15 Largest Employers in The UK in 2024
While the UK has many multinational companies and businesses which operate throughout the world, have you ever wondered which one among them is the biggest employment provider in 2024?
Or, if you want to find out the biggest names in the game of employment creation in the Uk, and by extension in the world, we have got you covered in this blog.
But before we take off, might I mention that our blog has similar lists for other countries as well, including
Biggest Employers in Australia
Top Famous Employers in the USA
to match your fancy!
Right, on to the UK’s biggest employers then.
First, let us take a brief look at the UK Employment numbers in 2024 (source: IBISWorld):
- The Supermarkets industry is the largest employer, with 1,098,917 employees in 2024.
- The Charities industry is the second-largest employer, with 981,325 employees in 2024.
- The hospital industry ranks third, employing 903,588 people in 2024.
- The Temporary Employment Placement Agencies industry is the fourth-largest employer, with 735,822 employees.
- The Business Process Outsourcing industry rounds out the top five, employing 722,238 people in 2024.
Let’s head to the list!
Compass Group
Number of employees: 500,000+
(Source: Compass Group Official Report)
Founded in | 1941 |
Industry | Food Service |
Market cap | $48.91 billion |
Headquarters | Chertsey, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 3.5 out of 5 |
Topping the list is not just one of the UK’s biggest UK, but globally the biggest employer, the Compass Group.
It is based in Chertsey, England.
The company was started by Famous UK Entrepreneur, Jake Bateman in 1941 under Canteents Limited.
Compass Group is a multinational contract food service company that serves meals in various locations.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is a Fortune Global 500 company with a market cap of over $38 billion.
While being the number one employer, it ranks 17th in the UK in terms of market cap. (Sources: Companies Market Cap, Wikipedia)
By May 2024, Compass Group’s market capitalization stands at $48.91 billion.
Based on our data, this valuation ranks Compass Group as the 407th most valuable company globally.
The market cap of the company saw an increase of 4.58% from 2023’s $46.77 B figure and $40.81 B from 2022. (Source: Companies Market Cap)
The company is thriving as it recorded £31.3bn revenue as stated in its last report for the year ended September 2023.
This is a huge improvement from 2022’s £26.4bn revenue figure. (Source: Compass Group)
The company still maintains its position as the UK with the largest global workforce, employing roughly 500,000 people. (Source: Statista)
Tesco PLC
Number of employees: 345,000
(Source: Tesco Official Website)
Founded in | 1919 |
Industry | Retail |
Market cap | $19.75 billion |
Headquarters | Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 3.5 out of 5 |
In a year when a lot of UK startups and businesses failed during the pandemic, the second name on the list is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer, Tesco PLC.
Tesco is not just one of the largest retailers in the UK but is among the top retailers in the world in gross revenue.
Tesco’s founder, Jack Cohen, was a migrant from Poland who arrived in England in 1919 and started selling war-surplus groceries.
Tesco’s name came from a tea supplier‘s brand name, TES, and the first two letters of his surname, CO.
He came up with the name in 1924. His business was a success from the outset.
By 1939, he had more than 100 Tesco shops throughout the country.
The company is the second largest employer in the UK after Compass Group. (Source: Statista)
Today, Tesco has business in more than 11 countries and is now more than just a grocery store.
HSBC
Number of employees: 221,000
Founded in | 1865 |
Industry | Financial Services |
Market cap | $166.21 billion |
Headquarters | Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 3.8 out of 5 |
The third largest British employer is HSBC Holdings plc – a multinational universal bank and financial services holding company.
HSBC was founded in 1865 in British Hong Kong.
The name HSBC comes from its Hong Kong origins, when Thomas Sutherland, a Scottish banker opened the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in then British Colony Hong Kong. (Source: Funding Universe)
In its heyday, the bank is said to be founded in Hong Kong to capitalize on the busting opium trade on the shores of Hong Kong! (Source: Le Monde Diplomatique)
In the late 19th century, 70% of the maritime freight from India to China consisted of opium. So there surely was a big business opportunity for a bank.
