Sick Leave, Public Holidays & Annual Leave: The Hidden Costs You Can Avoid

Running a business comes with many unavoidable expenses, but some of the biggest hidden costs lie in your payroll. Sick leave, public holidays, and annual leave can quietly drain thousands from your bottom line every year — and you might not even realise it.

Let’s break down the numbers.

The True Cost of Employee Leave

Hiring a full-time employee on a $60K salary doesn’t just mean paying for their productive hours. Here’s what you’re also on the hook for:

• Annual leave (4 weeks) = ~$4,600

• Public holidays (10+ days) = ~$2,300

• Sick leave (10 days) = ~$2,400

That adds up to over $9,000 a year in paid time off — with zero output.

Now multiply that by multiple staff members, and you're looking at a serious dent in your business budget.

How Virtual Assistants Break the Cycle

When you hire a Virtual Assistant (VA), you only pay for the time they’re actually working on your business. That means:

• No leave loading

• No sick pay

• No public holiday penalty rates

• No idle costs

Just real work, delivered when you need it.

Real Example: Dollars Doing More

Let’s look at what $2,400 can buy you:

• 10 sick days for an employee with no work delivered.

• OR 53+ hours of completed VA work at $45/hour — hours that move your business forward.

Even better, for the cost of $7,000 in annual and public holiday leave, you could get over 155 hours of high-quality VA time. That’s more than three weeks of full-time productive output.

The VA Advantage with DW Admin Co

At DW Admin Co, we help businesses reduce overheads and stay agile with professional virtual support. Our VAs are experienced, efficient, and ready to keep your business running while others are out of office.

Why business owners make the switch:

• Pay only for productive hours

• Seamless business continuity during breaks

• Backup VA options available

• Flexible support that scales with your needs

• No leave or entitlement headaches

Final Thoughts

Every hour and every dollar matters when you’re growing a business. If you’re tired of paying for downtime, it might be time to rethink how you structure your team.

DW Admin Co helps businesses stay on track year-round — no matter the calendar.

Let’s chat about how we can support your business and save you thousands in wasted overhead.