The Real Cost of Adding Capacity

Compare permanent hires, contractors and consultancy engagements before you commit budget.

Built for Life Sciences IT, validation and transformation teams deciding how to resource delivery.

Start with benchmarks or enter your own numbers.

Compare capacity options / Turn off any routes that don't apply

Programme details

Programme or project

Company name

Number of people needed

Delivery period (weeks)

Programme budget

£

Potential monthly cost of delay

£

Estimated business impact per month if this programme is delayed.

Capacity options

Permanent hire

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Average salary per person

£

NI, pension, bonus and benefits are added automatically.

Recruitment fee (%) If using an agency. Sector range 15 to 25%.

Employer pension (%) Sector range 8 to 12%

Annual bonus (%)

Benefits per year

£

Annual training spend

£

Hiring lead time (weeks)

Notice period (weeks)

Ramp up (weeks)

Productivity during ramp up (%)

Contract

—

Average day rate per person

£

Agency margin (%) If placed through an agency. Sector range 15 to 25%.

Inside IR35

Time to start (weeks)

Ramp up (weeks)

Productivity during ramp up (%)

Consultancy

—

Average day rate per person

£

Enter the rate from your proposal.

Supplier margin (%) Only add this if your base rate excludes supplier margin.

Time to start (weeks)

Ramp up (weeks)

Productivity during ramp up (%)

Cost comparison

Benchmark assumptions are editable. Review before use.

Total effective cost

Permanent

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Contract

—

Consultancy

—

Time to impact

—

—

—

—

—

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Weeks productive

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—

—

—

—

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Per week productive cost

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Before you commit, pressure-test each route with these questions

Sense check the numbers before committing to a budget.

How these figures are calculated ▾

Employer NI is calculated at 15% on earnings above the £5,000 annual secondary threshold. Source: HMRC rates 2025/26 and 2026/27.

Cash cost is the spend implied by your inputs. Effective cost adds the productivity gap during ramp up, so slower routes can be compared against faster ones on a like-for-like basis.

Per week productive cost divides the total effective cost by the number of weeks the resource is actually productive within the delivery period. It accounts for the ramp-up period, so a route that takes 12 weeks to reach full output has fewer productive weeks than one that starts in 2.

Weeks productive is the delivery period minus the time to impact. A permanent hire with a 32-week ramp leaves 16 productive weeks in a 48-week programme.

Time to impact for permanent hire includes hiring time, notice period and ramp up. For contract and consultancy it is time to start plus ramp up.

Best value verdict scores each route across four metrics — total effective cost, per week productive cost, weeks productive and time to impact — awarding 3 points to the best performer in each, 2 to the middle and 1 to the worst. Maximum score is 12. The highest total is the best value option. Where cost and speed point in different directions the tool flags the tension. Ties share the average of available points — two routes tied for first share 2.5 each, leaving 1 for the third. With default figures: Permanent scores 7, Contract 11, Consultancy 6. Total effective cost: lowest wins. Per week productive cost: total divided by productive weeks, lowest wins. Weeks productive: delivery period minus time to impact, highest wins. Time to impact: fastest wins.

Productive days default to 217 per year: 260 working days minus 25 annual leave, 8 bank holidays, 6 sick days and 4 non-productive days. Pension default is 10%, within the Life Sciences sector range of 8 to 12%.

Contractor day rate benchmark of £600 per day reflects mid-market Life Sciences IT.

Consultancy rates of £1,200 to £2,500 per day reflect Life Sciences IT market benchmarks. Enter the rate from your proposal. Add supplier margin only if your base rate excludes it.

Ramp up defaults are 12 weeks at 60% for permanent hire, 4 weeks at 80% for contract and consultancy. Source: CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning Report 2024/25.

All figures are planning benchmarks. Not a substitute for financial, HR or legal advice.