---
title: "How to Hire a Virtual Assistant in the UK | Ant Assist"
description: "How to hire a virtual assistant in the UK: what to hire for, freelancer vs agency vs managed VA, real costs, where to look, how to brief."
url: "https://ant-assist.com/resources/va-hiring-guide/"
---

RESOURCES · HIRING GUIDE

# How to hire a virtual assistant in the UK

Decide which virtual assistant you need, then choose a freelancer, agency or managed VA. Trial them on real tasks and agree in writing what happens if it goes wrong.

Tools our VAs use for this

- Updated 29 October 2026
- 16 min read

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In short

To hire a virtual assistant in the UK, go in this order:

1. Decide which of the four VA jobs you're hiring for.
2. Choose your route: a freelancer you run yourself, a UK agency, or a provider.
3. Write a one-page brief, interview against it, then trial on real tasks.
4. Give access through a password manager when they start.
5. Agree in writing what happens if the fit's wrong, before you sign.

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Scope

## Choosing the type of VA support

"Virtual assistant" covers four different jobs. The first is admin and personal-assistant support, and the second is customer support and live chat. Lead generation and appointment setting make the third, and e-commerce operations the fourth.

The four jobs the term virtual assistant covers, and how each is judged.

The brief changes with the job. So do the skills and the price, which is why this comes before any search. There are examples of each in [what does a virtual assistant do? task examples](https://ant-assist.com/resources/what-does-a-virtual-assistant-do/).

If one person's diary and errands are most of the work, [virtual assistant vs personal assistant](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-assistant-vs-personal-assistant/) explains the difference.

### Admin and personal-assistant support

This is the inbox and the diary. Travel and expenses sit with it, as do documents and chasing suppliers. It's the work that runs a person's week or a small company's back office.

It's the most common first hire and the easiest to define. Why? The tasks already exist, and someone senior is already doing them badly. Say you're a director who files expenses every Monday morning. That's admin at director rates.

Our [virtual admin assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/admin/) service is built for this work, and [how to hire a VA for admin](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-admin/) covers the specifics.

Much of it overlaps with secretarial work, and [virtual secretary vs virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-secretary-vs-virtual-assistant/) shows how the titles differ.

### Customer support and live chat

This is the support queue. Tickets and live chat sit at the front, with inbound calls behind them. Refunds and returns come with it, along with help articles and the follow-up after a purchase.

You'll judge this hire on response times and tone. So the brief needs your service standards and escalation rules. Say you get a refund request from outside your returns window. The brief should already say whether the VA can approve it.

Our [customer service virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/customer-service/) service is the fit. When you're ready, [How to hire a VA for customer support](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-customer-support/) takes you through the hire.

### Lead generation and appointment setting

This is prospect research and list building. Then there's outreach by cold email and on LinkedIn, keeping the CRM clean, and booking discovery calls and nurturing the leads that aren't ready yet.

It's judged on qualified conversations booked. That means the brief needs your ideal customer profile and your CRM. Say you sell to accountancy firms. The brief should say which firms count, or your diary fills with calls you'd never take.

Our [lead generation virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/lead-generation/) service covers it. To hire for it, read [How to hire a VA for lead generation](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-lead-generation/).

### E-commerce operations

Product listings and order processing come first, with an eye on stock. Then there are reviews and messages, returns and exchanges, and your suppliers, on Shopify and Amazon or anywhere else you sell.

You judge this hire on whether the store runs without you. Say you sell on two platforms and a supplier misses a delivery. Your VA updates the stock on both and messages the customers who are waiting.

Our [e-commerce virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/ecommerce/) service is built for it, and [How to hire a VA for e-commerce](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-ecommerce/) covers the hire.

If your list spans two of these, hire for the one that costs you the most time today, and add the second once the first one is up and running.

One person doing two jobs badly is the commonest way a first VA hire fails.

Models

## Freelancer, agency or managed VA compared

There are three ways to hire. What changes between them is who recruits the person, who supervises them and who replaces them when it doesn't work.

