UK IT professionals out-earn European counterparts

IT professionals working in the UK earn more than their counterparts on the Continent, according to new findings from recruitment service silicon.com

Reporting on the situation in their annual Skills Survey – published 12 March – silicon.com found that IT professionals in the UK are more likely to be earning higher salaries than individuals in similar jobs in mainland Europe.

The survey of nearly 8,000 respondents from across Britain, Germany and France showed 13.9 per cent of UK respondents earn over £70,000 per annum with 3.7 per cent 'super-earners' making over £110,000 each year. However, the corresponding figures for Germany were only 5.1 and 1.3 per cent respectively, and for France they stand at 4.6 and 1.5 per cent.

In addition, despite the image of the well-paid IT professional, 43.6 per cent of respondents from France said they earn less than £25,000 per annum, versus 22.2 per cent in the UK and 21.6 per cent in Germany.

UK IT professionals also seem to be working long hours for their better pay packets, with 34.4 per cent of British respondents stating they work more than 45 hours per week.

While the response in France was similar - at 35.5 per cent - figures in Germany suggest that workers there are more likely to work fewer hours each week.

Tony Hallett, analysis and reports editor at silicon.com, commented: "The image of the poorly paid British worker is clearly inaccurate, at least in IT.

"However, employers do seem to get their pound of flesh in the UK market, with 15.5 per cent of IT pros working 50 hours a week or more."

(CL)