Employer of Record · EMEA
Employer of Record (EOR) in United Kingdom
A UK Employer of Record is a licensed British company that employs your worker, operating PAYE, National Insurance and pension auto-enrolment under its own HMRC registration. TalentStores matches and orchestrates vetted UK EOR partners from one platform.
- Time to hire
- 3–7 days
- Employer NI
- ~15%
- Payroll cycle
- Monthly
- Currency
- GBP
Why hire in United Kingdom
The UK is the usual first European hire for US companies: English-speaking, common-law contracts, strong fintech, AI and enterprise software talent, and time zones that bridge the US East Coast and continental Europe.
Setting up is not the hard part — running it is. A UK employer needs a PAYE scheme, real-time information filing every pay run, pension auto-enrolment with a qualifying scheme, and correct handling of statutory sick, maternity and redundancy pay. An EOR partner already operates all of it.
English-language talent hub
London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol supply deep engineering, finance and commercial talent.
US–EU bridge time zone
Overlaps a full European day and most of the US East Coast morning.
Familiar contract law
Common-law employment contracts that US and Commonwealth legal teams read easily.
No PAYE scheme to run
The partner holds the HMRC registration and files real-time information every pay run.
Pension handled
Auto-enrolment into a qualifying workplace scheme with opt-out and re-enrolment managed.
Right-to-work assurance
Statutory right-to-work checks completed and evidenced before day one.
Compliance and statutory requirements in United Kingdom
Leave and holiday entitlements, social security, termination rules and payroll cadence — the obligations your employment partner carries on your behalf.
Paid leave
Statutory minimum 5.6 weeks (28 days) including public holidays for a five-day week; most competitive offers give 25 days plus bank holidays.
Public holidays
Eight bank holidays in England and Wales, nine in Scotland, ten in Northern Ireland — may be counted within the statutory 28 days.
Social security contributions
Employer National Insurance at 15% above the secondary threshold, plus the Apprenticeship Levy for large payrolls.
Pension auto-enrolment
Minimum 3% employer and 5% employee contribution on qualifying earnings, with statutory re-enrolment every three years.
Termination rules
Statutory notice from one week, unfair dismissal protection after two years' service, and a fair process plus statutory redundancy pay where redundancy applies.
Payroll cycle
Monthly, paid on a fixed date, with RTI submissions to HMRC on or before each payment and P60/P45 issuance.
Cost of employment in United Kingdom
Salary is only part of the number. These are the components that make up fully loaded cost, all modelled in GBP before you extend an offer.
Gross salary
The negotiated annual salary, quoted gross of PAYE and employee National Insurance.
Employer National Insurance
15% of earnings above the secondary threshold — the largest statutory add-on.
Pension contribution
Minimum 3% of qualifying earnings; many employers match up to 5–8% to stay competitive.
Apprenticeship Levy
0.5% of payroll above GBP 3m, generally only relevant at scale.
Benefits
Private medical, life assurance and income protection are common but not mandatory.
EOR and platform fee
Per-employee partner fee plus the TalentStores orchestration fee, quoted separately.
How TalentStores and the partner network deliver it
TalentStores is not the employer of record. We are the orchestration layer that selects, contracts and manages the licensed employment partner in United Kingdom — and gives you one system of record across every country you hire in.
Partner matched, not assumed
We match your role and headcount to vetted employment partners licensed in United Kingdom, and show you the fee, coverage and service levels side by side before you commit.
One contract, one platform
You contract with TalentStores. Partner agreements, employment contracts and amendments are generated, signed and stored against the employee record.
Cost modelled before offer
Statutory contributions, mandatory benefits, accruals and partner fees are calculated up front, so the offer you approve is the cost you actually carry.
Onboarding orchestrated
Document collection, background checks, registrations and start-date readiness run as a tracked workflow instead of an email thread.
Payroll and settlement in one bill
Every partner invoice flows through the commercial engine, reconciled per employee and settled on a single consolidated bill.
Compliance monitored continuously
Statutory changes in United Kingdom are pushed by the partner network and reflected in your cost model and contracts, not discovered at audit.
EOR in United Kingdom: frequently asked questions
Can we employ someone in the UK without a UK company?
Yes. A UK EOR partner employs the person under its own PAYE scheme and becomes the legal employer, while you keep day-to-day direction of the work.
What is the employer cost on top of UK salary?
Budget roughly 18–20% above gross salary: employer National Insurance at 15% above the secondary threshold plus at least 3% pension, before any private medical or life cover.
How much holiday must UK employees get?
5.6 weeks — 28 days for a five-day week — which may include the eight bank holidays. Most competitive offers separate 25 days of annual leave from bank holidays.
How does termination work in the UK?
Statutory notice starts at one week and rises with service. After two years an employee gains unfair dismissal protection, so a fair reason and process are required; redundancy triggers statutory redundancy pay. The partner runs it with UK counsel.
Does the EOR handle right-to-work and visas?
Right-to-work checks are always completed by the partner. Sponsored visas require a licensed sponsor — coordinated through our immigration partners rather than the EOR itself.
Related solutions
Get the United Kingdom Hiring Cost Guide
A country brief covering fully loaded employment cost in GBP, statutory contributions, leave and termination rules, and a sample offer breakdown for United Kingdom.
Ready to hire in United Kingdom?
Book a working session with our team, or take a self-guided tour of the platform first. Either way you will see the real workflow, partners and commercials before you commit.
Prefer numbers first? See pricing