How we collect and check the figures

We show the real yearly cost of hiring through an employer of record (EOR). This page explains where each figure comes from, how we check it and what we leave out.

What we show

For each country, the yearly cost of one employee has three parts:

• The gross salary.
• The contributions and taxes that the law requires from the employer, such as pension, health insurance and National Insurance.
• The provider's fee.

Where the figures come from

• Rates and ceilings come from official sources: laws, social insurance bodies and tax authorities.
• Provider fees come from each provider's own pricing page.
• Exchange rates come from the reference rates of the European Central Bank.

Each figure on the site links to its source and shows the date of our last check.

How we check the figures

1. We read each figure in its official source.
2. We compare it with a second source.
3. Automated tests check every calculation to the cent, including the ceilings and the rounding.
4. A person checks every figure against its source before it goes live.

How we calculate

• All amounts are yearly, for one employee who gets 12 equal monthly payments.
• Each cost line rounds to the cent, and totals are the sums of the rounded lines. Payroll rounds each month, so real amounts can differ by a few cents.
• Each country page lists its own assumptions, such as the type of health insurance.

What we leave out

Some costs depend on the sector, the insurer or the size of the company. We name them on each page, and we leave them out of the totals. We also leave out benefits that the law does not require, such as private health cover or equipment.

Some payroll taxes apply only to employers with a large payroll, such as the UK Apprenticeship Levy and the Employer Health Tax in Ontario. Several EOR providers list these taxes as employer costs, so we include them by default. You can turn them off in each calculator.

Provider prices

We show the list prices that providers publish. The price for one country can differ from the list price. When a provider gives a price only in a quote, we say so. Some providers publish their own price in each currency. Then we use the price in the currency of the page, and we convert other prices at the ECB rate.

Updates and the change log

Most countries change their rates on 1 January. The UK changes most of its rates on 6 April, at the start of its tax year. We update each page when the new figures are official. Each page has a change log that shows what changed, and when.

Corrections

If you find an error, email us at the address in our terms of use. We check every report, and we log each correction in the change log.