Virtual assistant vs employee: which do you need?

When you need help, the instinct is to hire an employee. But a virtual assistant can deliver the same outcome for a fraction of the cost and commitment — if it fits. Here's how the two compare.

Cost

An employee carries salary, NI, pension, equipment and recruitment cost — a £28k admin hire runs to nearly £36k loaded. A dedicated VA is all-inclusive from around £11.4k a year. The difference is enormous.

Commitment and flexibility

Employees come with notice periods, holiday, sick pay and employment obligations. A VA arrangement is far more flexible — typically just 30 days' notice — with none of the employer admin.

Control

Here's the catch with a traditional freelance VA: shared across clients, variable availability, no real continuity. That's where the comparison usually breaks down for people who need reliability.

The option most people miss

A dedicated full-time VA bridges the gap: the cost and flexibility of a VA, but exclusively yours, full-time, working your hours, with HR and cover behind them — effectively an employee's reliability without an employee's cost or commitment. For ongoing admin, finance or support work, it's often the best of both.

How to decide

Need someone physically present, or deeply embedded in a way only employment suits? Hire. Need reliable, ongoing remote support at low cost and risk? A dedicated VA. Need occasional one-off tasks? A freelancer. Most growing businesses need the middle option and don't realise it exists.