Hire or outsource? An honest comparison
Should you hire a receptionist or admin assistant in the UK, or use a managed team? Here is what each costs, how long each takes, and when hiring is the better answer.
The short answer
Use a managed team when the work is repetitive and rule-based, can be done remotely, and needs hours you cannot cover yourself.
Hire when the work has to be done in person, or cannot be reduced to rules or written steps.
You can do both.
Side by side
| What matters | Hiring in the UK | A managed team | Often better |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Pay, employer National Insurance, pension and holiday, plus recruitment, equipment and training in year one. | One all-inclusive hourly rate. You only pay for the hours we cover. | Managed team |
| How long to start | A UK hire takes 6 to 10 weeks. | Usually 5 to 7 working days to the first live shift, and fully independent after 2 to 3 weeks. The first week is free. | Managed team |
| Holidays and sickness | You find cover, or the work waits. | A trained backup covers, at no extra cost. | Managed team |
| Evenings, nights and weekends | Usually costs more: premium rates, overtime or agency staff. | The same rate at any hour. | Managed team |
| Changing the hours | Hard to scale down in a quiet month. | Change hours on 2 weeks’ notice. No minimum hours. | Managed team |
| Payroll and employer duties | You run payroll, National Insurance, pension, holiday pay and sick pay. | None of that is yours to run. | Managed team |
| Work that has to be done in person | Someone on the spot: a front desk, a shop floor or a site. | Our team is fully remote. We have no on-site staff. | Hiring |
| Work that cannot be reduced to rules | Someone beside you can use their own judgement, with nothing written down. | We work from the rules and steps we write with you. Where there is nothing to write, a hire fits better. | Hiring |
What each costs
A full-time person on the National Living Wage costs a UK employer £30,258 a year. That is £16.30 for every hour they actually work, and £35,258 in the first year.
With us you pay one all-inclusive hourly rate, for the hours we cover only. A written quote shows the hours.
When hiring is the better answer
The work has to be done in person.
Our team is fully remote, so a front desk, a shop floor or a site needs someone there.
The work cannot be reduced to rules or written steps.
We write your playbook with you in the first week: the FAQ, decision trees and escalation rules. We work from those, so work that is judgement from start to finish is better done by someone beside you.
What we do not do
We take no card details and have no access to your bank accounts. Decisions that need your authority stay with you: we gather the facts and escalate the same day.
Questions people ask
How do the costs compare?
A UK hire’s cost is worked out line by line on our employee cost calculator. With us you pay one all-inclusive hourly rate, for the hours we cover only, and a written quote shows the hours.
How long does it take to hire someone in the UK?
A UK hire usually takes 6 to 10 weeks. With us it is usually 5 to 7 working days to the first live shift, and your person is fully independent after 2 to 3 weeks. The first week is free.
Do I have to run payroll for your people?
No. Payroll, National Insurance, pension, holiday pay and sick pay are not yours to run, and recruitment is never charged.
What can’t a managed team do that a hire can?
We are fully remote, so we cannot do work that has to be done in person. We take no card details, have no access to your bank accounts, and give no legal, tax or medical advice. Decisions that need your authority stay with you.
Can I use a managed team and hire as well?
Yes, and it can make sense. Hire for the work that has to be done in person, and use a team for the hours and the rule-based work you cannot cover.