Japan offers the highest expatriate pay package for middle managers of $356,224 (£269,392.62), including a base salary of $82,996 (£62,765.31) and benefits amounting to $125,111 (£94,614.57), according to research by ECA International (ECA).
Its MyExpatriate market pay report, which analysed middle managers’ pay packages in terms of cash salary, benefits and tax, surveyed more than 10,000 international assignees across 290 different organisations based in 160 countries.
The UK’s middle manager expatriate pay package, which ranks second, has fallen by $39,898 (£30,172.66) in the last year to be recorded at $344,508 (£260,532.45) for 2018. This includes a salary of $72,104 (£54,528.29), benefits, which can cover the costs of accommodation, international schools, utilities or cars, totalling $124,288 (£93,992.18) and associated tax costs of $148,116 (£112,011.98).
India has the third highest middle manager expatriate pay package of $293,097 (£221,653.14), followed by China with $276,387 (£209,016.29) and Hong Kong with $268,514 (£203,062.37). These packages include benefits allowances of $81,505 (£61,637.75), $102,562 (£77,562.00) and $149,276 (£112,889.23), respectively.
USA also features in the top 10 with a total middle manager expatriate pay package of $254,473 (£192,443.93), which breaks down into a salary of $79,045 (£59,777.39) and benefits adding up to $113,425 (£85,777.09).
Australia offers $253,737 (£191,887.34) for its total expatriate pay package for middle managers, compared to the $250,209 (£189,219.31) provided by Turkey and $249,292 (£188,525.83) offered by Argentina, which is an $11,256 (£8,512.29) increase since last year. France ranks in tenth place with a total middle manager expatriate pay package of $249,058 (£188,348.87). This is a $15,478 (£11,705.16) decrease since last year.
Steven Kilfedder (pictured), production manager at ECA International, said: “Over the past few years we have seen a steady drop in pay package values for expat [employees] in the UK when compared in US dollars internationally. The fall in the value of the British pound after Brexit has made it cheaper to send staff to the UK from abroad, resulting in Japan replacing the UK as the most expensive location to send staff.
“The tax element is the most expensive component of an expatriate package in the UK by a substantial margin. The cost of providing benefits is also considerable, at around double that of the salary element, due to high expat rental accommodation prices in London.
“Although some of the top Asian countries, such as China and Pakistan, have seen a drop in the average expat pay package, they still continue to require among the most expensive overall packages in the world. India especially has become increasingly expensive for [organisations], with an average total package of $293,097; a rise of $15,230 this year alone mostly due to [organisations] having to pay a higher level of benefits and tax costs.
“Middle eastern nations have offered high wages for expats for a long time now and combined with the 0% tax rates, the Middle East is often considered a lucrative place of work for overseas staff. However, due to the newly-introduced 5% VAT tax rate in the region, which will increase the cost of living, we expect to see rises in both the salary and benefits elements of expat pay packages.”