Employer of Record in the United Kingdom

What it costs and what the law requires to employ someone in United Kingdom (also known as UK) through an EOR, with every figure cited to a primary source.

Best fits

Best EOR providers for one employee in United Kingdom

Ranked the way Get matched ranks a hire: employing through its own entity in United Kingdom, a lower published fee and no deposit, each read from the provider's own pages. A provider whose referral program pays us carries a labeled referral boost, and the few providers we do not work with are listed below, never among these three.

Set team size or visa need, and get quotesStill looking for the person? Ask for candidates tooHow referral programs affect ranking

Hiring demand

Remote jobs open only to people in United Kingdom

Companies hiring remotely for a role that must be based in United Kingdom need someone employed there. Without an entity of their own in United Kingdom, an employer of record is how they do it.

Companies hiring full-time
1,202↗
Contract roles
624↗

United Kingdom ranks #3 of 177 countries↗ for full-time remote jobs open only to its residents. Most hired fields: Sales, Developer, Customer Service.

Counted daily from job postings on Himalayas, a remote job board: a job counts for a country when it accepts applicants based only there. Counting began Oct 29, 2026; a job posted before then counts if it was still open that day. Last updated Nov 11, 2026.

Cost of employment

What an employer pays in United Kingdom

The statutory employer contributions that sit on top of gross salary, each cited.

Rates are the statutory employer contributions; the total employer burden in United Kingdom is ~16% (employer NI 15% above £5,000 + ~3% auto-enrolment pension); approaches ~18% at higher salaries↗. Confirm the current rates for your case before hiring. Compare employer costs in every country.

Total cost

What an EOR really costs in United Kingdom

The full cost to employ combines gross salary, the statutory employer burden, and the EOR provider's own service fee.

The total cost to employ someone in United Kingdom through an EOR is their gross salary, plus ~16% (employer NI 15% above £5,000 + ~3% auto-enrolment pension); approaches ~18% at higher salaries↗ in mandatory employer contributions, plus a per-employee service fee from the provider. Across the 56 of 93 providers that publish a fee, the median is $349/employee/month (from $99 to $740); the rest quote per country.

Flat-rate illustration at a $100,000↗ salary
Gross salary
$100,000↗
Employer statutory contributions (~16%↗)
$16,000
EOR service fee (median $349/mo)
$4,188
Illustrative annual budget
$120,188

This illustration applies the representative rate to the full salary. It does not apply contribution caps, local-currency thresholds or employee eligibility rules, so it is not a payroll quote. Actual cost depends on the salary, the provider, and country-specific quotes; some countries also add mandatory items such as 13th-month pay or severance accruals. Run your own numbers in the calculator.

Providers

EOR providers that employ in United Kingdom

Each provider below names United Kingdom on its own website as a country where it offers Employer of Record. Cheapest published starting fee first.

49 providers name United Kingdom on their own websites as a country where they offer EOR. Published starting fees among them run from $99 /mo↗ (Native Teams) to €649 /mo↗ (Parakar); 13 quote United Kingdom on request. 8 of them say they employ here through their own entity.

Setting up your own company in the United Kingdom instead? The usual form is a private company limited by shares (Ltd). Minimum share capital: No minimum: a share can have any value↗. Government fee to register: £100 online (£156 for same-day incorporation)↗. EOR or your own entity: everything it takes, each from its official source.

Not sure which one fits? We rank these providers for your team size and visa needs, and get you quotes from the ones you pick.

Get matched

Before you sign with one of them: the questions worth asking each provider. Already employing someone in the United Kingdom through an employer of record? Check what you pay against these fees.

A listing is the provider's own statement that it can employ in United Kingdom, read on its site on Nov 9, 2026. Fees are each provider's cheapest published rate, not a quote for United Kingdom. We read the country lists and country pages of all 93 providers we track; 78 name the countries they serve, and a provider that does not name United Kingdom on its own site is not shown here, even where it may serve it. Confirm availability for your role and contract type before signing.

Employment law

Statutory rules in United Kingdom

The employment terms an employer must meet, each linked to the source that states it.

Paying someone in the United Kingdom as a contractor instead? The facts of the relationship decide, and for contractors working through their own company a medium or large client must decide their status itself. Check whether the role is employment, or read how the United Kingdom decides and what misclassification costs.

Hiring

How to hire in United Kingdom

Two ways to put someone on payroll here.

