Here’s how Brexit Britain can soar above France in post-Covid employment stakes
France has highest non-wage labour costs in Europe – more than double those in the UK
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2021
Maybe this is one reason France’s Airbus now plans to stay in the UK?
Why it’s better for companies to employ in Brexit Britain than in the EU – Part One
Last week the EU published its latest figures for average wage costs for companies across the bloc. As usual these revealed the total nonsense that is the EU’s talk of a “level playing field”, which it continues to insist must be adhered to by the UK.
In our next report (Part Two) we will reveal the massive disparity in total average cost for companies of employing people across the EU. In this article – Part One – we look at one aspect of this.
How much does it cost a company to employ someone, on top of their wages?
Facts4EU.Org’s analysis of the figures shows just how much Brexit Britain can surge ahead of countries such as France in the post-Covid employment stakes.
It is widely understood that direct wages are only part of a company’s total labour costs. On top of these there are what are known as “non-wage labour costs”. Here is how the EU defines these:
“Non-wage costs include the employers’ social contributions [N.I. etc] plus employment taxes regarded as labour costs less subsidies intended to refund part or all of employer’s cost of direct remuneration.”
Looking at these, the comparison between Brexit Britain and President Macron’s France is stark.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
How much per hour does it cost to employ someone, on top of their pay?
Average labour costs per person, other than wages and salaries
- United Kingdom : €5.10 per hour
- France : €12.00 per hour
- According to the EU Commission, France has the highest non-wage labour costs in the EU
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org - click to enlarge
Source: Official EU data released Wed 31 Mar 2021
When considering the total costs of employing someone, the average cost over and above wages for UK-based employers is less than half the average cost of employing someone in France.
France-based Airbus changes its tune on Brexit
Last week the current CEO of France’s Airbus SAS – the largest civilian plane maker in the world, head-quartered in Toulouse – gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph, giving an upbeat assessment of the Company’s involvement in the UK. It was not always so.
Back in 2018 the then CEO of the French government-backed Airbus delivered yet another damning indictment of Brexit, warning of the dangers posed to the company’s 14,000 UK staff and many more in the supply chain who feed into the company’s wing-making plant in Wales, and design centre near Bristol.
Airbus said that a hard Brexit would mean “severe disruption and interruption of UK production, forcing Airbus to reconsider its investments in the UK, and its long-term footprint in the country”. The Airbus COO commented:
“In any scenario, Brexit has severe negative consequences for the UK aerospace industry and Airbus in particular. Therefore, immediate mitigation measures would need to be accelerated.…. Far from Project Fear, this is a dawning reality for Airbus.”
- Airbus COO, 2018
Now Airbus is committed to growing in Brexit Britain
In his interview with the Telegraph last week, however, the new Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury is reported to have laughed when asked about the possibility of moving production out of Britain.
“We want to grow in the UK. We will be willing to do more than we are doing today, to have a win-win for the UK and Airbus.”
- Airbus CEO, Guillaume Faury, 2021
Observations
For all the years we have been reporting on employment in the EU compared to the UK, the United Kingdom has always been far out in front. Typically you were twice as likely to be out of a job in the EU27 as you were in the UK.
When it comes to youth unemployment the situation has been even worse. Some countries in the EU have essentially seen almost a generation condemned, with rates as high as 50% in some countries.
In the new post-Covid era we are entering, the challenges for businesses are immense. That said, those on the Facts4EU.Org team who are involved in business know where they would rather employ people. And it would not be in France.
Brexit Britain now has a wonderful opportunity – far ahead of the EU in the vaccination stakes and with a much more appealing basis of employment law and associated costs.
After years of negative and depressing commentary from the anti-Brexit Remainer Establishment, we suspect that business leaders will now be viewing the future in the United Kingdom with rather more optimism than some of their counterparts in the EU.
Where would we be without you, our readers?
Producing reports like the one above take time and they are unique. No-one at the BBC seems to be the least bit interested in investigating and revealing information like this to the public. If fighting for British sovereignty and freedom is important to you, please read on.
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[ Sources: EU Commission | Airbus ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 06 Apr 2021
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