Employer of Record in the UK

Employ talent in the UK without your own entity — PAYE, employer National Insurance, pension auto-enrolment and employment-law compliance handled by UK specialists.

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Why hire in the UK through an EOR

The UK is a top global hiring market, and its payroll looks simple until the detail bites: employer National Insurance jumped to 15% on a much lower threshold in April 2025, pension auto-enrolment is mandatory, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 is rolling out through 2027. TopSource is UK-headquartered, so this is home turf. Through our EOR, all of it is already running.

No entity required

Employ staff across the UK, and 180+ other countries, without registering a UK company or operating your own PAYE scheme.

Home-market expertise

TopSource is UK-headquartered. Your PAYE, employer NIC, pension auto-enrolment and RTI reporting are handled by specialists on home ground, not at arm’s length.

Employer NIC and RTI handled

Employer National Insurance is 15% above the £5,000 secondary threshold, unchanged for 2026/27 and frozen to 2030/31. We calculate it, apply the reliefs that fit, and file RTI to HMRC on every pay run.

Pension auto-enrolment managed

We assess eligibility, auto-enrol qualifying workers into a compliant pension at the 3% employer minimum, handle opt-outs and re-enrolment, and meet The Pensions Regulator’s duties.

Working in days, not weeks

We employ your UK hires through our established structure — right-to-work checks included — so they can start in days, with no company formation or PAYE-scheme setup on your side.

Employ in the UK without your own entity

The UK is one of the most accessible major hiring markets in the world — English-speaking, common-law, a global finance and tech hub — but its employer obligations have grown heavier and its employment law is getting more protective, not less. Since April 2025, employer National Insurance is charged at 15%, up from 13.8%, on earnings above a secondary threshold cut to just £5,000 and now frozen to 2030/31 — so an employer pays NIC on almost the whole salary. Pension auto-enrolment is mandatory, PAYE and Real Time Information reporting run on every pay cycle, and a right-to-work check is a legal requirement before anyone’s first day.

The bigger shift is the Employment Rights Act 2025, which is being switched on in waves through 2026 and 2027. The change that matters most to an employer takes effect on 1 January 2027: the qualifying period for an ordinary unfair-dismissal claim drops from two years to six months, and the cap on compensatory awards is removed. Anyone already employed with six months’ service on that date is covered immediately. Process discipline stops being optional.

TopSource is UK-headquartered, so this is our home market. We employ your UK hires through our established structure, run PAYE and RTI, calculate employer NIC and apply the reliefs that apply, manage pension auto-enrolment, and keep pace with the reform timetable — so your team can start in days, without you forming a company or operating a PAYE scheme.

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Calculate Your Employee Costs in the UK

Enter a gross salary to see the full monthly cost of a hire in the UK — employer National Insurance above the £5,000 threshold and the employer pension contribution included in your total spend per employee.

Employment Cost Calculator

*Indicative figures only and not definitive legal advice. Local regulations change frequently. Consult an expert

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How EOR in the UK works: the process through TopSource

Step 1

Confirm the role and structure

We agree the position, salary and benefits with you, confirm National Living Wage banding where relevant, and assess pension auto-enrolment eligibility.

Step 2

Issue a compliant contract

Your new hire receives a written statement of employment particulars — a day-one right — compliant with UK employment law, with notice, holiday, sick pay and pension terms set out. We complete the right-to-work check before the start date.

Step 3

Set up payroll and pension

We add the employee to our PAYE scheme, enrol them in a compliant workplace pension where eligible, and register their tax code with HMRC.

Step 4

Run payroll and report to HMRC

We calculate salary, employer NIC at 15% above £5,000, deduct PAYE income tax, employee NIC and pension, and file RTI to HMRC on or before every pay date.

Step 5

Support the relationship day to day

Your account manager and the employee both have a direct line for payslips, P60s, holiday, statutory pay and anything else that comes up.

Know your UK hiring costs before you commit

Tell us the role and salary — we’ll send back the full UK employment cost, employer NIC and pension included, within one business day.

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Employer Costs in the UK at a Glance

15 %

Employer National Insurance above the £5,000 threshold

£ 12.71 /hr

National Living Wage (21+) from April 2026

3 %

Minimum employer pension contribution (auto-enrolment)

Employer Costs in the UK Explained

UK employer costs centre on National Insurance and pension. Employer NIC is 15% of earnings above a £5,000 secondary threshold — unchanged for 2026/27 and frozen to 2030/31 — and pension auto-enrolment requires a minimum 3% employer contribution on qualifying earnings, 8% in total with the employee. Eligible employers can offset up to £10,500 of NIC through the Employment Allowance. The National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026. Here’s the breakdown.

