Crematorium technician and cemetery worker jobs

Crematorium technicians and cemetery workers do the practical side of funerals. The National Careers Service gives a range of £23,000 to £30,000 for a crematorium technician and £23,000 to £28,000 for a cemetery worker, on weeks of 36 to 43 hours and 40 to 45 hours. Neither job asks for set qualifications, and the employer arranges the training scheme once you start.

The two roles

A crematorium technician prepares the chapel and equipment, makes safety checks on the cremation equipment, receives coffins and checks identity documents, greets and escorts mourners, operates the cremators and stores remains. They also follow families’ wishes for ashes and keep accurate records. The National Careers Service says many roles combine crematorium duties with grounds maintenance.

A cemetery worker prepares and maintains graves, burial plots and memorial gardens. The duties listed include measuring and marking out grave spaces, digging with machinery and hand tools, filling plots after a service, keeping lawns, hedges and paths in order, and checking headstones for damage and removing unsafe ones.

Weekend work is part of both jobs, and cemetery work is largely outdoors.

Getting in

You can apply directly to either job. For crematorium work, a GCSE in English at grade 9 to 4 and some IT skills may help. Cemetery employers may ask for GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 including English. Useful experience for cemetery work includes landscaping, gardening, construction or using a mini digger, and some jobs involving heavy machinery want a driving licence.

After you are appointed, the employer arranges the Crematorium Technicians Training Scheme or the Cemetery Operatives Training Scheme. Ask at interview how and when the training happens.

Dealing with bereaved people

Both profiles say you need to deal sensitively with bereaved people, and for crematorium work experience with the public is listed as useful. Any customer-facing job gives you something to talk about at interview.

Our guide to bereavement and compassionate leave covers time off for your own losses.

Background checks

Crematorium technicians must pass enhanced background checks, according to the National Careers Service. GOV.UK lists the DBS levels as basic, standard, enhanced and enhanced with barred lists. Our guide to DBS check levels explains which one applies where and what an employer can ask.

Reading the advert and the contract

Because both profiles say the employer arranges the training scheme, the advert and the offer letter should tell you when it starts, whether it is paid time and what happens if you do not complete it. Ask for that in writing before you accept. Our guide to probation periods explains how a probationary period normally works in public sector jobs, which matters if sign-off on training is linked to it.

Hours are long in both profiles: 36 to 43 for a crematorium technician and 40 to 45 for a cemetery worker, with weekend work. Check how weekend working is paid and whether it is built into the contract. Pre-employment checks cover what to expect between a conditional offer and your first day, including references and any health questions.

Council terms to check

If the site is run by a council, the National Joint Council (NJC) Green Book normally sets the terms. The May 2024 copy gives a standard full-time week of 37 hours (36 in London) and a minimum of 23 days’ annual leave from 1 April 2023, with a further 3 days after five years’ continuous service and two extra statutory days. The 2026/27 award of 3.3 per cent on NJC pay points 3 to 43 was agreed on 24 August 2026. The National Careers Service does not name employers for either role, so the advert tells you who sets the pay. The NJC pay spine guide explains how council pay points work.

Where it leads

With experience, a crematorium technician could mentor trainees or move into crematorium management, and roles in the wider funeral industry are also possible. The cemetery worker page names the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management as the professional body offering training and membership, although its website was not available when we checked.

Grounds maintenance and council gardener jobs share the outdoor work without the funeral services, and the registrar of births, deaths and marriages profile covers another bereavement-related council role. Use the take-home pay calculator to turn an advertised salary into monthly pay before you apply.