Executive assistant salary · permanent pay, 2026
What an executive assistant earns, by level and by region
An executive assistant salary in 2026 runs from £38,500 to £64,500, with a median of £50,250, on Robert Half’s national figures for a permanent EA.
In London, Robert Half puts the median at £68,250.
The ONS puts the full-time median for personal assistants and other secretaries, a broader group, at £34,954 in 2025.
Experience, the leader supported and the size of the organisation move the number.
Salary is the start of the cost: employer’s National Insurance and pension sit on top.
When you hire an executive assistant through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire an executive assistant
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Executive Assistant candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Executive assistant jobs on the board
No Executive assistant roles on the board right now.
We only show real vacancies from the last three months, each marked whether we could confirm it is still open — we never pad the board. New Executive assistant roles appear here as our pipeline finds them.
Executive assistant roles on the board
Fractional recruitment works differently from a permanent search — shorter, scoped by days a week, and priced on the engagement. Send a Executive Assistant brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What an executive assistant does, and what sets the pay
An executive assistant supports one senior leader, sometimes a small leadership team.
The National Careers Service describes the work: complex diaries, projects with other teams, research for senior managers, board meetings, events and travel, and sensitive information.
That information is often personal data, and the ICO’s UK GDPR guidance sets out how it must be handled.
Our guide to what an executive assistant does covers the role in full.
Experience sets the pay first.
Robert Half ties each point of its range to a level: £38,500 for a candidate with little or no prior experience, £50,250 for average experience, and £64,500 for above-average experience, possibly with specialised qualifications.
Company size comes next.
Robert Walters puts a London EA in a medium enterprise (50 to 250 staff) at £40,000–£50,000, with an average of £45,420.
In a large enterprise (250+ staff) the range is £45,000–£75,000, with an average of £60,320.
The leader supported matters too.
An EA who runs a chief executive’s diary, board papers and investor meetings sits near the top of a band; one covering a team’s diaries and travel sits lower.
Location adds the rest: every source on this page puts London above the other regions.
02/ scope
How to set the pay when you hire an executive assistant
1. Price the leader, not the title
Write down who the EA will support and what they will own.
Then place the role in a band: the level of experience it needs, the size of the organisation, and the city.
2. Choose the route
A permanent appointment suits a leader who needs support every day: see how to hire an executive assistant.
For fewer hours on a salary, see part-time executive assistant.
For remote support, see virtual executive assistant.
In London, see executive assistant recruitment in London.
3. Set the whole package
The CIPD’s introduction to reward separates fixed base pay from variable pay, such as bonuses, which is not guaranteed.
Decide what, if anything, is variable before you make an offer.
Paid leave is part of the package too: GOV.UK sets out the statutory holiday entitlement almost all workers have.
4. Check before the start date
For an employee, you must check their right to work before they start.
Take references yourself, ideally from the leaders the candidate supported.
What we do on an EA brief
We recruit permanent, part-time, temporary, interim and fractional executive assistants.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, and every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
Roles on the board are listed on executive assistant jobs.
03/ the route
Fractional, interim or permanent?
Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.
The route · Fractional
A fractional executive assistant.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional executive assistant holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim executive assistant.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim executive assistant takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent executive assistant after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim executive assistant holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent executive assistant.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
04/ rates by stage
Executive assistant salary by source, region and company size
Permanent EA pay as each publisher states it, all 2026 except the ONS (2025). Robert Half publishes starting-salary projections (base). Robert Walters, Lily Shippen and Morgan McKinley publish salary ranges; all four are recruiters. The ONS group, personal assistants and other secretaries, is broader than the EA title.
05/ economics
What the salary costs the business, beyond the base
A salary is not the whole cost of an employee.
For 2026 to 2027, employer’s National Insurance is 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year (HMRC rates and thresholds).
Under automatic enrolment, the employer must pay at least 3% into a workplace pension, in most schemes on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 (GOV.UK).
Many schemes pay more.
On Robert Half’s £50,250 median, employer’s National Insurance comes to £6,787.50 and the minimum pension to £1,320.30, so the salary costs about £58,360 a year before any bonus or benefits (our arithmetic).
Hours are part of the deal as well.
Every employee can request flexible working from their first day, so an EA may ask for compressed or fewer hours.
A part-time EA is paid pro rata; see part-time executive assistant.
06/ vetting
How we vet executive assistants
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Executive Assistant tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
07/ executive assistant salary uk
Executive assistant salary UK: the national benchmarks side by side
The national figures measure different things.
Robert Half’s executive assistant salary UK range, £38,500–£64,500 with a median of £50,250, is a starting-salary projection for base pay.
Robert Walters gives regional ranges, from £28,000 at the bottom of its Midlands band to £75,000 at the top of its London one.
Lily Shippen puts an EA outside London and Manchester at £40,000–£50,000.
The official figure is lower because it counts a wider group.
The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings reports a 2025 full-time median of £34,954 for personal assistants and other secretaries (SOC 2020 code 4215), with the middle half of earners between £28,565 and £43,903.
That group includes PAs and secretaries as well as executive assistants.
The ONS publishes its latest reading of the survey in its Employee earnings in the UK bulletin.
Read any single figure as one view of the market.
The useful question is which band your role sits in: the experience it needs, the size of the organisation and where the EA will work.
08/ executive assistant salary london
Executive assistant salary London, and the regions
The executive assistant salary London employers pay sits at the top of every source.
Robert Half puts it at £52,250–£87,750, with a median of £68,250.
Robert Walters gives a London range of £40,000–£75,000, Lily Shippen £50,000–£70,000, and Morgan McKinley an average of £50,000–£60,000.
Outside London, Lily Shippen puts a Manchester EA at £40,000–£55,000.
Robert Walters gives the North £32,000–£55,000, the South £32,000–£50,000 and the Midlands £28,000–£50,000.
In each region, Robert Walters’ large-enterprise average is higher than its medium-enterprise one.
09/ by level
Executive assistant salary by level: new, experienced and senior
Robert Half ties each point of its range to experience, which makes its figures the clearest guide to executive assistant salary by level.
Its lower figure describes a candidate with little or no prior experience who is still developing the skills.
Its median describes average experience and most of the skills.
Its upper figure describes above-average experience, most or all of the skills, and possibly specialised qualifications.
On that basis, the national figures read £38,500 for a candidate new to the role, £50,250 for average experience and £64,500 for above-average experience.
In London the same three levels read £52,250, £68,250 and £87,750.
Titles vary.
Many EAs start as a personal assistant or administrator; the National Careers Service lists EA, personal assistant and PA as titles for the same job.
Our guide to how to become an executive assistant covers the route.
10/ the other routes
Salary or hourly rate: the other ways to pay for an EA
Read this sectionClose this section
A permanent salary buys an EA every day, with notice on both sides.
A temporary or interim EA is paid by the hour or the day for cover over a fixed period; see interim executive assistant salary for the rates.
A part-time EA is an employee on a pro rata salary.
The bases differ, so compare the total cost for the hours you need, not the headline numbers.
11/ questions
Executive assistant salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an executive assistant.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
