How Much Does It Really Cost to Hire a Remote Worker? The Honest Answer Growing Businesses Need

You've probably Googled it. Maybe more than once.

You're running a growing business, you need more hands on deck, and someone told you remote hiring could save you a fortune. But every time you try to find a straight answer — what does this actually cost? — you land on vague estimates, contradictory blog posts, and agency websites that won't show you a number until you fill in a form.

So let's fix that right now. No fluff. No bait-and-switch. Just the real numbers, the real trade-offs, and everything you need to make a confident decision.

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First: Why Are So Many Businesses Switching to Remote Hiring?

It's not a trend. It's maths.

Hiring a full-time employee locally is expensive. We're talking:

• Salary (market rate, rising every year)
• Employer NI contributions — currently 13.8% on earnings above £9,100
• Pension contributions — minimum 3% employer contribution
• Holiday pay — 28 days statutory minimum
• Sick pay, recruitment fees, onboarding time, equipment, office space...

By the time you've added it up, a £30,000 salary job actually costs you closer to £38,000–£42,000 per year — before the person has done a single hour of work.

Now contrast that with a skilled remote professional based in the Philippines, managed through a structured service like LisBom. The same calibre of work — an experienced executive assistant, a marketing coordinator, an IT support specialist — for a fixed monthly fee that's often less than half the local equivalent.

That's not exploitation. That's economics. The cost of living in the Philippines is significantly lower, so professionals there earn excellent, competitive salaries by local standards — while you spend a fraction of what local hiring would cost you.

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So What Are the Actual Numbers?

Here's a transparent breakdown of what you can realistically expect when hiring a remote professional through a managed service like LisBom, compared to the local equivalent:

The LisBom fee is all-inclusive: the professional's salary, their benefits, compliance, and our UK-based management support. One invoice. No surprises.

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"But Is the Quality Actually There?"

This is the question every business owner asks — and it's the right question to ask.

The Philippines is ranked #2 in Asia for English proficiency. English is a co-official language used daily in business, law, education, and government. The country produces over 500,000 graduates per year, and has a decades-long track record of supporting global companies across tech, finance, marketing, and operations.

This isn't a developing market trying to break through. It's a mature, proven industry — the Philippine IT-BPM sector alone generates over $40 billion in annual revenue.

The professionals you hire through LisBom are not entry-level workers doing low-skill tasks. They are experienced, degree-qualified individuals who have often worked with international businesses before. The difference is that their salary expectations reflect the Philippine cost of living — not London's.

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What's Actually Included — And What's Not?

One of the biggest concerns SMEs have about remote hiring is the hidden complexity: employment law, payroll compliance, tax implications, managing someone remotely, what happens if it doesn't work out.

This is exactly why LisBom exists. Here's what's covered in a single monthly fee:

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Who Is This Actually Right For?

Remote hiring through LisBom works best for businesses that are growing but not yet at the scale where adding another full local hire makes financial sense. If you recognise any of these:

• You're doing tasks yourself that someone else should be doing
• You've priced up a local hire and winced at the number
• You need consistent support — not a freelancer who disappears
• You want someone embedded in your business, not outsourced task work
• You're in ecommerce, recruitment, real estate, accounting, SaaS, or healthcare

...then this conversation is worth having.

LisBom works with businesses across the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Germany, and Singapore. The model is the same wherever you are: structured hiring, transparent pricing, and a team that's fully managed for the long term.

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The Real Question Isn't "Can I Afford This?"

It's: "What is it costing me not to do this?"

Every month you spend doing admin work that an executive assistant could handle, every customer query that goes unanswered because you don't have support cover, every marketing task sitting in the backlog — that's a real cost. It just doesn't show up on an invoice.

Remote hiring isn't a compromise. For the right business, it's the most logical, affordable, and scalable way to grow.