Interim SDR salary · day equivalent, our arithmetic
What an interim SDR earns, the permanent salary by the day
No independent UK source publishes an interim SDR day rate.
The figures here are the permanent SDR salary from Sales Recruit UK and the ONS spread across working days.
That is our arithmetic, a pro-rata floor for comparison, not a market rate.
Sales Recruit UK puts a SaaS SDR at £33,000 base across seven UK regions: about £150 a day over 220 working days, or £22,200 over the IIM’s average of 148 days billed (our arithmetic).
An interim SDR salary is the day rate you agree; when you hire an interim SDR through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with 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 interim SDR
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Interim SDR 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
Interim SDR jobs on the board
No Interim SDR 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 Interim SDR roles appear here as our pipeline finds them.
SDR roles on the board
How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a Interim SDR brief and a shortlist of three to five.
01/ the role
What an interim SDR is, and why the figures are arithmetic
An interim SDR covers the sales development seat full-time for a fixed period: a gap between permanent hires, a launch, a new market or a push before a funding round.
They research accounts, contact buyers and book first meetings, and they are paid by the day.
No independent survey publishes an interim SDR day rate.
One recruiter’s survey publishes a contract rate for the seat under another title: Robert Walters puts a contract business development representative (BDR) in London at £200–£300 a day, as a PAYE rate paid through payroll.
It publishes no contract rate for the seat outside London.
So the main figures on this page are the permanent salary divided into days.
That gives you a floor to compare quotes against, labelled as our arithmetic every time.
For the permanent benchmarks in full, see SDR salary.
02/ scope
What to check in an interim quote
1. The day rate, the days and the notice
Get the day rate, the expected length and the notice period in writing from every candidate.
Compare the day rate with the floor in the table.
Ask whether the rate is PAYE through payroll, through an umbrella company or through the person’s own limited company: the same number means different things.
2. IR35, decided at the start
Status turns on how the engagement runs.
Under the off-payroll working rules (IR35), a medium or large client makes the status determination and gives its reasons; HMRC’s guidance for clients says which businesses count.
HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view on one engagement.
Settle it before you go to market.
3. VAT, pension and what a day rate leaves out
If the person’s business is registered for VAT, VAT is added to the day rate.
A day rate through a limited company carries no employer pension, holiday pay or sick pay; the person pays themselves through salary and dividends out of what their company earns.
What we do on an interim SDR brief
We recruit interim, fractional, part-time, temporary and permanent hires, and non-executive directors.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, and every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
If the seat needs a permanent owner after the interim, hire an SDR on that basis.
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 SDR.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional SDR 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 SDR.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim SDR 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 SDR after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim SDR holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent SDR.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
Interim SDR salary the permanent base by the day, our arithmetic
Permanent SDR pay as published, spread across working days: our arithmetic, not a market rate. Day equivalent = base ÷ 220 working days. A year of interim work = the day equivalent × 148 days, the IIM’s average days billed across all interim functions in 2026. Worked from the unrounded day figure and rounded to the nearest £10. Sales Recruit UK’s figures are technology and SaaS only; the ONS group is broader than the SDR title. Sales Recruit UK is a recruiter.
05/ economics
The floor and the permanent cost: what sits on top of a salary
A permanent SDR costs the employer more than the base.
Employer’s National Insurance is 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year (HMRC rates and thresholds).
The employer must also pay at least 3% into a workplace pension on qualifying earnings.
Our day equivalents leave both out.
An interim carries their own gaps between assignments, holidays and tools.
That is why we show the floor and ask you to compare quotes against it.
We do not claim interim pay sits at any set distance above or below it.
06/ vetting
How we vet interim SDRs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Interim SDR 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/ interim sdr day rate
Interim SDR day rate: the floor and the one contract figure
On permanent pay, the interim SDR day rate floor runs from about £140 to £240 (our arithmetic: base ÷ 220 working days).
The low end is the ONS lower quartile for business sales executives; the high end is its upper quartile.
The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings has no SDR code.
Its nearest group, business sales executives, had a 2025 full-time median of £37,924, about £170 a day on the same arithmetic.
The one published contract figure is Robert Walters’ London rate for a business development representative (BDR): £200–£300 a day, PAYE, London only.
It is a contract rate under the BDR title, not a survey of interim SDRs.
08/ the interim market
Interim pay across all functions, for context only
The Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey covers interim managers across every function, most of them senior.
The IIM’s average day rate is £907, and the IIM’s average days billed in a year is 148.
Those are not SDR figures; we use only the 148 days, to show what an interim year looks like.
Outbound work brings its own rules.
The ICO’s direct marketing guidance covers calls, email and texts under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
Agree whose data the interim will use on day one.
For part-week cover instead of a full-time interim, see fractional SDR salary and fractional SDR.
09/ questions
Interim SDR salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim SDR.
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.
