You’ve decided to hire a personal assistant. Great! Now you need to decide how much to pay them.
Salaries will vary from country to country. As we are based in London, UK, we will give a British rate, with guidelines for international countries. The salary you pay will of course vary depending on the overall package provided (is this a full time live out PA? is this a full time live in? Do they work flexi-hours and remotely?).
Here is our guide on how much to pay your PA, and the variables to take into consideration.
Minimum Wage
To begin the journey into how much to pay your personal assistant. One should firstly consider the minimum wages in the UK. The below table outlines the rates of pay (dependent on age).
If you are considering paying the minimum wage, you should also consider the quality of the candidate you are going to get. If you are happy with a very junior PA, perhaps new to the job with little or no experience then you may be able to pay the minimum wage. But it won’t gain momentum with experienced candidates.
Living Wage
The living wage was introduced by the UK government and is calculated on the cost of living. London’s living wage is thus higher than the rest of the UK. Below the table outlines the two wages.
Similar to the minimum wage, the living wage is considered an entry-level salary for a PA and suited to more corporate settings. In the private personal assistant world, the salaries will vary dramatically.
Live In Personal Assistants
You may choose to hire a live in personal assistant. This can come with a huge amount of benefits with having someone on site for additional duties such as errands, house security, pet care etc. If you travel regularly and your PA travels with you, this can also become part of the parcel.
In the UK, the government gives a subsidy to the employer by allocating a certain amount of money ‘towards’ their salary. Meaning you can pay them slightly less as the government recognises you are giving them accommodation. It is not as high as you think! The offset rate for accommodation charges is currently set at £6.40 a day or £44.80 a week. You can read more about these guidelines here and also create your own calculations here.
Private Personal Assistants
Hiring a private personal assistant as opposed to a corporate personal assistant will greatly affect the wage. Here are some general guidelines for an hourly rate (based on a 50-hour working week):
Entry level personal assistant (no experience through to 3-4 years experience): £10-15 gross per hour / £26k-39K gross per year
Mid level personal assistant (4 -10 years experience): £15-25 gross per hour / £39K-65K gross per year
High level personal assistant (10 years upwards, and will have long-term placements and high profile clients they have worked for): £25-35+gross per hour / £65K-91K+ gross per year
What Next?
It can seem like a daunting task, but once you’ve established the type of personal assistant you are looking for, how much to pay the personal assistant will become clear. If you need any additional help or need help searching and paying the right amount for your next personal assistant, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.