Employer (Class 1 Secondary) National Insurance is the main UK employer cost. From 6 April 2025 the rate rose from 13.8% to 15%, and the secondary threshold — the point at which employer NIC starts — was cut from £9,100 to £5,000 a year. Both figures are unchanged for 2026/27, and the threshold is frozen to 2030/31, so an employer now pays 15% on almost all of an employee’s earnings and inflation quietly widens the base each year. Worked through: at the 2026/27 National Living Wage, about £24,785 a year for a full-time role, employer NIC is roughly £2,968; on a £50,000 salary it is £6,750. There is no upper limit, so unlike the employee’s contribution it does not taper at higher pay. Eligible employers can offset up to £10,500 through the Employment Allowance — and the old restriction that barred employers with more than £100,000 of NIC liability from claiming it has been removed, which is a genuine change for anyone who assumed they were ineligible. Separate relief zero-rates employer NIC for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25, up to an upper secondary threshold aligned with £50,270. We calculate NIC correctly and apply whichever reliefs fit.

Employers must automatically enrol eligible workers — aged 22 to State Pension age and earning over £10,000 a year — into a qualifying workplace pension. On the standard basis the minimum contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings, the band between £6,240 and £50,270, of which the employer pays at least 3% and the employee typically 5% including tax relief. Both ends of that band are frozen for 2026/27, confirmed by the Pensions Minister in December 2025. Two details that catch employers out: the contribution is calculated on the band, not the whole salary, so a £60,000 hire and a £50,270 one attract the same pension cost on the standard basis; and employers who prefer a simpler payroll can instead certify a scheme on total or basic pay, which removes the band but raises the minimum percentages. Workers can opt out, but must be re-enrolled roughly every three years. We assess eligibility, enrol, manage contributions and opt-outs, and file the declaration of compliance with The Pensions Regulator.

The UK operates Pay As You Earn: the employer deducts income tax and employee National Insurance at source and reports to HMRC under Real Time Information on or before every payday — late RTI attracts penalties, and the deadline is the pay date itself, not month end. Before anyone’s first day the employer must also complete a right-to-work check; getting it wrong exposes the business to a civil penalty per worker, and it is one of the most common compliance gaps we see in companies hiring their first UK employee from abroad. The National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026, with £10.85 for 18 to 20-year-olds and £8.00 for under-18s and apprentices. We run PAYE, file RTI on time, complete right-to-work checks and apply the correct minimum wage and tax code.

UK employment law is protective and is being tightened on a published timetable. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is coming into force in waves across 2026 and 2027 — harassment duties landed on 30 October 2026, with further measures following. The change that most affects an employer takes effect on 1 January 2027: the qualifying period for an ordinary unfair-dismissal claim falls from two years to six months, and the statutory cap on compensatory awards is removed. It is worth being precise here, because it is widely reported wrongly: this is not a day-one right, but six months is short enough that in practice most hires reach it inside their first year, and employees who already have six months’ service on 1 January 2027 are covered from that date. Alongside that, statutory annual leave is 5.6 weeks — 28 days including public holidays for a full-time worker — plus Statutory Sick Pay and statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay. Statutory minimum notice is one week per year of continuous service, capped at 12 weeks. As the employer of record, we apply the correct entitlements and run dismissals to a process that holds up.

EOR or entity setup: which one fits your UK plan?

Setting up a UK company and running your own PAYE scheme is quicker than in most countries — that is genuinely a UK advantage — but it still means HMRC registration, RTI filing on every pay date, a pension scheme to select and certify, right-to-work compliance, and the admin of every statutory payment. And the compliance floor is rising: from January 2027 an employee can bring an unfair-dismissal claim after six months rather than two years, with no cap on the award. An EOR makes sense while you’re testing the market or hiring a first small team — and on TopSource’s home turf, you get established UK payroll and compliance from day one. Your own entity makes sense once UK headcount and permanence justify it; we transfer the team across when the time comes.

Consider an EOR if you’re:

Hiring your first one to ten people in the UK
A non-UK company wanting UK staff without forming a UK company
Testing the UK market before committing to an entity and PAYE scheme
Working to a hiring deadline measured in days, not weeks

Get a cost comparison

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at Westminster seen from above, with Westminster Abbey and the London skyline behind, United Kingdom

Why TopSource for Employing in the UK

TopSource for Employer of Record, global payroll or any other of our services represent a simpler, more reliable and transparent option.

We don’t hide fees or sneak price increases. We don’t lock you in for employees you don’t use. And the UK is our home market — you’re working with specialists who run UK PAYE, employer NIC, RTI and pension auto-enrolment on home ground, reachable directly by phone, and who track the Employment Rights Act timetable so you don’t have to. We blend HR advisory with in-market expertise, and we stay flexible around the needs of your business.

EOR Services UK Payroll

A string of Union Jack bunting hanging against green summer foliage, United Kingdom

“Their expertise and understanding of the unique hiring, payment, and human resource practices in each country has been nothing short of outstanding. Our Client Success Manager, has done just that … ensured our success. Her availability and willingness to engage on a personal level has made all the difference.”

