Fractional EA & Fractional PA · Fractional EA Jobs UK
Hire a Fractional EA or Fractional PA · Jobs & Rates
Hire a fractional EA or fractional PA — senior executive support for UK leaders, for the hours you actually need.
For candidates, current fractional EA jobs with C-suite executives are listed below.
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 a fractional EA
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Fractional EA 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
Fractional EA jobs on the board
No Fractional EA roles on the board in the last three months. Showing operations leadership roles instead.
Current fractional EA opportunities
Fractional recruitment works differently from a permanent search — shorter, scoped by days a week, and priced on the engagement. Send a Fractional EA brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What is a fractional EA?
A fractional EA provides senior executive assistant support on a part-time basis, for a set number of hours a week.
Companies hire a fractional EA to get high-level administrative support without the commitment - or the salary - of a full-time hire.
The same role is sometimes advertised as a fractional PA.
In practice the work is identical: diary, inbox, travel and stakeholder coordination, delivered by one senior assistant working across several clients.
02/ scope
Core fractional EA responsibilities
Executive calendar management
Complex diary coordination, meeting scheduling, and executive time optimisation across multiple time zones and priorities.
Strategic project coordination
Managing executive projects, board meeting preparation, and cross-functional initiative coordination.
Stakeholder communication
Professional correspondence, client liaison, and internal communication management on behalf of executives.
Engagement and tax.
A fractional EA or PA almost always works through their own limited company rather than on payroll, which puts the engagement under HMRC's off-payroll working (IR35) rules.
Get the contract right at the start rather than after the first invoice: status depends on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the status determination — see HMRC's guidance for clients.
Much of this work is remote or hybrid; ONS publishes the underlying pattern in Characteristics of homeworkers.
If you want the spelled-out service view instead of the jobs view, see hire a virtual executive assistant, and fractional jobs UK for every other role.
03/ the week
How a week divides.
Part of a week is the point of the model: the days you buy are yours, the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a fractional EA’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
04/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 2 roles · operations leadership
Engagement
- Fractional1
- Interim1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated1
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)0
- Rate not stated2
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid0
- On-site0
- Not classified2
Newest posting on the board: 2 Sept 2026.
05/ 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 EA.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional EA 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 EA.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim EA 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 EA after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim EA holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent EA.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.
06/ economics
Hire a fractional EA — rates and process
How to hire a fractional EA
To hire a fractional EA, define the hours you need - on a fixed schedule, on-call, or a mix - then brief us and the vetting process below returns a shortlist of 3–5 senior EAs.
Why companies hire a fractional Executive Assistant
The economics are simple: you pay for the hours you use, not a salary.
No source we can cite publishes a fractional EA rate.
For reference, Lily Shippen's 2026 survey puts a temporary EA in London at £25–£32 an hour, while the same survey puts permanent EA salaries at £50,000–£70,000 in London and £40,000–£50,000 outside London and the North West - the same seniority, at the hours you actually need.
07/ vetting
How we vet fractional EAs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Fractional EA 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
08/ london
Fractional EA London — in the office on set days, or remote
Most fractional EA London briefs come from founders and senior leaders who want someone in the room for part of the week: running the diary, preparing board packs, meeting visitors and keeping the office side of the business moving.
The first decision is the pattern — fixed days in the office, remote support with an occasional in-person day, or on-call cover around key meetings — because it shapes who you can hire and what the arrangement costs.
London pay sits above the rest of the UK.
The nearest published reference points are already on this page: Lily Shippen's 2026 survey puts London temporary EA rates at £25–£32 an hour and permanent London EA salaries at £50,000–£70,000, against £40,000–£50,000 outside London and the North West.
For a fractional EA, agree the hours, the in-office days and the response times on the other days before the start, and put them in writing.
An EA sees everything — inbox, calendar, contracts, personal details — so settle confidentiality and data handling at the outset.
If the EA works through their own company, they may be handling personal data on your behalf; the ICO explains how responsibilities split between controllers and processors, and a written agreement should cover it.
The NCSC's small organisations guide to cyber security covers the basics an EA with access to your inbox should follow: backups, protected accounts and spotting scam emails.
The ICO's guide to data security sets out the security principle that applies to the personal data they handle.
For other roles across the UK, see fractional jobs UK.
09/ what you get
Fractional EA services — what a retainer covers
Fractional EA services are sold in two ways: a named EA on a set number of hours a week, or a provider's retainer where the work may be shared across a team.
The first gives you continuity — one person who learns how you work; the second gives cover when that person is away.
Ask which you are buying before you compare prices.
Scope the retainer around the work, not the title.
A fractional EA brief usually covers diary and inbox management, meeting and board-pack preparation, travel, stakeholder correspondence and project follow-up; fractional PA support leans more towards one principal's personal logistics.
Write down the hours, the response times, what happens to unused hours and the notice either side must give.
Then check how the engagement is set up.
A fractional EA working through their own company is a contractor; one on your payroll part-time is an employee, with part-time workers' rights.
If an employed EA later asks to change their days or hours, Acas sets out how to handle a flexible working request.
Acas explains that employment status turns on how the work is actually done, not only on the contract.
When you brief us, we come back with a shortlist of 3–5 senior EAs through our five-stage vetting, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
10/ across the uk
Hire fractional EA UK support — and fractional PA support UK-wide
Most of the work an executive assistant does travels well: diary, inbox, travel, board papers and correspondence can all be run remotely.
That is why you can hire fractional EA UK cover outside London as readily as in it — the question is how many days, if any, you need someone in the room.
Settle that first, because an EA who is on site two days a week is a different hire from one who works remotely around your meetings.
If you want a fractional executive assistant UK-wide who works fully remotely, see hire a virtual executive assistant.
If the need is more personal — one principal's diary, travel and logistics — the same approach applies to fractional PA support UK leaders use.
You can hire a fractional PA on the same terms: a set number of hours a week, fixed or on call, agreed in writing with response times for the days they are not working.
Brief us with the hours, the pattern and the work, and we come back with a shortlist of 3–5 through our five-stage vetting, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
If the engagement runs through the assistant's own company, a medium or large client makes the IR35 status determination (HMRC).
11/ questions
Fractional EA FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional EA.
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.
