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Writer's pictureRachael Scarborough

What? How much?



If you are thinking of employing a Virtual Assistant, one of the first things you will need to know is how much it is going to cost. There's a lot of confusion about the hourly rate required by freelance staff who are running a business from home and need to be paid to make that business profitable.


The cost difference between employed and freelance staff costs to an employer are as follows:


Employed staff costs

  • Hourly rate

  • Sick pay

  • Holiday pay

  • Pension

  • Bonus scheme

  • Training costs

  • Cost of equipment required

  • Office space and overheads

  • Expenses

  • Payroll costs

  • Liability insurance

  • Maternity / Paternity pay

  • HR / legal expenses

Freelance staff costs

  • Hourly rate

  • Expenses

It's important to understand that as an employer, you do not need to think about the extra costs a freelancer requires to run their business. However, it's obvious that the freelancer will need to pay themselves for holiday, sickness, equipment used, home office costs etc.


This is why it's really important not to compare an hourly rate of a freelancer with that of an employed member of staff. The freelancer hourly rate will be much higher, so that they are able to remain in business and offer a continued service.


The benefits to the employer of taking on freelance staff are also clearly attractive and hopefully make up for the extra hourly rate:

  • Flexible hours

  • No need to pay when they are not working because of sickness or holiday

  • Short notice period if the work is not to standard or no longer required

  • Ability to take on specific skill sets as and when required

  • Possibility of reducing training budget as exact skills can be employed

  • No need to provide equipment or office space

Take a look at this article for more information to see the true costs of hiring an employee and be rest assured you are getting a good deal from your local VA!



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