Run your numbers

Self-employed or employed: which leaves you better off?

There's no one right answer - it depends on your hours, your rate and how much ownership you want to take. Move the sliders and see the whole picture: take-home pay, pension, holidays and the trade-offs.

Your situation

Hours cleaned per week

Self-employed rate, per hour

Cleaners we introduce earn £20/hr, paid directly by the client.

Employed rate, per hour

Set to the real Living Wage (£13.45/hr), which the best local cleaning employers subscribe to. Most employed cleaning jobs advertised around Winchester and Southampton pay less - £12.20-12.90/hr (checked Aug 2026).

Weeks off per year (self-employed, unpaid)

Employees get 5.6 weeks paid as standard; self-employed time off is unpaid, so it's a real cost.

Weekly working costs, self-employed

Travel, products, phone. Public liability insurance (~£60/yr) is added automatically. On your tax return, claim driving between jobs at HMRC's 55p a mile (2026/27, 25p after 10,000 miles) - it's usually worth more than the fuel cost.

Pension you choose to pay in

Employees are auto-enrolled at 5%, with 3% added by the employer. Self-employed, it's entirely up to you - this slider is your choice.

The headline

Estimated yearly take-home after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions.

Self-employed

Employed

Self-employed

Employed

Self-employed

Line	Per year

Employed

Paid 52 weeks, including 5.6 weeks' holiday.

Line	Per year

Beyond the numbers

The trade-offs.

Money is only half the decision. Self-employment means taking ownership of things an employer would handle - and that ownership is exactly where the higher take-home comes from.

What you take on, self-employed

No sick pay. If you can't work, you don't earn. Employees get Statutory Sick Pay.
Unpaid holidays. Every week off comes out of your income - the sliders above price that in.
Your own pension. Nobody enrols you and nobody tops it up. The 3% an employer would add is yours to replace, or lose.
Your own admin. A Self Assessment tax return each year, your own insurance, and setting money aside for the tax bill.
Finding the work. Quiet weeks are your problem - unless someone fills your diary for you, which is the part we do.

What you gain, self-employed

A higher rate for the same hour. The gap between £20 and an employed £12.90 is what funds the responsibilities on the left - and usually more than covers them.
Your diary is yours. School hours, term-time only, no evenings - you decide, nobody approves it.
Your clients are yours. You're building something you own, and it grows with your reputation.
Expenses reduce your tax. Travel, products and insurance come off your profit before tax is worked out. Keep a note of your miles between jobs. HMRC lets you claim 55p a mile in 2026/27, which usually beats what the fuel cost you.
No cap. Raise your rate, add hours, or don't. An employed rate moves when the employer says so.
Employed hours aren't always guaranteed. The employed column assumes your hours run 52 weeks a year. Plenty of employed cleaning is zero-hours, where quiet weeks shrink the pay packet too - without the higher rate to make up for it.

The assumptions behind the numbers

Tax year 2026/27 figures: personal allowance £12,570; income tax 20% to £50,270, 40% above; employee National Insurance 8% above £12,570 (2% above £50,270); self-employed Class 4 NI 6% above £12,570 (2% above £50,270). Class 2 NI is treated as paid on profits above £7,105, so there's nothing to pay. Below that it's voluntary, and paying £3.65 a week keeps your State Pension record building.
Employed pay assumes 52 paid weeks including 5.6 weeks' statutory holiday. Auto-enrolment pension: 5% from you and 3% from the employer, on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270. Your 5% is shown deducted from take-home, and the pot shown includes basic-rate tax relief and the employer's 3%.
Self-employed income counts only the weeks you work. Public liability insurance of £60/yr is included in costs. Pension contributions are shown deducted from take-home, with basic-rate tax relief added to the pot.
Simplifications: no student loan, no other income, no Marriage Allowance, mileage entered as a flat weekly cost rather than the 55p/mile method. Real tax returns have more moving parts.
Rates checked August 2026: the employed default is the real Living Wage (£13.45/hr, Living Wage Foundation 2025/26), which the best local cleaning employers subscribe to; most employed cleaning ads around Winchester/Southampton pay £12.20-12.90/hr.

This calculator is general information to help you think, not financial or tax advice. Everyone's circumstances differ - for advice about your own situation, speak to an accountant or check gov.uk. At low hours, employment's paid holiday and sick pay can genuinely win.