UK Employment Costs Lowest in Western Europe

03 August 2012 (PLANSPONSOREurope.com) – UK employers boast the lowest cost per employee per annum (pa) anywhere in Western Europe, according to Towers Watson’s annual Global 50 Remuneration Planning Report.

According to the research, the mandatory costs and taxes associated with employing people in each country shows the UK to be particularly favourable to business while France was found to have the highest costs for employers operating in Western Europe.

The sum employers are required to contribute in taxes and mandatory pension contributions for employees varies significantly across the major economies of Western Europe. For a middle-ranking professional or junior manager earning £33,000 or approx. At €40,000 pa, the UK offers the lowest costs in the region at £3,940. The Netherlands and Germany are second and third with costs of £5,250 and £6,200 respectively while France levies the highest costs on employers at £14,200 per employee.

Darryl Davis, Senior Consultant in Towers Watson’s Data Service division, said: “The Global 50 report shows that there is a big difference in costs for employers across Western Europe. It appears that the UK is amongst the most business-friendly countries in the region on the basis that the tax burden on companies is the most favourable.”

PLANSPONSOREurope Staff
editors@plansponsoreurope.com