Skip to the main content.
Talk to an expert
Talk to an expert
Featured Offer
Ambitious 50 →
6 months of Hire and Engage free for businesses under 50 people.

Hey Compono!

A coach that actually gets you.

Get 10 minutes free, then $15 a month. Cancel anytime.

Get Started ≫
Free tools › Employer on-costs by country

Employer on-costs: New Zealand vs United Kingdom

Statutory employer on-costs in New Zealand and the UK, side by side, with the primary source for every figure.

How do statutory employer costs compare between New Zealand and UK?

New Zealand: 3.5% compulsory KiwiSaver plus the ACC work levy (averaging $0.69 per $100 of wages). No payroll tax, no social security tax. United Kingdom: 15% employer National Insurance above £5,000 a year, plus a 3% minimum pension contribution on the £6,240 to £50,270 band. On a local salary of 100,000 that is NZ$3,500 (3.5%) in New Zealand versus £15,571 (15.6%) in the UK in fixed statutory costs.

New Zealand vs United Kingdom, side by side

New ZealandUnited Kingdom
The rule3.5% compulsory KiwiSaver plus the ACC work levy (averaging $0.69 per $100 of wages). No payroll tax, no social security tax.15% employer National Insurance above £5,000 a year, plus a 3% minimum pension contribution on the £6,240 to £50,270 band.
On 60,000 (local)NZ$2,100 (3.5%)£9,571 (16.0%)
On 100,000 (local)NZ$3,500 (3.5%)£15,571 (15.6%)
On 150,000 (local)NZ$5,250 (3.5%)£23,071 (15.4%)
Key numbersKiwiSaver employer minimum: 3.5% (4% from 1 Apr 2028); ACC work levy: Industry-rated, average NZ$0.69 per NZ$100 (excl GST); Payroll tax: NoneEmployer NI: 15% above £5,000/year; Pension minimum: 3% of the £6,240-£50,270 band; Employment Allowance: Up to £10,500 off NI for eligible employers

New Zealand

New Zealand is the lightest of the six on fixed employer costs: 3.5% KiwiSaver (rising to 4% in April 2028) and an industry-rated ACC work levy averaging 0.69%. ESCT is deducted from the employer contribution rather than added on top, a detail that trips up cost models. There is no payroll tax and no separate social security charge.

  • KiwiSaver employer minimum3.5% (4% from 1 Apr 2028)
  • ACC work levyIndustry-rated, average NZ$0.69 per NZ$100 (excl GST)
  • Payroll taxNone
  • ESCTDeducted from the contribution, not added to it
  • Employees can temporarily drop to 3%, which drops the employer minimum with them.

Source: Inland Revenue (3.5% from 1 Apr 2026). Checked July 2026.

United Kingdom

Employer NI runs at 15% on everything above a low £5,000 threshold, which makes it the heaviest headline rate of the six markets at typical salaries. Auto-enrolment adds a 3% employer minimum, but on the qualifying band only, not gross pay, a distinction plenty of cost models get wrong. The Employment Allowance refunds up to £10,500 for eligible smaller employers, and the 0.5% Apprenticeship Levy only bites above £3M of paybill.

  • Employer NI15% above £5,000/year
  • Pension minimum3% of the £6,240-£50,270 band
  • Employment AllowanceUp to £10,500 off NI for eligible employers
  • Apprenticeship Levy0.5%, paybills over £3M
  • Pension minimums are band-based: on a £100,000 salary the 3% applies to £44,030 of it, not the full amount.

Source: HMRC (2026-27 rates). Checked July 2026.

The maths: New Zealand

Salary (local)ComponentsTotal
60,000KiwiSaver employer contribution NZ$2,100NZ$2,100 (3.5%)
100,000KiwiSaver employer contribution NZ$3,500NZ$3,500 (3.5%)
150,000KiwiSaver employer contribution NZ$5,250NZ$5,250 (3.5%)

Plus the industry-rated ACC work levy (2026/27 average NZ$0.69 per NZ$100).

The maths: United Kingdom

Salary (local)ComponentsTotal
60,000Employer National Insurance £8,250; Pension auto-enrolment minimum £1,321£9,571 (16.0%)
100,000Employer National Insurance £14,250; Pension auto-enrolment minimum £1,321£15,571 (15.6%)
150,000Employer National Insurance £21,750; Pension auto-enrolment minimum £1,321£23,071 (15.4%)

Eligible employers deduct up to £10,500 Employment Allowance from the NI bill; the 0.5% Apprenticeship Levy applies above £3M of paybill.

Hiring in both markets?

Put a full number on each side with the true-cost calculators: True cost of an employee (New Zealand) and True cost of an employee (UK). The complete six-market picture is on the Employer on-costs by country page.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the government source for its market.

MarketSourceRule / effectiveVerified
New ZealandInland Revenue3.5% from 1 Apr 2026Checked July 2026
United KingdomHMRC2026-27 ratesChecked July 2026
Where Compono fits

Comparing entitlements is the easy half of hiring across markets. The hard half is whether the person you hire in Sydney, Singapore or Seattle will actually work out, and that risk looks the same in every jurisdiction. Compono matches candidates on how they work, not just what the CV claims, so the hires behind these numbers hold up wherever you make them.

See how it works

Common questions

What is the rule on employer on-costs in New Zealand?

3.5% compulsory KiwiSaver plus the ACC work levy (averaging $0.69 per $100 of wages). No payroll tax, no social security tax. New Zealand is the lightest of the six on fixed employer costs: 3.5% KiwiSaver (rising to 4% in April 2028) and an industry-rated ACC work levy averaging 0.69%.

What is the rule on employer on-costs in the UK?

15% employer National Insurance above £5,000 a year, plus a 3% minimum pension contribution on the £6,240 to £50,270 band. Employer NI runs at 15% on everything above a low £5,000 threshold, which makes it the heaviest headline rate of the six markets at typical salaries.

Where can I check the source figures?

The sources section below links the New Zealand and the UK government pages every figure on this page was verified against in July 2026.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with Employment New Zealand, GOV.UK or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.