Job in Monaco? Home in France?

When handling vacancies in Monaco, we’re often asked by those new to the location, about the relative benefits of living France vs Monaco. A very kind client based in Monaco recently gave us his take on the options, which we’ve summarised below.

Quite simply, it’s a balancing act, based on a cost v. benefit equation. If you live in Monaco then you pay no tax as such on your earnings (but see below on Government “social charges”) but the cost of renting an apartment in Monaco is more than if you live just over the border in France (say Beausoleil and walk into Monaco each day as a lot of people do).

If you live in France, the cost of renting an apartment is much cheaper, but you will pay more in income tax in France. Someone earning around EUR110-120K p.a. is likely to pay around 22% income tax in France.

There is a Government employee “social charge” in Monaco of around 13% which is deducted at source from your pay-slip, monthly. That is a bit like National Insurance in the UK.

In Monaco you can rent a very small (but nice) studio or very small one-bed apartment for around EUR3,500 – EUR4,000 (in one of the suburbs like Moneghetti, Jardin Exotique, or the end of Larvotto). In France, just over the border in Beausoleil, you can get a nice two-bed apartment for around EUR1,750 – EUR1,900.

So it’s a balancing act as to whether the individual feels they are better off by paying less “tax” in Monaco but more expensive accommodation costs, or more tax in France and much cheaper accommodation costs. At the example salary level given above, France is the winner by a reasonable distance.

Executive Pay in Maritime

Executive pay is a hot topic in all industries and sometimes even newsworthy. We have all seen the trade press articles about the large bonuses paid to the most senior employees in organisations.

Spinnaker’s shore-based salary benchmarking service has been reporting Executive salaries since our conception in 2007. Since then, the job family has expanded to incorporate the shift in an organisation’s priority towards the Environment, Technology, and HR and in 2022 we introduced Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Chief People Officer (CPO), Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Environmental Officer (CENO) job codes.

Earlier this month we released our supplementary report on Executive pay to be read alongside the salary survey reports released in October.

Gender Distribution

This year, 16% of all Executive positions were filled by women, a 1% increase on the data published in 2022. Chief People Officer is the only role to employ a higher percentage of women than men.

COO’s, CEO(A)’s CCO and CTOs all had less than 20% female representation.

Salary increases

This year 18% of Executives didn’t see an increase in base pay when compared to 2022. And only a quarter of Executives received more than a 10% increase.

Demographics

British, Danish, and Norwegian nationals are most heavily represented in the Executive leadership team, accounting for 36% of the data. Unsurprisingly over 80% of positions reported in Denmark and Norway are filled by local nationals.

However, in Singapore, less than 20% of Executive positions are filled by Singaporean nationals.

Executive benefits

Nearly 30% of executives received a Company Car / Car Allowance and Long-Term Incentive plan. Only 7% received a housing allowance, not linked to an expat package.

For more information on Executive pay and to become members of the Maritime HR Association please contact [email protected].