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Swiss pay for qualified staff tops in Europe

Malcolm Curtis
Malcolm Curtis - [email protected]
Swiss pay for qualified staff tops in Europe
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Swiss salaries for qualified professionals and middle managers remain the highest in Europe, according to an international study done by Towers Watson, a human resource consulting and professional services firm.

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The study released on Tuesday found that median annual wages for specialists were 101,000 francs (£66,671) and 177,400 francs (£115,826) for middle management, the ATS news agency reported.

The Swiss pay level for specialists was around 30,000 francs above the level of wages for the same kinds of positions in Denmark, which ranks second in Europe, according to the Global 50 Remuneration Planning report.

Luxembourg ranked third, Norway fourth and Germany fifth.

When it comes to middle management, median pay in Switzerland is 36,000 francs above the next nearest rival, Luxembourg, the report found.

Even when corrected for taxes and cost of living, the purchasing power of Swiss salaries remains higher than those elsewhere in Europe, ATS said.

The Towers Watson study found that UK employees “sit near the bottom of the European pay league across most jobs levels”.

Wages for entry-level professionals and experienced administration staff ranked 15th out of the top 16 European economies, “with only Portuguese employees faring worse”.

British wages for experienced professionals and middle managers were “slightly more competitive” but lagged significantly behind Switzerland and such countries as Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium, the report said.
 

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