**A freelancer** is one person you find and manage yourself. On paper it's the cheapest hourly rate. In your own time it's the most expensive, because you're the recruiter and the manager, and the backup plan too.

When the freelancer's ill or on holiday, or takes a better client, the work stops until you hire again. It suits a short, well-defined project. One with a clear end.

**A UK agency** places a UK-based assistant with you, often on a retainer of hours per month, so you get UK hours and UK context and someone else does the recruiting.

The trade-off is price. UK salaries set the floor, and the hours are usually shared across several clients, so the assistant is rarely yours alone.

**A VA from a provider** is employed and trained by that provider, which also supervises them, and works for your business alone, with the provider responsible for quality and for replacing the VA if the fit is wrong. That takes away all three jobs.

It's the model Ant Assist runs. We recruit, screen and present candidates for you to choose. We employ, pay, train, supervise and support your VA, and provide their office, equipment, HR and IT support. Every VA is dedicated to one client and works your UK hours. You direct the day-to-day tasks, and we handle performance and conduct.

A rough rule, then. If you want the lowest rate and don't mind being the manager, hire a freelancer. If the role needs someone based in the UK, use a UK agency. If you want one person owning the work without you recruiting, supervising or replacing them, go to a provider.

Three ways to hire a VA and who carries the recruiting, supervising and replacing.

Costs

## What a virtual assistant costs in the UK

What a virtual assistant costs in the UK depends more on how you hire than on the task.

A UK-based assistant costs what a UK salary costs, whether you employ them or go through a UK agency. On top of that you pay [employer National Insurance](https://www.gov.uk/get-ready-to-employ-someone) and pension. Then there's holiday and a desk to cover, and the hours you'll spend managing them.

A freelancer's hourly rate looks low until you add your own hours. Recruiting takes some. Briefing takes more, and covering the gaps when they're away takes the rest.

A VA from Ant Assist starts on the introductory rate. After the promotion, each service has its own rate card, and Mid and Expert tiers sit above it for longer experience.

Full time is 160 hours a month and part time 80, each with its own rate. Hours are 9am to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays. That's 8 paid working hours a day, lunch hour paid.

The hourly rate covers your VA's time, office, equipment and management. The only other charges are the one-off onboarding fee and VAT where applicable.

Ant Assist prices by role, Entry tier, full time

| Role | Full time, an hour |
|---|---|
| Admin VA | £6.30 |
| Customer service VA | £5.95 |
| Lead generation VA | £5.50 |
| E-commerce VA | £6.50 |
| First 6 months on Entry, every role | £5 an hour |
| One-off onboarding fee | £695, currently £495 |

Fees exclude VAT, which is added where applicable, and are invoiced monthly in advance. Mid and Expert tiers and monthly totals are in the [full price list](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-assistant-cost-uk/#pricing).

To set a VA against a UK employee line by line, with the salary and overheads itemised, [how much a virtual assistant costs in the UK](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-assistant-cost-uk/) does the sums, or you can put your own hours into the [calculator](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/).

What the £5/hour entry rate includes

- A VA you pick from candidates we've recruited and screened
- Support that runs on UK hours
- Management of your VA's adherence and productivity, included
- Support from HR and IT, with their equipment included
- Their office infrastructure, included
- Replacement of your VA available
- No NI or pension costs for you to pay
- A 12-month term, including a 3-month probation

[See the numbers for your own hours](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/)

Where to look

## Where to find a virtual assistant

You can find a virtual assistant on job boards or freelancer marketplaces, through recruiters, in directories of self-employed VAs, or through a provider whose assistant works only for you.

**Job boards** list people looking for a role. You get applicants rather than a shortlist, and the whole hiring process lands on you. That means screening and interviewing. Then come references and contracts, and in the UK your duties as an employer. What the listing hides is the weeks of your time before anyone does a task.

**Freelancer marketplaces** give you profiles and reviews. The reviews are for other people's work, though. The freelancer's time is shared across everyone who hires them, and the platform takes a cut on top of the listed rate.