The bank was established in London in 1991 as a new group holding company with the initials of its old name, Hong Kong and Shanghai Corporation.
As of May 2024, HSBC’s market capitalization stands at $166.21 billion.
This represents a 6.43% increase from 2023’s $156.17 billion.
The figure also makes HSBC the 79th most valuable company globally. (Source: Companies Market Cap)
In 2023, HSBC’s largest workforce was in India, where the British bank employed around 42,000 individuals.
Both the United Kingdom and Mainland China followed, each with 33,000 employees.
Overall, HSBC’s global employee count stands at approximately 221,000. (Source: Statista)
Sainsbury’s
Number of employees: 189,000
(Source: Sainsbury Official Report)
Founded in | 1869 |
Industry | Retailing |
Market cap | $6.91 billion |
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 3.4 out of 5 |
Fourth on the list of largest employers in the UK is a chain of supermarkets, Sainsbury.
Sainsbury, Officially J Sainsbury plc, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the UK and captures a 14.9% share of this sector. (Source: Kantar World Panel)
It is second only to Tesco.
Sainsbury has multiple businesses/ brands as its subsidiaries (Source: Sainsbury’s)
- Argos
- Habitat
- Tu
- Sainsbury’s Bank
- Nectar
Referring to Statista’s report in February 2024, Sainsbury’s workforce, based in the United Kingdom, remained steady compared to the previous year, with the employee count at 117,000. (Source: Statista)
However, in February 2024, Sainsbury’s revealed its plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 1,500 positions.
This is pending consultation and is a part of the company’s strategy to save around £1 billion over the next three years. (Source: BBC News)
Unilever
Number of employees: 148,000
(Source: Unliverer Official Website)
| Founded in | 1929 |
| Industry | Consumer goods |
| Market cap | $121.50 billion |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
| Glassdoor Rating | 4.1 out of 5 |
The 5th top employer in the UK is another world-renowned company, Unilever.
Unilever is a British multinational consumer goods company that deals in a myriad of products, including food, condiments, ice cream, cleaning agents, cosmetics, etc.
Founded in 1929, Unilever emerged after a merger between British soapmaker Lever Brothers and the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. (Source: Unilever)
Today, the omnipresent brand is available in 190 countries – almost worldwide!
Unilever has divided its business into three main sectors: Foods and Refreshments, Home Care, and Beauty and Personal Care.
In 2023, Unilever employed an average of 38,000 people across the Americas.
Over the past decade, the number of employees has slightly decreased in Europe and the Americas, with a more significant decline observed in Asia Pacific & Africa.
Globally, Unilever’s workforce numbered 128,000 employees as of 2023. (Source: Statista)
Vodafone
Number of employees: 96,000
(Source: Vodafone Official Report)
Founded in | 1991 |
Industry | telecommunication |
Market cap | $26.45 billion |
Headquarters | Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 3.9 out of 5 |
Vodafone is a British multinational telecommunications company that operates predominantly in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania.
Its name comes from VOice DAta FONE – a combination of voice and data service initials via Fone (phone).
The success of Vodafone can be seen by the fact that Vodafone is the largest fixed mobile and fixed network operator in Europe. (Sources: Vodafone, Wikipedia)
As of May 2024, Vodafone’s market capitalization stands at $26.45 billion.
This represents a 12.22% increase from 2023’s $23.57 billion.
The figure also makes Vodafone the 743th most valuable company globally. (Source: Companies Market Cap)
In 2023, Vodafone’s United Kingdom (UK) workforce totalled 9,312 employees.
The figure shows an increase of over a hundred compared to the previous year.
However, the number of Vodafone employees in the UK has been declining annually since 2016, when it stood at around 13,300.
Outside the UK, the telecommunications giant saw a decrease in its global workforce from 105,870 employees in 2017 to just over 96,000 in 2023 but has started picking up again gradually. (Source: Statista)
GlaxoSmithKline
Number of employees: 70,000
(Source: GSK Official Report)
Founded in | 2000 |
Industry | Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology |
Market cap | $66.56 billion |
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 4.0 out of 5 |
Now renamed GSK, GlaxoSmithKline is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotech company, which is among the Fortune Global 500 elite club.
