Hire a Virtual Assistant in the UK: Working Hours, Tasks and Prices

Written by the MyRemoteVA team. Prices and facts are checked before publishing. How we write and update guides.

To hire a virtual assistant in the UK, check three things: how the shift overlaps with UK working hours, which tasks you will hand off, and the full price. This guide shows the time table for London, eight tasks that work well, the limits on VAT work, and our prices in US dollars.

Hire a virtual assistant in the UK: the hours

Our team works from Kerala, India. Kerala is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of UK winter time (GMT) and 4 hours 30 minutes ahead in summer (BST). We plan a shift around your day.

So a UK 9 to 5 day matches a Kerala afternoon and evening shift. Your assistant can start your inbox while you plan the day, and tasks sent late in the UK day are ready the next morning. The time zone planner shows any date, with daylight saving handled.

Eight tasks UK small businesses hand off

• Inbox management and calendar booking.
• Data entry into your CRM or spreadsheets.
• Invoice reminders and supplier follow-ups.
• Receipt sorting for your accountant.
• Customer emails from your notes.
• Social media posting you approve.
• Research lists and supplier comparisons.
• Website text edits.

The work is online. Tasks that need someone on site, such as meeting a courier, are not a fit.

VAT and bookkeeping: what a virtual assistant does not do

A virtual assistant can sort receipts, code expenses and keep your records tidy for your accountant. It does not file VAT returns or give tax advice. The standard UK VAT rate is 20 percent, and the rules change, so check VAT rates on GOV.UK or ask your accountant. See our UK bookkeeping guide for the tasks we cover.

What it costs

Prices are in US dollars, and your payment provider converts the amount. Pay as you go is $12 an hour and hours never expire. Part-time is 80 hours for $500. Full-time is 160 hours for $899, about $5.62 an hour. A team lead reviews every task. Unused hours roll over while your account is active. Use the cost calculator to match plans to your hours.

How to start this week

1. Pick one repeat task, such as the inbox or invoice reminders.
2. Write it as five steps with the task brief guide.
3. Try 3 hours free. The trial runs for 2 days, then the plan you choose starts.
4. Review the first results and fix the steps.
5. Add a second task when the first runs well.

Payments are final, so start small. If you need your assistant to be a UK resident, a UK-based service is the better fit.

Helpful next steps

Time zone overlap: how a UK day runs with a Kerala team

The time zone overlap is smaller than with the Gulf, but it works well for admin that does not need a live reply. In the morning in London, send the day's tasks and a short note. Your assistant starts in the Kerala afternoon, works through the list in the UK afternoon, and posts results and questions in the portal. Anything you answer before you finish for the day is picked up in the evening shift.

For urgent items, mark them clearly in the task title. For routine work, a clean five-step brief means fewer questions and fewer delays. Many UK owners say the best change is not speed. It is waking up to a tidy inbox and a clear list of what was done.

If your business works across several UK sites or shifts, tell us your hours when you start and we plan the shift around them.

Is it right to hire a virtual assistant in the UK this way?

If you want to hire a virtual assistant in the UK for online admin, bookkeeping support and customer email, a managed team on a Kerala shift can fit well. If you need someone on site, or a UK resident for data reasons, choose a local service. Many UK owners hire a virtual assistant in the UK for a few hours a week first, then grow the plan when the work is steady.

See the UK virtual assistant page, pricing, the US hiring guide and the Australia hiring guide.

Sources and further reading

According to the IRS, businesses “must weigh all these factors” when deciding whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

• Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? (IRS)
• Employment status (GOV.UK)
• Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Hire and manage employees (U.S. Small Business Administration)

These are general sources, not tax or legal advice for your case. A virtual assistant keeps work moving. Your accountant or adviser decides the rules.

How we work on hire a virtual assistant in the UK in practice

In our experience, the first week goes best when the owner starts with one repeat task and a five-step brief: where the work starts, what to do, what done looks like, who needs the result and when it is due. At MyRemoteVA, an assistant who uses AI tools to work faster does the task, and a team lead reviews it before it reaches you. Hours used and hours left show in the client portal, and unused hours roll over while your account is active.

Our team works from Kozhikode, Kerala, India, in English, and plans shifts around your working day in the US, UK, Canada, the UAE, Australia or New Zealand. You can try 3 hours free first. The trial runs for 2 days, then the plan you choose starts.

Tools and places we work with

Assistants work in the tools you already use, for example Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Trello, Asana, Xero, QuickBooks, Shopify and WordPress. We serve clients in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.