Payroll and employer facts by country
Employing in Europe.
Statutory payroll and employer facts for the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Cyprus, Spain, Poland and Portugal, with the 2026 values and a link to the official source for each.
Every fact was last checked on 11 November 2026.
- Nine countries
- 81 facts
- Official sources only
- Checked 11 November 2026
The nine countries at a glance
Each value links to the full fact on the country page, with its official source. Withholding, pension and notice rules are on the country pages.
Netherlands
- Employer social security
- 15.61% to 21.97% in total, plus a variable Whk premium, on pay up to EUR 79,409 a yearOur sum of the published rates
- Salary payments a year
- 12 (or 13 four-weekly) plus an 8% holiday allowance
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Employer, at least 70%, up to 104 weeks
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- Yes: payroll tax number (loonheffingennummer) from the Belastingdienst
- Probation maximum
- 2 months
United Kingdom
- Employer social security
- 15% above GBP 5,000 a year, no ceiling
- Salary payments a year
- No statutory 13th month
- Annual leave
- 5.6 weeks (28 days)
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Employer: Statutory Sick Pay GBP 123.25 a week from day 1, up to 28 weeks
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- Optional PAYE registration with HMRC; required for employer National Insurance where a social security agreement applies
- Probation maximum
- No statutory probation
Germany
- Minimum wage
- EUR 13.90 an hour, from 1 January 2026
- Employer social security
- About 21% in total, plus levies; ceilings EUR 8,450 and EUR 5,812.50 a monthOur sum of the published rates
- Salary payments a year
- No statutory 13th month
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Employer, 100%, up to 6 weeks; then the health insurance fund
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- Yes: Betriebsnummer, accident insurer and a German representative; wage tax only if a domestic employer
- Probation maximum
- 6 months
Italy
- Employer social security
- Pension 23.81% plus sector items and INAIL; ceiling EUR 122,295 for staff insured from 1996Our sum of the published rates
- Salary payments a year
- 13; 14 under some collective agreements
- Annual leave
- 4 weeks
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- INPS from day 4, advanced by the employer, up to 180 days
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- In part: INPS registration; no Italian tax withholding without a permanent establishmentBeing confirmed with the authority
- Probation maximum
- 6 months
France
- Employer social security
- Health 13%, old age 10.66%, family 5.25%, unemployment 4%, AGIRC-ARRCO 6.01%; ceiling EUR 4,005 a monthOur sum of the published rates
- Salary payments a year
- 12; no statutory 13th month
- Annual leave
- 30 working days (5 weeks)
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Health insurance 50% from day 4; employer top-up after 1 year of service
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- Yes: SIRET number, the Urssaf foreign firms service, income tax through the DSN
- Probation maximum
- 2, 3 or 4 months by job category, renewable once
Cyprus
- Employer social security
- 15.4% in total; ceiling EUR 5,742 a month on most partsOur sum of the published rates
- Salary payments a year
- No statutory 13th month
- Annual leave
- 20 working days on a five-day week
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Social Insurance from day 4, up to 156 days
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- In part: EU, EEA and Swiss employers register with Social Insurance; Tax Department registrationBeing confirmed with the authority
- Probation maximum
- 26 weeks (104 if agreed in writing)
Spain
- Minimum wage
- EUR 1,221 a month (14 payments)
- Employer social security
- 30.65% in total, plus accident insurance; ceiling EUR 5,101.20 a monthOur sum of the published rates
- Salary payments a year
- 14
- Annual leave
- 30 calendar days
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Employer days 4 to 15; Social Security from day 16
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- Yes: Social Security account code and tax number; the employer withholds
Poland
- Minimum wage
- PLN 4,806 a month
- Employer social security
- About 20.48% in total; pension and disability ceiling PLN 282,600 a yearOur sum of the published rates
- Salary payments a year
- 12; no 13th month in the private sector
- Annual leave
- 20 or 26 working days
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Employer 80% for 33 days (14 from age 50); then ZUS
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- Yes: tax number and ZUS payer registration; employees pay their own tax advances
- Probation maximum
- 3 months
Portugal
- Minimum wage
- EUR 920 a month (14 payments, mainland)
- Employer social security
- 23.75%, no ceiling
- Salary payments a year
- 14
- Annual leave
- 22 working days
- Sick pay (who pays first)
- Social Security from day 4, up to 1,095 days
- Foreign employer without a local entity
- Not confirmed: the route without any Portuguese establishmentBeing confirmed with the authority
- Probation maximum
- 90 days (180 or 240 for some roles)
Checked 11 November 2026. Values change; the source link is the authority.
