Personnel Cost Forecast
Plan your personnel costs for the next 12 months - including pay raises and new hires
As of September 2026Basis: 2026 social security ratesCalculated in your browser – your inputs are not transmitted and are kept on this device only if you choose
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Scenario
None
Personnel costs (12 months)
€610,261
€610,261Over the next 12 months your staff will cost €610,261 – on average €50,855 per month or €5,086 per employee, with up to 10 employees.
- Gross salaries
- €490,800
- Employer contributions
- + €119,461
- Personnel costs (12 months)
- €610,261
- Avg. per employee/ month
- €5,086
- Employeesover the period
- 10
- Developmentover 12 months
- +3%
- Next-year forecastAt a constant rate of change (+3%) · Difference: +€18,308
- €628,569
Total cost breakdown
- Gross salaries€490,80080%
- Employer contributions€119,46120%
Notes on the forecast
From January 2027 calculated with 2026 contribution values
The 2027 social security parameters (contribution ceilings) have not been promulgated yet. Once the ordinance is published, the calculator will use them for months from 2027.
12-month projection from the current month
Pay raises are applied in January
Employer costs incl. social security, levies, accident insurance
New hires distributed evenly across the year
How this was calculated
Each month: gross salaries of all active employees plus employer contributions (social security, levies, accident insurance, 2026 rates). Pay rises take effect in January; new hires are spread evenly.
Accident insurance rate for the selected industry: Accident insurance rate: 0.5%. The next-year forecast extends the trend of the 12 months.
RZ-26 · headon.pro
What is a personnel cost forecast?
A personnel cost forecast is a projection of a company's future staff expenses. It accounts not only for current salaries, but also for planned pay raises, new hires and the full employer costs including social security contributions, levies and accident insurance contributions.
This projection is an indispensable tool for strategic HR planning and lets you make well-founded decisions about budgeting, growth and staff development.
Why is workforce planning important?
- Budgeting and liquidity
- Precise planning of your monthly staff expenses for healthy liquidity
- Strategic growth planning
- Well-founded decisions about new hires and expansion
- Early cost detection
- Timely detection of cost increases and the need for action
- Salary negotiations
- A solid data basis for salary negotiations and budget discussions
- Controlling & reporting
- Meaningful metrics for management and stakeholders
- Investor reports
- Professional personnel cost projections for funding rounds
What gets calculated?
Calculation components in detail
- 1Gross salaries of all employeesBase salaries including planned pay raises over the forecast period
- 2Employer share of social securityHealth insurance (7.3% + half the supplementary contribution, ca. 1.45% avg.), pension (9.3%), unemployment (1.3%), long-term care (1.8%, 1.3% in Saxony)
- 3Levy U1 - continued pay during illnessIllness levy for businesses with up to 30 employees (depends on health fund, ca. 1.3-3.2%)
- 4Levy U2 - maternity protectionMaternity levy for all employers (set individually by each health fund, § 7 AAG; common reference value approx. 0.44%)
- 5Levy U3 - insolvency benefitInsolvency benefit levy for all employers (0.15%)
- 6Accident insurance contributionsIndustry-dependent contributions to accident insurance (varies strongly by hazard class)
- 7Effects of pay raisesCumulative effect of salary adjustments on all employer costs
- 8Costs from new hiresFull employer costs for newly hired employees from their start date
Important: Actual employer costs are typically about 20-25% above the gross salary. With a gross salary of €50,000, total costs of roughly €60,000-62,500 per year therefore apply.
Scenarios at a glance
Typical planning scenarios
- Stable headcount
- No new hires, 3% annual pay raise. Ideal for established companies in a consolidation phase with a focused team.
- Moderate growth
- 1 new hire every 2 months, 3-4% pay raise. Typical for organic growth in SMEs and stable expansion.
- Strong growth
- 2 new hires per month, 4-5% pay raise. Characteristic of startups, scale-ups and aggressive expansion phases.
- Restructuring
- A mix of departures and new hires. Relevant during restructuring, digitalization or strategy changes.
Use the calculator to run through different scenarios and compare the cost impact of different growth strategies. This lets you make well-founded decisions about your workforce planning.
Frequently asked questions about the personnel cost forecast
Everything important about HR budget planning and cost forecasting
What is a personnel cost forecast?
A personnel cost forecast is a projection of a company's future staff expenses over a defined period, typically 12 months. It accounts for current salaries, planned pay raises, new hires and all employer costs including social security contributions, levies and accident insurance contributions.
Why is workforce planning important?
Precise workforce planning enables realistic budgeting and liquidity planning. You detect cost increases early, can develop strategic growth plans on solid ground, and have a reliable basis for salary negotiations as well as controlling and reporting.
Which costs does the forecast take into account?
The forecast covers all employer costs: gross salaries of all employees, the employer share of social security (health, pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance), levies U1, U2 and U3, and accident insurance contributions. It also factors in the effects of pay raises and the costs of planned new hires.
How high are typical employer costs?
As a rule of thumb, actual employer costs are about 20-25% above the gross salary. With a gross salary of €50,000, total costs of roughly €60,000-62,500 therefore apply. The exact percentage depends on the industry, accident insurance fund and individual factors.
Which scenarios can I try out with the calculator?
You can simulate various growth scenarios: a stable headcount with only pay raises, moderate growth with occasional new hires, or strong growth with several new hires per month. This lets you compare the cost impact of different expansion strategies.