UK employer cost calculator

What a UK employee really costs: gross salary plus employer National Insurance (secondary Class 1 contributions). Employer National Insurance is UK-wide — one rate above one threshold, identical in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland — so this matrix's jurisdictions differ in label, not in figures. The liability shown is gross: the Employment Allowance is not deducted (see Known limits).

JavaScript is off: you are reading the default scenario, computed by the calculation engine when this page was built. Switching to the other precomputed scenarios needs JavaScript — every figure shown here is complete and readable as it stands.

Result — England, United Kingdom — £60,000/employee — 1 employee — rest-of-UK branch (England, Wales and Northern Ireland bands)

Total employer cost£68,249.40

Employer National Insurance£8,249.40

Gross salary£60,000.00

Gross salary: £60,000.00
Employer National Insurance: £8,249.40

Every line: amount, explanation and source. Explanations open line by line.
Line	Per year
Gross salary Why this line? Gross pay for the pay period, before any deduction. Why this rate: Set by the employment contract; Income Tax and National Insurance are both computed from it (on different bases: tax is annual/cumulative, NICs are per period). What changes it: Hours worked, salary level, bonuses, overtime and taxable benefits. Source: Employment contract — verified .	£60,000.00
Employer National Insurance (category A) Why this line? Employer (secondary) Class 1 National Insurance, category A: 15% of earnings above the Secondary Threshold (£96/week, £417/month, £5,000/year). The rate rose from 13.8% in April 2025 when the threshold fell from £9,100 to £5,000; both are unchanged for 2026/27. The Employment Allowance (up to £10,500 a year for eligible employers) is NOT deducted in v1. Why this rate: HMRC — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (employer rates, category A: 15% in every band above the Secondary Threshold). What changes it: Earnings above the Secondary Threshold; employer eligibility for the Employment Allowance (not modeled); special category letters for under-21s, apprentices, veterans, Freeport and Investment Zone employees (not modeled). Source: HMRC — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (Employer (secondary) contribution rates, category letter A: 15% in every band above the Secondary Threshold) — verified 2026-10-28.	£8,249.40
Total employer cost Why this line? Total employer cost: gross salary plus employer National Insurance. Pension auto-enrolment contributions, the Apprenticeship Levy and benefits in kind are not included in v1, so this is a floor, not the full cost of employment. Why this rate: Sum of the rounded lines (structured result contract — screen, PDF and tests can never diverge). What changes it: Salary level and any employer pension provision (not modeled). Source: Structured result — sum of the lines above — verified .	£68,249.40

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Total employer cost

£68,249.40
Gross salary plus employer National Insurance — before any Employment Allowance (see Known limits).

Cost per employee

£68,249.40
Total cost divided by headcount.

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Methodology, limits and sources

Rates verified on 2026-10-28 (primary sources listed per line).

Employment Allowance (up to £10,500/yr for eligible employers) is not netted in v1; the employer NIC shown is before that relief.

UK engine, employer side: secondary Class 1 National Insurance, category A, at 15% on pay above the Secondary Threshold (£417 a month), computed per employee per month and scaled by headcount — identical employees, so the totals are exact multiples. The Employment Allowance is NOT netted against the result (see Known limits).

Data status

Employer National Insurance parameters (2026/27): primary-verified against HMRC's published employer rates and thresholds (28 October 2026). The engine reproduces HMRC's published CWG2 worked examples of employer National Insurance to the penny.

Known limits

Employment Allowance is NOT deducted. The employer National Insurance shown is the gross liability; an eligible employer can claim up to £10,500 a year against that liability and would pay less — eligibility is HMRC's call.
Category A only: the under-21 and apprentice reliefs run through other category letters (their own upper secondary thresholds) and are not modelled.
Pension auto-enrolment contributions, the Apprenticeship Levy and statutory payments are not modelled: the totals here are salary plus employer National Insurance only.