Use an employer of record

An EOR already has an entity in United Kingdom and employs your worker on your behalf, handling payroll, tax and the statutory terms above. Fastest way to hire without incorporating.

Compare EOR providers

Estimate the full cost

Add the ~16% (employer NI 15% above £5,000 + ~3% auto-enrolment pension); approaches ~18% at higher salaries↗ employer burden to salary and an EOR service fee to see your true monthly cost to employ in United Kingdom.

Open the cost calculator

Setting up your own entity in United Kingdom?

With several hires planned here, a local company of your own can cost less than an EOR fee per employee. These services form it and keep it in good standing.

Economy

United Kingdom at a glance

World Bank indicators (2025) for context on the labour market.

GNI per capita (Atlas method)
$54,550↗
GDP per capita
$57,602↗
GDP (current US$)
$4.0T↗
GDP growth
1.4%↗
Inflation, consumer prices
3.9%↗
Population, total
69.5M↗
Population ages 15-64
63.3%↗
Urban population
83.3%↗
Labour force, total
35.4M↗
Labour force participation rate
61.4%↗
Female labour participation rate
57.3%↗
Male labour participation rate
65.6%↗
Unemployment rate
4.7%↗
Wage & salaried workers
86.9%↗
Self-employed
13.1%↗
Questions

Hiring in United Kingdom: FAQ

How much does it cost to employ someone in United Kingdom?

On top of gross salary, mandatory employer contributions in United Kingdom run ~16% (employer NI 15% above £5,000 + ~3% auto-enrolment pension); approaches ~18% at higher salaries↗, made up of employer National Insurance (Class 1 secondary) 15% (on earnings above £5,000 a year)↗. An employer of record adds its own per-employee service fee on top; across the 56 of 93 providers that publish a fee, the median is $349 per employee per month.

What does an EOR charge to employ someone in United Kingdom?

EOR service fees are billed per employee per month, on top of salary and statutory employer contributions in United Kingdom. The contribution basis is ~16% (employer NI 15% above £5,000 + ~3% auto-enrolment pension); approaches ~18% at higher salaries↗. Providers rarely publish a United Kingdom-specific fee: across the 56 providers on our price board that publish a price, the median is $349 per employee per month (from $99 to $740), and the rest quote per country. Request a quote for United Kingdom for an exact figure.

How much paid annual leave is mandatory in United Kingdom?

Statutory paid annual leave in United Kingdom is 5.6 weeks (28 days)↗.

What is the statutory notice period in United Kingdom?

The minimum employer notice period in United Kingdom is 1 wk (<2 yrs), then 1 wk/yr, up to 12 weeks (12+ yrs)↗.

What is the minimum wage in United Kingdom?

The statutory minimum wage in United Kingdom is £12.71/hour (National Living Wage, age 21+, from Apr 2026)↗; it rises to £13.21/hour (National Living Wage, age 21+)↗ on Apr 1, 2027.

What is the maximum probation period in United Kingdom?

The maximum statutory probation period in United Kingdom is No statutory maximum (length set in the contract)↗.

Which EOR providers can employ someone in United Kingdom?

49 of the 93 providers we track name United Kingdom on their own websites as a country where they offer Employer of Record. By published starting fee: Native Teams from $99 /mo↗, Asanify from $199 /mo↗, Boundless from $199 /mo↗, Gloroots from $199 /mo↗, RemoFirst from $199 /mo↗, and 31 more with a published fee; 13 quote United Kingdom on request. Each provider's listing is its own claim, so confirm availability for your role and contract type before signing.

How many companies are hiring remotely in United Kingdom?

In the 30↗ days to Nov 11, 2026, 1,202 companies↗ posted 2,825↗ full-time remote jobs open only to people based in United Kingdom on the Himalayas job board, plus 624↗ contract roles, which ranks United Kingdom #3 of 177 countries↗. The most hired fields are Sales, Developer, Customer Service. A company hiring this way without its own entity in United Kingdom employs through an employer of record.

Do I need a local entity to hire an employee in United Kingdom?

No. An employer of record (EOR) already holds a legal entity in United Kingdom and can employ your worker there on your behalf, running local payroll, tax and compliance, so you can hire without setting up your own entity. That settles the employment side only: what the person does for your company (signing or negotiating its contracts, running a sales team, working from one place for most of the year) can still make your company taxable in United Kingdom as a permanent establishment, whoever employs them.

When a hire abroad makes your company taxable there

Nearby

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