Director of Research Operations,

“Excellent service, especially from our account manager who has gone above and beyond to help us use the platform effectively. Our manager, significantly simplifies my workload. It is like having your own TopSource HR representative on your team.”

Chief Human Resources Officer,

“TopSource has been our go-to resource for international hiring. They are responsive, thorough, respectful and knowledgeable. The Client Success team has provided us with the utmost customer service, and the more we use TopSource, the more, it gives us access to more resources and knowledge.”

Senior Manager, Human Resources ,

More than an Employer of Record.

Employer of Record services are only one way that we help you accelerate your global growth goals. From talent advisory to entity management, we give you the tools you need to research, enter and expand into your key markets.

Market Selection Advisory

Compare available talent, compensation, additional costs and regulations across different countries

Salary Benchmarking

Identify and prioritize markets for growth based on talent, cost & regulations

Global Skills Analysis

Map skill availability by region to align talent strategies with business goals..

Talent Acquisition

Find, hire & onboard the highly skilled team members you need in each locality.

Talent Strategy Optimization

Optimize your talent strategy to enable your organization to achieve it’s global ambitions.

Global Benefits Review

Benchmark your global benefits to boost employee retention.

Frequently
asked questions

Beyond gross salary, the two main employer costs are National Insurance — 15% of earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold — and the minimum 3% pension contribution on qualifying earnings. On a £50,000 salary that is £6,750 of NIC plus about £1,320 of pension on the standard basis. Eligible employers can offset up to £10,500 of NIC through the Employment Allowance, and the old £100,000 liability restriction on claiming it has been removed. We quote the exact all-in figure per hire before you commit.

Employer (Class 1 Secondary) NIC is 15% of earnings above a £5,000 annual secondary threshold, up from 13.8% above £9,100 before April 2025. Both figures are unchanged for 2026/27 and the threshold is frozen to 2030/31, so the effective cost creeps up with every pay rise. There is no upper limit. Reliefs apply for under-21s and apprentices under 25, and eligible employers can claim the £10,500 Employment Allowance. We calculate it and apply the reliefs correctly.

Employers must auto-enrol eligible workers — aged 22 to State Pension age, earning over £10,000 — into a qualifying workplace pension, with a minimum 8% total contribution on qualifying earnings: at least 3% from the employer, typically 5% from the employee. Qualifying earnings are the band between £6,240 and £50,270, both frozen for 2026/27, so the contribution is calculated on the band rather than the whole salary. Workers can opt out but are re-enrolled about every three years. We handle assessment, enrolment, contributions, opt-outs and the compliance declaration.

From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, a 4.1% rise confirmed in the Autumn Budget. The 18 to 20 rate is £10.85 and under-18s and apprentices are on £8.00. It is a legal floor, uprated every April. We apply the correct rate by age band automatically.

The Act is being switched on in waves through 2026 and 2027 rather than all at once. The change employers most need to plan for takes effect on 1 January 2027: the qualifying period for an ordinary unfair-dismissal claim drops from two years to six months, and the statutory cap on compensatory awards is removed. This is often reported as a day-one right — it is not — but six months is short enough that most hires will reach it within their first year, and anyone already holding six months’ service on that date is protected immediately. As the employer of record we track the timetable and run dismissals to a process that holds up.

EOR wins on speed and on getting established UK payroll and compliance from day one with no PAYE scheme to run, no pension scheme to certify and no right-to-work process to build. Your own company wins on scale once UK headcount and permanence justify it. Many clients run both in sequence — EOR to enter, entity once proven — and we transfer the team across when the time comes.

Statutory minimums cover pension auto-enrolment and sick pay, but competitive UK employers typically add private medical insurance, income protection, an enhanced pension contribution above the 3% employer minimum, and additional annual leave beyond the statutory 28 days (inclusive of bank holidays). Hybrid and remote work flexibility remains a strong differentiator in the UK hiring market.

Statutory minimum notice is one week for each year of continuous service, capped at 12 weeks, and contracts often specify longer for senior roles. The bigger change is on dismissal itself: until now employees generally needed two years’ continuous service to bring an ordinary unfair-dismissal claim, but from 1 January 2027 the Employment Rights Act 2025 cuts that qualifying period to six months and removes the cap on compensatory awards. Anyone already holding six months’ service on that date is covered immediately. Discrimination and certain other claims have never had a service requirement, so a fair, documented process has always mattered — from 2027 it matters for almost every employee on the payroll.

An EOR can have your hire working in days — typically two to five — because the employment sits inside a PAYE scheme that is already registered with HMRC, already filing RTI and already attached to a qualifying pension scheme. Incorporating a UK company is genuinely quick, often the same day, so that is not the bottleneck. Becoming an operational employer is: registering a PAYE scheme with HMRC, selecting and certifying a workplace pension, completing right-to-work checks and setting up payroll commonly run to three to six weeks. For a first UK hire or a small commercial presence, that gap is usually the deciding factor.