Freelance ready reckoner 2015-16

The 2015-16 edition of the UK Freelance Ready Reckoner, produced by Andrew Bibby, was published in September 2015. It is available here in HTML format, or can be downloaded as a PDF. See also Frequently Asked Questions and the accompanying media release.

The Ready Reckoner provides in tabular form comparable freelance day rates for equivalent annual gross salaries for employees in the range £20,000-£60,000. It is based on a detailed comparison of the costs for employers of using staff journalists (employees).

Although designed for journalists, the Ready Reckoner may also be adapted for use by other freelance and self-employed workers in the UK.

The Freelance Ready Reckoner 2015-16 © Andrew Bibby 2015.

 How to use this Ready Reckoner:

- Look in column 1: What equivalent annual salary would you expect to get, given your age, qualifications and experience, and bearing in mind comparable staff journalist salary levels?

- Look in column 3. This is the actual daily cost to the employer of employing a staff journalist (employee). See FAQs for details of the methodology used in reaching this figure.

- Look in column 4. This is the recommended daily income you would need to receive as a freelance for comparability with a staff journalist. It is based on the assumption that 3/5 th of work time is directly productive. See FAQs for more details.

Working as a freelance photographer? – see FAQs

Previous versions of the Freelance Ready Reckoner are available for 2013-14, 2011-12, 2009-10, 2007-8 and 2006-7.

Note: Every attempt has been made to base the Ready Reckoner on accurate current data, but no liability is accepted for any errors which have crept in.

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