Compare
Virtual assistant vs employee
The honest version, including where hiring genuinely wins. If you have a full week of work and want someone in the building, employ someone. If you have a few hours a week of defined remote work, employing for it is an expensive way to solve it.
Talk it through — free 20 minsUK based, EnfieldUK business hoursNo NI, tax or pensionNo long tie-ins
Side by side
Where the real difference sits
Rates and obligations change; treat this as a framework for the conversation with your accountant rather than tax advice.
| Factor | Part-time employee | Virtual assistant |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Contracted hours, whether or not there is work to fill them | Worked time only, billed in a timed breakdown |
| Employer on-costs | Employer National Insurance and workplace pension contributions on top of salary | None — you are engaging a business, not employing a person |
| Holiday, sickness and cover | Statutory holiday, sick pay and the cost of covering absence | Not charged; agreed cover arrangements are discussed up front |
| Recruitment and onboarding | Advertising or agency fees, interview time, training period before productivity | No recruitment cost; work starts after one consultation and a handover |
| Equipment and space | Desk, laptop, software licences, office overhead | Own equipment and workspace; works inside your existing systems |
| Payroll and admin | PAYE, payroll processing, contracts, HR obligations | A single monthly or per-job invoice |
| Flexibility | Fixed hours; changing them means a contractual conversation | Scale up for a busy quarter, scale back afterwards, month to month |
| Ending the arrangement | Notice periods, potential redundancy process and liability | No long tie-in; stop when it stops being useful |
| Where an employee wins | Full-time presence, physical tasks on site, deep immersion in one business | Best for defined, repeatable remote work rather than constant availability |
Choose an employee if
You need presence, not tasks
- There is a genuine full week of work, every week, indefinitely.
- The role involves being physically on site or handling stock and post.
- You want someone growing into a wider operational role over years.
- You have the management capacity to train, review and develop a person.
Choose a VA if
You need the work done, not a desk filled
- The workload is a few hours a week, or spikes seasonally.
- The tasks are remote and definable — inbox, invoicing, diary, follow-ups.
- You want to avoid payroll, HR and notice-period risk while you grow.
- You would rather start next week than run a six-week recruitment process.
Rates are published in full on the pricing page, and the ROI calculator runs the numbers on your own hours.
Questions
Common questions
- Is a virtual assistant cheaper than an employee?
- It depends entirely on how many hours of genuine work you have. Below roughly a day a week, a VA is almost always cheaper because you pay only for worked time and carry no employer on-costs. Once you consistently need full-time cover, employing someone usually becomes the better economics.
- Why does a VA charge more per hour than an employee earns?
- An employee's hourly wage is not their hourly cost. Employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday and sick pay, payroll, equipment, software, space and recruitment all sit on top, and paid hours include time where there is nothing to do. A VA rate is the whole cost, and every billed hour is worked.
- What about using an agency instead?
- An agency gives you continuity of supply but usually a rotating pool of people and a margin on top of the rate. A sole practitioner gives you one consistent person who learns your business. Which matters more depends on whether your work is interchangeable or context-heavy.
- Can I start with a VA and hire later?
- That is a very common path. Working with a VA first tells you exactly how many hours the role really needs and what the tasks are, which makes any later hire far easier to scope — and the processes documented along the way transfer straight to them.
- Is a virtual assistant self-employed?
- Yes. Wise Resolutions is an independent UK business supplying services under its own terms, invoicing for work delivered. You are a client, not an employer, so there is no PAYE, no employment contract and no HR obligation.
Not sure which side of the line you're on?
Twenty minutes and you'll have a clear answer — including if that answer is "hire someone".
Request a consultation