Our sum of the published rates: a total that no source states, added up by Octagon from the published rates; the components are on the country page. Being confirmed with the authority: the confirmed part is shown and the open part is named.
Changes coming
Published: fixed in a legal instrument or by the authority. Announced: decided by the government, instrument not yet made. Proposed: a draft, bill or consultation. Expected: the authority has not yet published the next value.
30 November 2026PublishedCyprus · Payroll tax withholding and filing
Deadline for the 2025 annual employer withholding return (TD7), extended to 30 November 2026.
1 December 2026AnnouncedFrance · Minimum wage
The Smic rises by 1.6%, as the government announced on 9 November 2026. The new gross hourly and monthly amounts follow in the decree, not yet published on 11 November 2026.
1 December 2026PublishedSpain · Sick pay
Royal Decree-law 31/2026 adds two special sick-leave situations (a menopause-related disorder and injuries from gender violence), paid by Social Security from the day after sick leave starts. The employer still pays days 4 to 15 of ordinary illness.
1 January 2027PublishedNetherlands · Minimum wage
EUR 15.29 gross an hour from age 21; the youth percentages rise (age 20: 87.5%, EUR 13.38).
1 January 2027ProposedNetherlands · Employer social security contributions
Intended 2027 rates: disability (Aof) 6.67% for small employers and 8.03% for others, average Whk 1.67%, Zvw employer levy 6.27%; unemployment (AWf) and the childcare surcharge unchanged. The 2027 maximum premium wage is not yet published.
1 January 2027PublishedUnited Kingdom · Probation and notice
The qualifying period for unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months, and the cap on the compensatory award is removed (Great Britain). Statutory notice does not change.
1 January 2027PublishedGermany · Minimum wage
EUR 14.60 gross an hour.
1 January 2027ProposedGermany · Employer social security contributions
Contribution ceilings of EUR 8,850 a month for pension and unemployment insurance and EUR 6,375 a month for health insurance, adopted by the federal cabinet and awaiting the consent of the Bundesrat. The average additional health contribution stays at 2.9%.
1 January 2027PublishedItaly · Payroll tax withholding and filing
The Consolidated Act on tax payments (Legislative Decree 33/2025) takes effect; the deadline of the 16th of the following month does not change.
Source: DECRETO LEGISLATIVO 24 marzo 2025, n. 33 - Testo unico in materia di versamenti e di riscossione
1 January 2027AnnouncedFrance · Employer social security contributions
Social security ceiling EUR 4,075 a month (EUR 48,900 a year). The 2027 contribution rates are not yet published.
Source: Plafond annuel de la Sécurité sociale, une augmentation prévue pour 2027
1 January 2027PublishedSpain · Employer social security contributions
The intergenerational equity contribution (MEI) rises to 1.00% (employer 0.83%) and the solidarity contribution on pay above the maximum base to 1.38%, 1.50% and 1.75%. The 2027 maximum base is not yet published.
1 January 2027ProposedSpain · Minimum wage
A draft decree sets EUR 1,286 a month in 14 payments; it was open for public comment from 5 to 16 November 2026.
Source: REAL DECRETO /2026, de X de X, por el que se fija el salario mínimo interprofesional para 2027.
1 January 2027PublishedPoland · Minimum wage
PLN 4,950 a month (PLN 32.30 an hour for civil-law contracts).
1 January 2027PublishedPoland · Employer social security contributions
Annual pension and disability ceiling PLN 300,990.
1 January 2027AnnouncedPortugal · Minimum wage
EUR 970 a month on the mainland, announced with the 2027 State Budget; the decree-law is not yet made.
Source: OE 2027: um Portugal mais preparado, com mais rendimento e investimento
1 January 2027PublishedPortugal · Payroll tax withholding and filing
All employers move to the new Social Security contribution model: confirm the declaration by the 20th and pay from the 1st to the 25th of the following month. Income tax deadlines do not change.
