Is a VA worth it?

Why is a VA's hourly rate higher than I would pay an employee, and is it worth the difference?

It's a question all VA's get asked a lot and the answer -

there are so, so many reasons ( a few of which I will go into below ) and YES! TOTALLY! - not only is it worth the difference, but actually incredible value for money when you break it all down.

So lets jump in and look at main differences between a paid employee and freelance support.

Let's talk money .

In 2020;

The average Virtual Assistant rate is between £20 and £40 per hour (depending on project and skills)

The average wage of an Admin Assistant is £18,686 (lets say a 4o hour week - £8.98)

The average wage of a PA is £25,842

(based on that 40 hour week - £12.42)

The average wage of an EA is £30,928

( based on that 40 hour week - £14.87)

(data from payscale.com 10.9.20)

Let's talk working differences.

Hiring a freelance virtual assistant;

* You provide no equipment - computer, printer, stationery, mobile phone.

* You provide no office space - desk, chair, heating, lighting, electric.

* They do not require a recruitment process, on boarding or staff training, shadowing a team member.

* You do not have responsibility of their health and safety in the workplace.

*You are not responsible for their ongoing training and reviews.

Let's talk those extra costs.

As a self employed addition to the team;

* They pay their own National Insurance, Tax, Pension etc

* You solely pay for the hours they work, not the morning catch up time with colleagues about the film they watched last night or the catching up over coffee break over who said what to whom, or lunch breaks.

*You do not pay their holiday time or sick days.

*They are freelance, so you can schedule the hours to fit around your requirements - need 5 hours this month and 20 next but only 1 the following - no problem!

#virtualassistant #freelance #virtualsupport #businesssupport