UK professionals among lowest paid in Europe
Base salaries for entry-level professionals averages just £24,184 - ranking Britain 15th out of the 16 European nations
           
'The results suggest that Continental European wages have been less severely suppressed over the past few years than in the UK' Photo: PA

By Alan Tovey7:00AM GMT 11 Dec 2013
Pay for professionals starting out in the world of work in the UK is among the lowest in Europe, with only recession-ravaged Portugal lagging behind Britain.

Base salaries for entry-level professionals and experienced administrators in Britain averages just £24,184 - ranking it 15th out of the 16 European nations surveyed by professional services company Towers Watson.

This is just over a third of the £63,245 employees in top-ranked Switzerland can expect and slightly more than half the £45,464 young professionals in second-placed Denmark can expect to earn.

Similarly positioned staff in last-placed Portugal can expect to earn an average of £22,440 a year - £1,744 less than their British-based peers.

“The results suggest that Continental European wages have been less severely suppressed over the past few years than in the UK,” said Darryl Davis, a senior consultant in Towers Watson’s data services team. “This may be due to stronger unionisation for employees in many European countries.”

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The findings come out of Towers Watson’s Global 50 Remuneration Planning Report, which also examines the tax burden in each country, as well as the cost of living, to establish how much buying power employees get from their pay. This measure gives an indication of what an employee’s net income will provide within their country of residence.

When this is taken into account, the salaries for UK employees look more competitive as lower taxes and cheaper living costs make the country more affordable than many of our European neighbours.

This means that despite the relatively low pay, entry-level professionals in the UK are ranked sixth when it comes to purchasing power, above France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

Chris Charman, director of Towers Watson’s Rewards practice, said: “Although dependent on prevailing exchange rates, these data show that from a cost perspective the UK is relatively attractive for business compared with European peers.
“Despite a common labour market in the EU, it is striking to see how divergent base pay levels remain across the Continent. But employers need to be mindful of the total package; for example in some countries such as the UK, annual bonuses play a more prominent role in addition to base pay.”

I went to Denmark... I kid you not it is the most expensive country  i would think in the world...they also pay one of the highest taxes...how they do it I do not know.. I do know many many of them travel everywhere by bike...everyone uses them.. but food and meat in particular is dear... I dont think their wages are all that high either...... we always compare wages with whats paid in our own country.. but if you go to these countries like Britain   they seem to be doing awfully well....and when I was overseas.. I didnt hear the whingeing and asking for more and more like goes on here.....

make of that what you will..

you reckon our professionals are well off but it doesnt stop them wanting more does it?