Employer Payroll Cost Calculator

How much does an employee actually cost you? Calculate total employer cost including salary, employer NI and pension auto-enrolment contributions.

Employee annual salary (£)

Can you claim Employment Allowance?

Employer pension contribution (%)

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Fill in the details to get your result.

How This Works

Employer NI: 13.8% on earnings above the secondary threshold (£9,100/year). Employment Allowance: up to £5,000 reduction in employer NI (not available to single-director companies with no other employees). Auto-enrolment pension: minimum 3% employer contribution on qualifying earnings (£6,240–£50,270). Total on-costs typically add 15–20% to the headline salary figure.

You must auto-enrol all employees aged 22–66 who earn over £10,000/year. The minimum total contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings (3% employer + 5% employee). New employees must be enrolled within 6 weeks of starting. Employees can opt out, but you must re-enrol them every 3 years. Failing to comply carries significant TPAS fines. Use NEST (government pension scheme) as a simple default option for small employers.