You're right. Most people will not include the employer CPF contribution when referring to their salary. There are 3 simple reasons for this:

1. Most, if not all companies do not include this component in the salary scales. When they quote a salary for a certain position, they don't include the employer CPF contribution component.
2. This component is also dependent on the employee's age. Older employees' have a lower employer CPF contribution rate.
3. Most people don't know how much their employer CPF contribution is.

Only people desperate to show off, include this component in their salary when comparing with others.

However, if people are considering striking out on their own, they should include this component as the overall opportunity cost that they have to forgo. The other things are : medical insurance, annual and medical leave, company benefits, etc..

Most people made the mistake of not considering all the above when deciding to strike out on their own.