Cost Savings – Outsourced vs In-House Cashiers
Firstly, let’s look at how much it costs to employ an in-house Legal Cashier.
Most firms benchmark and budget based on an annual salary alone. But the true cost of employing a Legal Cashier in-house is vastly more and can add a third to the cost of the annual salary.
According to the 2017 ILFM/Balance Recruitment Salary, the UK average salary for a sole legal cashier stood at £28,500.
But what other costs need to be considered when calculating the actual cost for employing an in-house Legal Cashier?
On-Boarding
Typically if recruiting via a recruitment agency a 15% fee will be charged of the annual salary of the Legal Cashier. Based on the UK average, this equates to £4,275. There will additionally be costs for induction, training and on-boarding materials.
Salary Costs
Based on the UK average salary, the monthly salary equates to £2,375, with 9.7% Employer National Insurance of £230.38 and Auto Enrolment contributions currently at 3% of £71.25. Typically, private medical insurance, group illness cover or health benefits and insurances are in the region of £125 per month. This totals £2,801.63 per month.
Licenses, Software and Expenses
Typically license costs for HR software, Microsoft Office and other general subscriptions will amount to £35 a month.
Employees amass numerous expenses per head including the cost of refreshments, training and CPD, compliance, staff events and professional subscriptions. This over the course of a year can easily reach £720 annually or £60 per month.
Overheads
In terms of overheads, Instant Offices estimate the average desk per person to cost between £200 and £400 per month outside London, averaging £300 per month.
A 5% of salary cost apportionment should also be taken into account in terms of IT, HR or Supervisory support costs. Based on our UK average salary, this costs £118.75 per month.
Summary
Totalling up the monthly additional costs to the Legal Cashier salary of £2,375 (£28,500 a year), our monthly cost is £3,315.38 (£39,784.56 per year). Plus there was the recruitment fee of £4,275…
Is that Legal Cashier fully utilised during every hour of the working day? Or is there lost time that is being paid for and not used?
If outsourcing the Legal Cashiering function, there is a clear and immediate cost-saving available in comparison to employing an in-house Legal Cashier. On average, firms that utilise Outsourced Legal Cashiering services can save 40-50% in comparison to in-house staff.
It also enables legal practices to only pay for time incurred and utilised in addition to having sickness cover and holiday cover. It also saves on additional employment, training and overhead costs.
The hidden costs of in-house staff who are not fully utilised, quickly add up. By outsourcing, we will agree a fixed fee, transactional fee or hourly rate based on the amount of work required. You will not be paying for time not utilised and immediately begin to reap the cost savings.
Learn more about how Ascentant can support you firm with our Outsourced Legal Cashiering Services.
