Major UK employers ranked by workforce size from Companies House and public data.
| # | Company | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TESCO PLC | 423,092 |
| 2 | BANK OF CHINA LIMITED | 310,042 |
| 3 | HSBC HOLDINGS PLC | 219,697 |
| 4 | STATE BANK OF INDIA | 209,567 |
| 5 | WAITROSE LIMITED | 150,000 |
| 6 | ASDA SUPERMARKETS LIMITED | 143,125 |
| 7 | LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA | 114,498 |
| 8 | WWW HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED | 101,542 |
| 9 | JOHN LEWIS PLC | 98,000 |
| 10 | GSK PLC | 97,921 |
| 11 | MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP P.L.C. | 85,813 |
| 12 | STANDARD CHARTERED PLC | 85,000 |
| 13 | BARCLAYS PLC | 79,900 |
| 14 | ASTRAZENECA PLC | 70,600 |
| 15 | ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC | 54,500 |
| 16 | ARRIVA LIMITED | 47,499 |
| 17 | C. & J. CLARK INTERNATIONAL LIMITED | 40,000 |
| 18 | CENTRICA PLC | 40,000 |
| 19 | ROYAL NAVY RUGBY UNION | 32,500 |
| 20 | CURRYS PLC | 32,000 |
| 21 | SPECSAVERS OPTICAL SUPERSTORES LIMITED | 30,000 |
| 22 | MONDI PLC | 26,300 |
| 23 | A-PLAN HOLDINGS | 23,000 |
| 24 | HOWDEN BROKING GROUP LIMITED | 23,000 |
| 25 | THOMAS COOK GROUP PLC | 21,800 |
| 26 | BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION | 21,508 |
| 27 | NUFFIELD HEALTH | 19,361 |
| 28 | COSTA LIMITED | 17,809 |
| 29 | PARLOPHONE RECORDS LIMITED | 15,000 |
| 30 | UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON | 12,830 |
Employee data comes from two sources: Wikidata (verified counts for major employers) and Companies House annual accounts (size brackets). The Wikidata dataset provides exact headcounts for approximately 860 large companies including FTSE-listed firms, major retailers, and public sector organisations.
Companies House accounts provide employee size brackets (micro, small, medium, large) for over 2 million companies. While less precise than Wikidata, this gives broad coverage of the UK employment landscape.
Supermarkets, banks, and public service organisations dominate the top employer rankings. Many large employers operate through subsidiary structures, so group-level employment may be significantly higher than individual entity figures.
Employee counts come from two sources: Wikidata (exact headcounts for ~860 major employers) and Companies House annual accounts (size bracket classifications for 2M+ companies).
Exact employee counts are sourced from Wikidata, which covers major public companies, FTSE-listed firms, and notable employers. Most UK companies only report size brackets (micro, small, medium, large) in their accounts.
Generally no. Employee counts are per legal entity. Large corporate groups may distribute employees across multiple subsidiaries, so group-level employment may be significantly higher.