What it is instead of
You have three ways to get the admin off your desk. Here they are side by side, with the parts nobody puts on a comparison page.
| Someone you employ | A VA, by the hour | This | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it costs | £13–£16 an hour, plus employer's National Insurance and pension on top | £15–£30 an hour, billed in blocks you often do not use up | £5 a working day. £25 a week, or £99 a month |
| When it works | The hours you agreed. Nine to five, give or take | Their working hours, and they have other clients | Whenever you forward something, including at ten at night |
| Holiday and sickness | 28 days paid, plus sick pay. Both are yours to cover | None from you — they are self-employed. But the work stops while they are away | It does not take holidays and it does not get flu |
| Getting started | Advertise, interview, contract, payroll, and weeks of showing them how you do things | A week or two of briefing, and you brief the next one from scratch | Send one email. You have an address the same day |
| If it is not working | Notice, a process, and a conversation nobody enjoys | Notice, usually a month | Stop whenever you want. No notice and no exit fee |
| Who checks the words | They send it. You find out afterwards | They send it. You find out afterwards | You do. Nothing goes out until you press approve |
| What it cannot do | Nothing much — a good one is worth every penny, if you can afford one and keep them busy | Answer at midnight, or remember what you said eight months ago | Turn up, lift anything, or make a judgement call. That stays yours |
When somebody is the right answer
If you have enough work to keep a person busy all week and the money to pay them properly, hire them. You will get judgement, a phone answered in your own accent and somebody who notices things. What this is for is the much more common case: not enough admin to justify a wage, and far too much to keep doing yourself at nine at night.