At the beginning of 2024, SecsintheCity surveyed over 1,400 EAs, PAs, and other business support professionals to get the inside exclusive on salaries, bonuses and employee expectations. We bring you the result of this benchmarking PA salaries report…
The landscape of talent acquisition continues to evolve for Personal Assistants in 2024; shaped by changing workforce dynamics with return-to-office schemes, and the ever-growing demand for skilled professionals. This year, the industry delivers on salary, bonuses and employees’ desire for flexibility, with 67% of PAs and 74% of EAs conducting a hybrid working schedule.
Average earnings for PAs
64% of PAs and EAs retrospectively received a pay rise in 2024, with 54% of Private PAs taking home an ameliorated wage. Despite employers’ budgets under greater pressure, competition for suitably qualified staff continues. This fluidity is apparent within the business support recruitment market, with candidates seizing the opportunity to negotiate their salary with potential employers.
The average salary for PAs stands at £43,773. By comparison, those Private PA jobs topped the pay table for the third year running, with average salaries rising to £56,848 – a 3% annual uptick. Following closely behind, professionals working in executive support reported an average salary of £54,861 per annum – a 7% increase on last year’s figures.
Spotlighting industries
2024 bestowed pay rises across 19 out of 22 sectors surveyed, from banking / finance, to education, insurance and fashion. With a 50% uptick, the Private Individual/Family sector reported the greatest year-on-year growth. The highest earning sector on SecsintheCity, private jobs not only offer a strong salary, but a unique chance to work with high-net worth individuals or private households.
The real demand however, lies with those working in technology. In an age of emerging tech, with companies assessing and adopting newfound AI models, employees within the tech industry are in high demand. Pervasive candidate shortages across the sector leads to employers using salary as an incentive for employee retention and the attraction of new talent. The average salary stands at £52,136 per annum.
Bonuses
52% of PAs received a bonus in 2024, and 32% took home an additional 10%+ of their paycheck, with Executive Assistants leading the race for bonus payments.
- 23% received a 0-2% bonus.
- 24% earned an additional 3-5%.
- 13% took home 6-9%.
Benchmarking PA salaries by tenure
Equilibrium is restored to the pay charts this year in terms of salary and service, with enhanced pay correlating to years worked. New starters average a salary of £27,777, with those with 20+ experience acquiring an additional £20,000 (est). Over the past two years, we saw new starters being favoured over those with 1-3 years experience, with starting salaries peaking upon employment.
This year, graduates fall back in line with lower-average earnings, obtaining an additional £4,774 with accrued experience. Peak earnings are awarded at the 10 year mark, with average income at a stand still from 20 years onwards.
The multi-boss movement
Those supporting more than three professionals continue to earn the lowest wage, with the 48% of the SecsintheCity audience working for multiple managers taking home an average of £6,000 less than the 21% who support a single executive. Nevertheless, the salary story for multi-boss professionals is not completely substandard, with employees’ presented with an augmented salary of £44,471 – an 8% uplift on 2023 statistics.
The truly affluent salaries are awarded to those supporting C-suite executives – presented with a salary of £54,728 a year, they are once again, our highest earners.
Home-based or hybrid: development trends
Flexibility has certainly become a customary part of our working lives. Yet, while certain employees continue to demand fluidity over their work schedule, many employers are advocating a ‘return to office’ scheme, enacting stricter policies on how many days employees are obligated to be in the office. When asked ‘would a return to the office policy be a deal breaker for you in your current role?’ 68% of respondents answered: yes.
What’s most important to you in a role?
37% of business support professionals denote salary as the utmost important factor within their job. With the ongoing cost of living crisis pay equity surpasses hybrid working – with flexibility demoted to an expectation rather than a perk. With restructuring and redundancies infiltrating the headlines, it’s unsurprising to see a continued concern over job stability. Year-on-year, this figure remains at a constant 16-15%.
Turn to SecsintheCity
The salary narrative is undoubtedly positive for EAs, PAs, and other business Across the spectrum, the introduction of ‘return to office’ schemes has resulted in a slight shift of office-to-home days:
- 37% of respondents spent 1-2 days in the office
- 44% conducted 3-4 working days in the office
- 5% went onsite once or twice a month
- 10% were working on a fully remote model Across the UK, London (66% hybrid) continues its lead with hybrid working opportunities, with the South West (64%) following suit. Last year we presented an amplified employee map, making global roles more accessible to all. This year we note slight setbacks in flexibility across the North West (54 – 50% hybrid) / South West (70% – 64%) and Scotland (63% – 43%). support professionals in 2024.
The generosity in pay demonstrates the true fluidity of the business support recruitment market, with tight employer budgets making room for the hiring and retention of suitably qualified staff.
Turn to SecsintheCity for the latest developments and exclusive insights into the PA and EA recruitment market. Go to: secsinthecity.co.uk/ staticpages/10284/salary-survey/ to download the full report.
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