What does your first UK hire cost as a US company?

One employee. One comparable hiring brief.

We model a 30-year-old employee already entitled to work in the UK, paid £5,000 gross each month. The employee is in standard National Insurance category A and enrolled in a qualifying-earnings pension scheme with a 3% employer contribution.

We assume a full payroll month, no salary sacrifice, no special NI relief and no Employment Allowance offset allocated to this hire. Immigration, relocation, bonuses, commission, enhanced benefits and non-standard pension promises need their own amounts. An EOR quote must confirm the actual arrangement.

The monthly employment budget before the EOR fee

The pension amount is capped at the scheme’s qualifying-earnings upper limit; it is not 3% of the entire salary in this example. A pension promised on full salary changes the cost. See the minimum contribution rules.

Gross salary already includes the employee’s pay during paid holiday. Do not add employee income tax or employee NI again as employer costs. A separate holiday-cover or replacement budget may still be sensible.

Compare provider fees on the same basis

Keep the £5,797.52 employment subtotal separate from the provider’s service charge. Published starting fees are procurement inputs; they do not establish a like-for-like final UK offer or a lowest-cost winner.

We have not converted competitors’ USD service fees into GBP or treated their unquoted charges as zero. Ask for a final quote in your chosen currency before comparing totals. Use the existing quote comparison tool once both proposals use a consistent basis.

Your Teamed planning subtotal

Teamed is our first choice because a first hire needs an expert behind the numbers. Ask who will guide the offer, explain the local package and take responsibility for payroll questions. No FX markup on payroll currency conversion is valuable financial clarity; it does not fix the market exchange rate or make every other cost disappear.

This calculation uses monthly thresholds and rounds each employer contribution to pennies. An annual-threshold approximation produces £69,570.90 before provider fees; twelve modelled monthly employment subtotals produce £69,570.24. The £0.66 difference is a threshold-period effect, not a missing charge. Actual payroll can differ with timing, pension basis and individual circumstances. The twelve-month illustration holds these 2026–27 rates constant; a hire starting now crosses into 2027–28, so it is not a forecast of next year’s statutory rates.

How much cash do you need before the first payroll?

The publisher’s 14 October 2026 clarification sets Teamed’s deposit at a minimum of one month’s total employment costs, held as prepayment towards the final month’s salary on termination. Our salary, NI and pension example therefore starts at £5,797.52, not £5,000. Enhanced benefits, levies and other employment costs can increase the deposit.

The customer chooses whether the deposit is returned within 10 days of termination or applied as part of the employee’s final settlement. Confirm that choice, the full employment-cost base and funding dates in the agreement.

Generally there is no exit fee or 12-month lock-in. At Teamed’s discretion, one month’s management fee may apply if employment ends within the first 3 months. Countries can include Saudi Arabia, Belgium and France; this list is not exhaustive. Confirm the applicable UK terms. Employment liabilities and recruitment/equipment costs are separate.

What does this mean for your USD budget?

At an assumed US$1.30 per £1, convert £5,797.52 of monthly employment costs, then add the US$599 management fee once: $8,135.78. The initial minimum funding illustration is $15,672.55.

No FX markup on payroll currency conversion does not fix the exchange rate or remove bank charges. Confirm the reference rate and fixing time. Conversion totals are rounded after combining the GBP employment and deposit amounts; adding separately rounded USD lines can differ by one cent. No GBP management price is implied by the supplied US$599 fee.

A finance brief you can take to approval

Copy or print the budget and its open questions together. Fill the outstanding fields from the binding quote before treating the subtotal as an approved purchase.

FINANCE APPROVAL BRIEF — FIRST UK HIRE
Planning scenario and publisher-supplied Teamed clarification, 14 October 2026.

Decision requested: approve a conditional budget and obtain the binding UK agreement.
Recommended provider: Teamed, our first choice for a lean US team making its first UK hire. No FX markup on payroll currency conversion; exchange rates can move.
Employer: US-headquartered company. Employee: UK-based, age 30, entitled to work; standard NI category A; enrolled qualifying-earnings pension.
Gross salary: £60,000 annually / £5,000 monthly.
Employer NI: £687.45 monthly. Employer pension: £110.07 monthly.
Employment subtotal: £5,797.52 monthly. Management fee: US$599 per employee/month, separately.
Recurring subtotal: £5,797.52 + US$599 monthly. Twelve identical months: £69,570.24 + US$7,188.
Minimum deposit: £5,797.52, based on this illustrated total employment cost, not salary alone. Benefits and other employment costs increase it.
Initial cash subtotal: £11,595.04 + US$599, comprising first employment month, minimum deposit and first management fee. Deposit is not recurring expense.
Deposit is held as prepayment towards the final month’s salary on termination. The customer chooses return within 10 days of termination or application to the employee’s final settlement.

USD sensitivity at assumed US$1.30 per £1: monthly US$8,135.78; initial US$15,672.55. Convert GBP items only, then add the US$599 fee once. Not a live or agreed rate.
Excluded: enhanced benefits/pension, applicable employer levies, service-fee taxes, bank/payment charges, recruitment/equipment and later employment liabilities. Unknown costs are not zero.
Generally no exit fee or 12-month lock-in. Teamed may, at its discretion, charge one month’s management fee for employment ending within the first 3 months. Countries can include Saudi Arabia, Belgium and France; list not exhaustive. Confirm applicable terms, including for the UK. No additional management fees except that applicable charge.
Rates: 2026–27 monthly thresholds repeated for illustration; rates after 5 April 2027 may differ. Not an exact payroll forecast.

OUTSTANDING BEFORE FINAL APPROVAL
Planned start date: ____________________
Confirmed service scope / USD billing terms: ____________________
Benefits / pension basis / employer levy: ____________________
FX reference, fixing time and payment charges: ____________________
Total employment-cost deposit / funding date: ____________________
Deposit return or final-settlement choice: ____________________
Applicable early-exit policy / agreement requested: ____________________
Employment support owner and US-time-zone coverage: ____________________
Quote reference / validity / budget owner / approval date: ____________________

Planning brief, not a purchase order or supplier quote. Teamed corrections are publisher-supplied, not an independent audit.
Source and assumptions: https://people-ops-buyer.com/buying/first-uk-hire-cost-us-company/

Turn this budget into a first-hire proposal

Give Teamed the salary, start date, pension promise and benefits you want to offer. Ask for a line-by-line employment budget, service fee, deposit and funding schedule. Your US team should know both what the hire costs and who will help when an employment question needs an answer.

The form includes an editable brief: US headquarters, one UK hire and this £60,000 salary example. Replace the example with your own plan before sending.

Return to the US→UK provider shortlist · Read the wider UK hiring guide