Executive officers in German companies with up to 100 employees earn 274.000 Euros per year and thus receive the highest salaries in Europe. For comparison: In the UK CEOs in this category earn up to 202.000 Euros, in Sweden 153.000 Euros, 145.000 in Italy and just 131.000 Euros in Ireland where this group of executives earns the least. The above findings were revealed by a Kienbaum study.
In addition, the „Remuneration in Western Europe 2007» salary study by the Kienbaum management consultancy showed that German executives also earn the most as far as companies employing between 100 and 1000 people are concerned. Here executive managers earn 349.000 Euros on average, followed by Great Britain and Ireland with 339.000 and 304.000 Euros respectively.
Considering all categories of company size, Great Britain and Germany are at the top, followed by Switzerland, Austria and Ireland. The situation is similar with regard to lower management levels. Thus, a finance director from Great Britain earns 116.000 Euros in a company with up to 100 staff, 98.000 Euros in Germany, 97.000 Euros in France and 94.000 Euros in Switzerland. In this category Great Britain is the leader, followed by Germany, Switzerland and Ireland. In countries such as e.g. Spain and Belgium, however, managers at this level earn the lowest salaries in Europe.
In Europe the importance of variable salary components as a means of management and control has significantly increased. Nowadays the amount of salaries is much more linked to a company´s success and intended to boost motivation. In Germany and Austria 93 percent of executive managers receives bonuses, 92 percent in Italy and 84% in Great Britain while their number is 83 percent in Sweden and 81 percent in Switzerland. In Spain, however, just 71% of executives receive variable salary parts and in Belgium this percentage amounts to only 64 percent.
Apart from monetary bonuses there are other benefits such as company cars or retirement benefits which play an important role at the European top management level. The study in question reveals that these benefits are standard benefits in the whole of Europe. Most often company cars can be found in Germany where 98 percent of all top executives drive them. The respective numbers for Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland are 96, 96, 48 and 61 percent.
In the course of the study salaries corresponding to 73.943 posts in 3671 companies from eleven countries (Belgium, UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) were analyzed. 