Employer cost, or cost to company (CTC), is total labour cost including gross salary plus employer-side social security contributions paid on top of your gross. These are paid by the company and do not appear on your payslip — but they form part of your total compensation budget.

75%. A Portuguese employee earning €30,000 gross costs the employer €36,825/year.

When negotiating, knowing employer cost helps understand how much budget headroom exists for a pay rise.