**Recruiters** find you a UK candidate for a fee. Their job ends at placement. Keeping the person is down to you, and so is managing and replacing them.

**Directories and networks** of self-employed VAs give you names and specialisms. Same weak spot as a freelancer. Nobody stands behind the work except the individual.

**A provider** gives you an assistant who's already been recruited and trained, with someone supervising them. Check four things: who the provider is, where the assistants sit, whether yours works for you alone or is shared, and what happens when it goes wrong. Ask any provider those four questions, us included.

Skip the search

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Tell us the work and we recruit and manage one dedicated VA, from £5 an hour on the introductory rate.

[Explore admin VA support](https://ant-assist.com/services/admin/) · [See your savings](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/)

Before you hire

## Briefing, interviewing and trialling a VA

To hire a VA well, write a one-page brief of the actual tasks, interview against it, and set a paid trial on one real task from the brief.

Most hiring mistakes happen before the first interview. They're in a brief that describes a person instead of the work.

### The one-page brief

Write the tasks down as they happen, not as a job title. For each one, note the tool it's done in and how often it comes up, then what "done" looks like and who checks it.

Add the hours you need and the window they have to fall in. Then list what the assistant may decide alone, and what always comes to you.

Say you want overdue invoices chased. One line might read: "Accounts software, every Friday, done when each one has had a reminder, checked by me." A brief that fits on one page can go to a candidate or a provider as it is.

### Ten questions to ask

1. Which of the tasks on this brief have you done before, and in which tools?
2. Walk me through how you'd handle the first hour of my inbox.
3. What do you do when you're not sure whether to reply or escalate?
4. How do you keep track of what you've promised to whom?
5. What hours can you commit to, and who covers when you're away?
6. How do you handle a password, a client's data and a document you shouldn't have seen?
7. Show me something you've made for someone else that looks like my work.
8. What did the last person you worked for get wrong in how they briefed you?
9. If I gave you three tasks and no order, what would you do first, and why?
10. What would make you walk away from this arrangement?

If you're talking to a provider, ask the same questions about their process. Then add one more: who supervises the assistant day to day, and how?

### A paid trial task that predicts the job

Pick one real task from the brief and pay for it. Give the same instructions you'd give on day one.

Then judge three things. Did the assistant ask the right questions before starting? Does the result match "done" as you defined it? And how did they report back?

A trial that predicts the job is boring and specific. For example, clear this inbox to these rules, or book these three meetings across these calendars, or process these ten orders. A trial that tests personality predicts nothing.

Onboarding

## Onboarding tools, access and security

Before day one, list the accounts your VA will work in. Give access through a password manager, agree how tasks arrive and get reviewed, and narrow your checks over the first month.

**Tools.** The assistant works inside your accounts, not a system of their own. List them before they start: email and calendar, then the CRM or helpdesk, the store admin and file storage, and your task tool.

**Access.** Give access through a [password manager](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/small-organisations-guide-to-cyber-security/secure-your-email), never in plain text.

At Ant Assist, your VA works inside your own systems, under your policies. You're the controller and we're the processor, under our Data Processing Annex. Your VA works only from our managed offices in Egypt, on devices we provide and secure, never from home. Your data stays in your systems.

Your VA uses only AI tools you approve, and we notify you of any personal data breach within 48 hours. Both parties keep each other's information confidential under the agreement, and every VA is bound by written confidentiality obligations. Access runs through password managers and can be revoked at any time.

Whichever route you hire by, insist on the same.

**Rhythm.** Agree how tasks arrive, whether that's a daily list, a shared board or messages through the day. Agree when you'll review. Most clients settle this in the first week.

**The first 30 days.** Week one is the brief made real. The assistant learns your tone and your rules on live work, and you check everything.

In week two, the checking narrows to exceptions. By the end of the month the assistant owns the tasks on the brief, and you're reviewing outcomes rather than steps. Say you've had your VA drafting customer replies. Now you read the weekly summary, not each email.

At Ant Assist, we manage each VA's adherence and productivity: present, on time and working on the tasks you assign. We don't track or micro-manage the work itself.