The founding of GSK is an interesting story of multiple mergers over many years.
GSK is the tenth largest pharmaceutical company and is listed on LSE and FTSE 100 index. (Sources: GSK, Wikipedia)
As of May 2024, GSK’s market capitalization stands at $96.24 billion.
This represents a 26.23% increase from 2023’s $76.25 billion.
The figure also makes GSK the 167th most valuable company globally. (Source: Companies Market Cap)
The number of employees GSK has in 2024 is 70,000. (Source: Wikipedia)
Shell plc
Number of employees: 86,000
(Source: Company’s Official Website)
Founded in | 1907 |
Industry | Energy, Petroleum |
Market cap | $226.91 billion |
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 4.0 out of 5 |
Number 8th largest employer in the UK is the oil and gas giant, Shell plc.
Shell is a British multinational oil and gas company, which is known as one of the oil and gas “supermajors”.
Shell was formed in 1907 after a merger between the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company of the Netherlands and The “Shell” Transport and Trading Company of the UK.
It was the biggest competitor to American Standard Oil and ultimately became the largest producer of oil in the world in 1920.
As of May 2024, Shell plc’s market capitalization stands at $226.91 billion.
This represents a 5.67% increase from 2023’s $ 214.73 billion.
The figure also makes Shell plc the 49th most valuable company globally. (Source: Companies Market Cap)
Shell, with a workforce of 103,000 individuals, operates across over 70 nations. (Source: Shell Global)
Barclays
Number of employees: 83,500
(Source: Company’s Official Website)
Founded in | 1690 |
Industry | Banking, Financial Services |
Market cap | $40.50 billion |
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | 3.8 out of 5 |
With 83,500 employees on its roster, Barclays is a British multinational universal bank based in London.
One of the oldest banks in the UK, Barclays was established in the last decade of the seventeenth century – in 1690.
It was originally a goldsmith banking business.
James Barclays, named after the bank, was not the founder of the original business but joined the establishment in 1746. (Source: Wikipedia)
Barclays is present in more than 40 countries and is the 5th largest bank in Europe by assets. (Source: Barclays)
As of May 2024, Barclay’s market capitalization stands at $40.50 billion.
This represents a 35.85% increase from 2023’s $29.81 billion.
The figure also makes Barclay the 487th most valuable company globally. (Source: Companies Market Cap)
With a legacy spanning over 325 years and a wealth of banking expertise, Barclays operates in more than 40 countries, boasting a workforce of approximately 85,000 individuals. (Source: Barclays)
Linde
Number of employees: 65,010
(Source: Company’s Official Website)
Founded in | 1879 |
Industry | Chemical Industry |
Market cap | $209.13 billion |
Headquarters | Woking, Surrey, UK |
Glassdoor Rating | LIN |
On number 11 on the list is a chemical company founded in Germany.
Lind plc is a global multinational chemical company domiciled in Ireland and has been headquartered in the UK since 2018. It is the world’s largest industrial gas company by market share and revenue.
As with many other companies on the list, Linde was formed by a merger of Linde AG of Germany (1879) and Praxair (1879) of the US.
As a chemical company involved in energy production, Linde is also a member of the Hydrogen Council—a group of companies investing in hydrogen vehicles!
The company strongly believes in hydrogen vehicles and expects them to compete with electric vehicles. It has invested in wind-powered plants that convert water to hydrogen.
Linde is also part of the Fortune 500 Global and Forbes Global 2000.
(Sources: Linde, Wikipedia)
As of May 2024, Linde’s market capitalization stands at $209.13 billion.
This represents a 5.01% increase from 2023’s $199.14 billion.
The figure also makes Linde the 56th most valuable company globally. (Source: Companies Market Cap)
In 2022, Linde plc had a global workforce of approximately 65,010 employees. (Source: Statista)
