Want a good salary? Move to switzerland

Photo: Dibaer

The UK has improved its position in the European pay league in the last 12 months according to the latest Towers Watson Global 50 Remuneration Planning Report.

The UK's average salary for entry-level employees overtook both Spain and Italy this year. Nonetheless, Switzerland remains in clear poll position with entry-level pay at more than twice what an equivalent UK worker could expect to earn (£66,671 per annum compared to £27,199 pa).

The UK also continues to lag significantly behind the rest of the top five (Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway and Germany) for entry-level salaries.

Base salaries for professional staff rank at 13th and 7th out of the top 15 European economies for entry and middle-manager level respectively - an improvement upon 15th and 10th in 2013.

Indeed, for middle-management pay, the UK ranks higher in terms of its base-salary offering, moving past the Netherlands, Austria and Ireland in this year’s ranking, the rest of which has seen very little Change in the last 12 months. Despite the UK’s upward movement in this ranking, base salaries remain over £10,000 pa behind the top three: Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany.

Darryl Davis, senior consultant in Towers Watson’s Data Services team, said: “While our latest gross salary data does show some positive movement for the UK, on the European level there still remains a considerable gap in gross salary terms between it and the Continent’s highest wage markets. For the economy as whole, though, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it means UK wages are able to grow in a healthy way while remaining competitive in cost terms versus other Western European economies.”

The report also provides insight into how much ‘buying power’ employees in each country have, by taking into consideration tax burden and cost of living factors. When these measures are taken into account, the salaries for UK employees look more competitive. Due to lower taxes and cheaper living costs than in many other European countries, entry-level professionals in the UK move up to 6th and middle managers climb to 4th place in terms of relative wealth, above France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy in both cases.