Virtual Assistant vs Full-Time Employee
An employee costs more, takes months to hire and doesn't scale. A VA365 outsourced team is live in 7 days, costs 40–60% less and scales with you.
The hire-vs-outsource question comes down to four things: cost, flexibility, speed and risk.
Cost: A £28,000 admin hire costs £38,000+ once you load employer NI, pension, holiday, sick cover, equipment and software. VA365 Growth (£599/month) handles 25 hours of admin per month — that's around £7,200/year for a level of cover that genuinely replaces a part-time admin.
Flexibility: An employee is a fixed cost regardless of workload. VA365 packages can be moved up or down monthly as the business changes.
Speed: Hiring takes 8–12 weeks once you include adverts, shortlisting, interviews, notice and onboarding. VA365 is live in 7 days.
Risk: An employee comes with employment law, probation, performance management and notice periods. VA365 is a service — you can stop, scale or change at short notice.
For most UK SMEs under £1m revenue, outsourcing is the right answer — and even at higher revenue levels, a hybrid (one in-house admin + a VA365 team to handle peaks and specialist work) usually beats either pure model.