If it is not working

## Replacing a VA who is not working out

Some VA placements don't fit. What happens next depends on how you hired. Ask before you hire.

With a freelancer, it's over. You're back at the start and recruiting again, with the work stopped in between.

With a recruiter, a replacement usually means a new fee, or a rebate window that's already closed. With a provider, the answer should be in writing before you sign.

At Ant Assist, the initial term is 12 months, including a 3-month probation. For three months from your VA's start date, if you're reasonably dissatisfied with their performance or fit, we replace them at no extra cost.

You're not charged for the replacement during their handover and onboarding, and the three months restart. After probation, if a VA keeps underperforming after we've taken remedial steps, we replace them on the same basis.

After 12 months, the agreement continues month to month with 30 days' written notice.

Whichever route you pick, hire on the answer to that question rather than on the rate. If inbox and diary work comes first, see how to [hire an admin VA](https://ant-assist.com/services/admin/).

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FAQ

## Virtual assistant hiring FAQs

### How do I check a VA provider gives me a real person, not AI?

Ask who the assistants are and where they sit, whether yours is dedicated or shared, and who supervises them day to day. Then judge a paid trial task on real work from your brief. Every Ant Assist VA is a real person we employ, working your UK hours from our managed offices in Egypt.

### What does hiring a freelance VA leave me to do myself?

Three jobs: finding the person, managing them and replacing them. With a freelancer you're the recruiter, the manager and the backup plan, so when they're ill or on holiday, or take a better client, the work stops until you hire again. A managed VA is employed, trained and supervised by the provider, which also replaces them if the fit is wrong. Ant Assist's VAs are employed by us and work from our managed offices in Egypt.

### How can I tell if a VA will be dedicated to me or shared?

Ask before you sign, because it depends on the route. A freelancer's time is shared across everyone who hires them, and a UK agency's hours are usually shared across several clients. A managed VA should work for your business alone, and every Ant Assist VA is dedicated to one client.

### How many hours should I put in my VA brief?

Put in the hours your tasks actually take each week, and the window they have to fall in. If the list covers two kinds of work, brief the one that costs you the most time today and add the second once the first is running. At Ant Assist, part time is 80 hours a month and full time is 160. After the introductory months, the hourly rate depends on the service.

### How do I compare VA quotes when one rate looks much cheaper?

Compare what each rate leaves you to pay or do. A freelancer's rate looks low until you add the hours you'll spend recruiting, briefing and covering gaps. Marketplaces take a cut on top of the listed rate, and UK salaries set the floor for a UK agency. Ant Assist's hourly rate covers your VA's time, office, equipment and management, and you don't pay NI or pension costs. The only other charges are the one-off onboarding fee and VAT where applicable.

### What should I agree in writing before signing with a VA provider?

Agree what happens if the fit is wrong, how the arrangement ends, and how access to your accounts is given and taken back. With a freelancer a bad fit means starting again, and with a recruiter a replacement usually means a new fee. At Ant Assist, the agreement is a 12-month term with a 3-month probation, and if your VA isn't the right fit, we replace them at no extra cost. Every VA is bound by written confidentiality obligations, and access runs through password managers and can be revoked at any time.

Didn't find your answer? Browse [more common questions](https://ant-assist.com/help/) in the Help Centre.

The four guides

[Guide How to hire a VA for admin The tasks, skills, questions and first 30 days for an admin VA. Read the guide](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-admin/) · [Guide How to hire a VA for customer support The tickets, chat and calls a support VA takes over, and how to hire one. Read the guide](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-customer-support/) · [Guide How to hire a VA for lead generation The prospecting, outreach and CRM work a lead generation VA owns. Read the guide](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-lead-generation/) · [Guide How to hire a VA for e-commerce The listings, orders, stock and marketplace work an e-commerce VA owns. Read the guide](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-ecommerce/)

Written by

Yehia Samir

SEO Specialist and Content Writer, Ant Assist

Yehia writes and checks our guides for UK business owners weighing up remote help. Before SEO and content, he spent four years in customer service and call-centre sales.

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