Minimum Wage Increase – Update – Recruit vs Robot
With the increase in Minimum Wage from 1st April 2024 does it alter the decision on employing a person or deploying a Robot?
The costs, the capacity for work, the reliability and the flexibility all need to be considered.
| Feature | Person | Software Robot |
| Hours per day | 8 | 24 |
| Hours per week (Capacity) | 40 | 168 |
| Minimum Wage – Annual cost | 11.44 x 40 x 52 = £23,795.20 | |
| Ether Solutions Bronze Service | £2,000 x 12 = £24,000 | |
| Holiday days | 20 | 0.5 x 2 (Software Patching) |
| Number of Different Tasks | Many | One |
| Days off sick | ? | 0 |
Similar costs but a major difference in Capacity and Flexibility.
Filling 168 hours per week of capacity for a software robot with 1 automated task can be a challenge.
Automating more tasks would cost more but utilise more of the capacity.
Of course, other details such as Pension, Employer’s National Insurance, etc. could be minor factors but the overall balance for similar costs does the business need flexibility or capacity to get work done?
The software robot could run on the same PC that would be allocated to a person.
In case you are wondering, yes a software robot can use AI.
If the plan was to recruit, is that still the best option?
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For more information contact Ether Solutions
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