How Much do You Get Paid to Deliver 1000 Leaflets in The UK?

Table of Contents

• How much do you get paid to deliver 1000 leaflets?
  • The quick answer
  • How it works
  • The only wage that hasn’t been updated for ten years
  • What the wage should be as a minimum
  • How much do we pay our distribution team?
  • How much do you get paid to deliver 1000 leaflets? Conclusion

Exactly how much do you get paid to deliver 1000 leaflets? Not enough in most cases. Thanks for stopping by. This article will help you understand what a fair wage is for this type of work and, conversely, when it would be considered completely unfair.

Here at Leaflet Lion, we’ve racked up eleven years of flyer and leaflet distribution experience. Furthermore, over the last decade, we’ve identified several ongoing practices deployed by distribution companies that are somewhat questionable.

In light of the steep rise in the national minimum wage here in the UK, let’s examine how and why this loophole even exists.

How much do you get paid to deliver 1000 leaflets?

How it works

Most companies work on a per-thousand basis. This means they charge a certain amount per thousand and pay their team a certain amount per thousand properties that they deliver to.

It’s extremely common (and another terrible practice) to include several leaflets, flyers and menus to post through each letterbox. The distributor will often receive slightly more for delivering all of this extra weight.

The loophole here exists within the self-employment basis. The vast majority of this sort of work tends to be on these terms. As a result, the national minimum wage doesn’t even need to be considered. Yep, you couldn’t make this up.

Nevertheless, self-employed or not, all staff should still earn enough to cover the minimum or living wage. While some distribution companies like the Royal Mail will employ staff directly, for most smaller businesses, this isn’t an option.

The following types of workers are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage:

• self-employed people running their own business
• company directors
• people who are volunteers or voluntary workers

gov.uk

Working as a leaflet distributor isn’t exactly fun, but it can be rewarding. Most of the team here at Leaflet Lion see it as a good way to get some fresh air and exercise while bringing in extra income.

With that said, it’s often one of two or three part-time jobs they do in total. Coupled with the fact that the economy is so unstable, leading to businesses cutting back on marketing, we don’t always have work available for the whole team. This is why the self-employed basis is the only way to proceed for now. However, it should always be treated the same as employment regarding the hourly wage.

The only wage that hasn’t been updated for ten years

Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge that distribution companies paying £35 or £40 per thousand properties haven’t increased this wage in around ten years. Yikes!

Although an experienced distributor will work much quicker, the average time it takes to deliver to 1000 properties is eight hours. Let’s just do the math at a rate of £40:

• £5 per hour

The worst offenders will give their team member 3, 4, 5, (or even more) leaflets to deliver to each property. A colossal amount of weight to carry. Admittedly, they will usually up the wage a little, but still nowhere near anything that would be considered acceptable.

How much do you get paid to deliver 1000 leaflets? Is it the same wage as ten years ago? If so, know that this is really not ok.

What the wage should be as a minimum

As of the 1st of April 2025, the national living wage is £12.21 per hour for anyone aged 21 or over. Having been in this business for so long, I can certainly confirm that most folks looking for leaflet distribution work fall into this age bracket.

Again, eight hours is a common average time to deliver to 1000 properties. However, this varies pretty drastically depending on the property types. Here in Nottingham, Leicester and Derby, we can complete 1000 terraced properties in as little as three hours.

These rates are for the National Living Wage (for those aged 21 and over) and the National Minimum Wage (for those of at least school leaving age). The rates change on 1 April every year.

April 2025:

• 21 and over – £12.21
• 18-20 – £10
• Under 18 – £7.55
• Apprentice – £7.55

gov.uk

Conversely, villages or remote areas where the properties are very spread out may take nine or ten hours plus.

£70 per thousand is a solid starting point in most central areas. This should, of course, increase when needed in relation to the area, weight or property type.

How much do we pay our distribution team?

Glad you asked! Well, you didn’t, but one of our clients did recently. They wanted to make sure we weren’t deploying the slave labour tactics commonly associated with this type of work. Ultimately, this was the initial spark of motivation to write this article.

At Leaflet Lion, we pay a minimum of £80 per thousand. Double that of most leaflet distribution companies. We pay £90 to £100 per thousand properties for slightly heavier materials, although the most we ever deliver simultaneously is two flyers.

For any last-minute, urgent jobs or heavy brochure work, we pay between £100 and £140 per thousand.

As the founder and owner, I’ll muck in with most jobs without reservation. This way, I can keep on top of how long certain areas are taking, as well as how difficult the terrain is.

Additionally, the team (who have worked with me for between five and eight years) can provide feedback on any of the routes if they feel the wage is unfair. Thankfully, we get it right most of the time and make the relevant changes if not.

How much do you get paid to deliver 1000 leaflets? Conclusion

If you’re searching the web to ask ‘How much do you get paid to deliver 1000 leaflets?’, chances are you’re thinking of taking some of this work on.

Find a reliable and, most importantly, reputable company to work with. If they value their staff, this will be reflected in the wages.

Look for £70 per thousand as a minimum and improve your speed over time to ensure a healthy hourly rate. Here in Nottingham, we work on how quickly we walk and reduce the number of times we need to refer to the area map. With a little practice, even at the lower end of what we pay (£80), a team member can earn well over the national living wage.