We place all types of Butlers with different earning capacity – do whatever your budget we can certainly help you. We have all types of Butlers on our books, and our Butlers work for the most discerning clients. No task is too great for us. So drop us a line today and let us find you a perfect Butler.