Biggest payrolls — the UK's largest wage bills 2026
Total staff costs — the UK companies spending the most on their people · 41,412 qualifying · snapshot 2026-08-01
| # | Company | Industry | Wage bill | Staff | Per head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | TESCO PLC LSE-listed multinational grocery retailer | Consumer Staples | £9.48B | 310,022 | £31k |
| 02 | BAE SYSTEMS PLC Listed aerospace and defence contractor | Industrials | £9.26B | 107,300 | £86k |
| 03 | TESCO STORES LIMITED Principal UK supermarket operating subsidiary | Consumer Staples | £5.49B | 249,663 | £22k |
| 04 | ROYAL MAIL GROUP LIMITED British postal and courier service | Industrials | £5.42B | 126,811 | £43k |
| 05 | VODAFONE GROUP PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY Multinational telecommunications group | Telecommunications | £4.89B | 92,834 | £53k |
| 06 | BT GROUP PLC Listed telecommunications holding company | Telecommunications | £4.55B | 84,000 | £54k |
| 07 | BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED Telecommunications and broadband provider | Telecommunications | £4.54B | 84,000 | £54k |
| 08 | AMAZON UK SERVICES LTD. E-commerce business support services | Industrials | £3.84B | 66,323 | £58k |
| 09 | G4S LIMITED Multinational private security company | Industrials | £3.62B | 419,544 | £9k |
| 10 | CHANEL LIMITED Global luxury fashion house | Consumer Discretionary | £3.34B | 38,045 | £88k |
| 11 | BELLIS FINCO PLC Holding company for Asda | Industrials | £3.34B | 136,950 | £24k |
| 12 | SAINSBURY'S SUPERMARKETS LTD Major UK supermarket operator | Consumer Staples | £3.23B | 130,800 | £25k |
| 13 | BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC UK flag carrier airline | Consumer Discretionary | £3.14B | 41,908 | £75k |
| 14 | RELX PLC | Consumer Discretionary | £3.10B | 37,460 | £83k |
| 15 | NETWORK RAIL LIMITED State-owned railway infrastructure operator | Industrials | £3.07B | 41,331 | £74k |
| 16 | NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED British railway infrastructure operator | Industrials | £3.05B | 41,331 | £74k |
| 17 | ASDA STORES LIMITED Major UK supermarket chain | Consumer Discretionary | £2.95B | 131,027 | £22k |
| 18 | JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITED Luxury motor vehicle manufacturer | Consumer Discretionary | £2.93B | 34,329 | £85k |
| 19 | HOWDEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED Global insurance and reinsurance group | Financials | £2.87B | 24,027 | £120k |
| 20 | COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS PLC Multinational beverage bottling company | Consumer Staples | £2.76B | 39,000 | £71k |
| 21 | GOLDMAN SACHS INTERNATIONAL UK investment banking subsidiary | Financials | £2.59B | 3,637 | £713k |
| 22 | RENTOKIL INITIAL PLC Listed pest control and hygiene group | Industrials | £2.56B | 65,632 | £39k |
| 23 | ANGLO AMERICAN PLC Multinational mining group | Basic Materials | £2.46B | 43,000 | £57k |
| 24 | MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP P.L.C. Listed clothing and food retailer | Consumer Discretionary | £2.45B | 73,300 | £33k |
| 25 | GOOGLE UK LIMITED UK subsidiary of a technology multinational | Industrials | £2.42B | 7,029 | £345k |
All figures from each company's latest filed Companies House accounts; detailed filers only, with implausible outliers and scale artifacts excluded. Filed accounts lag the present by roughly 12–24 months, and group-vs-parent scope changes can move a figure between filings. Banks and insurers that don't report a turnover line are under-represented on the turnover-based boards.