1 January 2027PublishedPortugal · Pension
Normal pension age 66 years 11 months.
End of January 2027ExpectedItaly · Employer social security contributions
The INPS circular with the 2027 contribution ceiling; the 2026 circular was dated 30 January 2026.
December 2026 to January 2027ExpectedCyprus · Employer social security contributions
The notice of the 2027 maximum insurable earnings; the 2026 notice was dated December 2025 and posted on 15 January 2026.
By 28 February 2027PublishedPoland · Pension
Employers tell staff who opted out of Employee Capital Plans (PPK) that contributions resume on 1 April 2027, under the re-enrolment every four years.
Source: Autozapis 2027 w PPK
1 April 2027AnnouncedUnited Kingdom · Minimum wage
National Living Wage GBP 13.21 an hour (aged 21 and over), GBP 11.27 (18 to 20) and GBP 8.31 (under 18 and apprentices), accepted by the government on 28 October 2026; the regulations are not yet made.
Source: LPC recommendations take the National Living Wage to £13.21
Date not yet setProposedCyprus · Pension
A pension reform bill (Social Insurance (Amending) Law of 2026) was at final legal review before the Council of Ministers and Parliament on 8 October 2026. It is not enacted, and its start date and effect on employers are not yet known.
Questions and answers
Which European countries pay a 13th or 14th month salary?
Spain and Portugal give employees two extra payments a year by law, so pay normally comes in 14 instalments, and in Italy a 13th month is binding by decree for industrial employers and otherwise comes from national collective agreements, some of which add a 14th. The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Cyprus and Poland have no statutory 13th month for private employers; in the Netherlands employers must pay a holiday allowance of at least 8% of gross pay.
In which European countries can a foreign company run payroll without a local entity?
Official guidance in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Poland describes how a foreign employer registers for payroll without a local entity, although the steps differ: in Germany it needs a representative in the country, and in Poland its employees pay their own income tax advances. In Italy and Cyprus part of the route is confirmed and in Portugal it is not; these points are being confirmed with the authority.
Who pays sick pay first in each country?
The employer pays first in the Netherlands (at least 70% of wages, for up to 104 weeks), the United Kingdom (Statutory Sick Pay from the first day), Germany (full pay for up to six weeks), Spain (days 4 to 15 of ordinary illness) and Poland (at least 80% for up to 33 days a year). In Italy, France, Cyprus and Portugal the state insurer pays sickness benefit from the fourth day; in Italy the employer advances it, and in France the employer tops it up after one year's service.
In which European countries is a workplace pension mandatory?
A workplace pension is mandatory in the United Kingdom (automatic enrolment), France (the AGIRC-ARRCO complementary scheme) and Poland (Employee Capital Plans, PPK, with an opt-out for staff). In Italy, first-time private-sector hires have been enrolled automatically in a supplementary fund since 1 July 2026 unless they opt out within 60 days. In the Netherlands a workplace pension is compulsory only where a mandatory industry-wide pension fund or collective agreement applies, and Germany, Cyprus, Spain and Portugal have no mandatory workplace scheme.
How much paid annual leave do employees get in Europe?
The statutory minimum is 20 working days on a five-day week in the Netherlands, Germany, Cyprus and Poland (26 days in Poland after 10 years' service), four weeks in Italy, 22 working days in Portugal, 5.6 weeks (28 days on a five-day week) in the United Kingdom, 30 working days counted on a six-day week (five weeks) in France and 30 calendar days in Spain.
Where do these facts come from?
Every fact rests on an official source: a government ministry, tax authority, social security institution, official gazette or legislation database, or another public body such as Acas (statutory body) in the United Kingdom. Each source was read on 11 November 2026, the date shown as "Checked" next to each fact, and no fact rests on a guide published by a payroll or employer of record firm.
Country pages: Netherlands · United Kingdom · Germany · Italy · France · Cyprus · Spain · Poland · Portugal
Not legal or tax advice. General information on statutory rules, not legal or tax advice. Collective agreements and contracts often give more. Check the linked official source before acting.
Employing in Europe lists statutory facts with their official sources, checked by Octagon Professionals International. Corrections go to info@octagon.nl and are made within one working day.