This is a list of largest United Kingdom employers. There are four main kinds of employers,
Partial statistics for public bodies are available from the Office for National Statistics.[1] As of September 2018, public sector employees represent 16.5% of all people in paid work, with the remaining 83.5% employed in the private sector.[2]
Employer | Est. | Sector | Employees |
---|---|---|---|
NHS England | 1948 | Health | 1,400,000 |
NHS Scotland | 1948 | Health | 160,000 |
British Army | 1660 | Military | 125,430[3] |
Department for Work and Pensions | 2001 | Welfare | 111,000[4] |
HM Revenue & Customs | 2005 | Taxation | 76,890[4] |
NHS Wales | 1948 | Healthcare | 72,000 |
Ministry of Justice | 2007 | Law | 68,670 |
Ministry of Defence | 1940 | Military | 65,000 |
Metropolitan Police Service | 1829 | Police | 50,000 (approx.) |
Network Rail | 2002 | Transport | 42,206 (2020)[5] |
Royal Air Force | 1918 | Military | 37,200[6] |
Royal Navy | 1546 | Military | 36,320[7] |
BBC | 1927 | Media | 23,000 |
Home Office | 1782 | Security, immigration, etc. | 25,850 |
Scottish Government | 1999 | Devolved government | 17,000 |
Department for Transport | 2002 | Transport | 17,640 |
Welsh Government | 1999 | Devolved government | 5,682 |
Parliament of the United Kingdom | 1707 | Political representation | 1,475 |
Statistics are available on an ad hoc basis from public company annual reports.[8]
Currently[when?] Tesco and Compass Group are the largest plc employers.[citation needed]
Statistics on staff numbers were compiled in the Sunday Times' "Top Track 100" of private companies for 2012.[9] The three largest private employers in that list were John Lewis Partnership, Swire Group and Alliance Boots.