Every resourcing route carries a hidden cost.
This forecast compares permanent hires, contractors and consultancy on total effective cost.
And how long before you see any impact.
Add individual roles when their salaries or rates differ from the benchmark.
Talk through the cost, delivery time and productivity trade-offs before you choose a route.
Employer NI is calculated at 15% on earnings above the £5,000 annual secondary threshold. Source: HMRC rates 2025/26 and 2026/27.
Cash cost is the spend implied by your inputs. Effective cost adds the productivity gap during ramp up, so slower routes can be compared against faster ones on a like-for-like basis.
Per week productive cost divides the total effective cost by the number of weeks the resource is actually productive within the delivery period. It accounts for the ramp-up period, so a route that takes 12 weeks to reach full output has fewer productive weeks than one that starts in 2.
Weeks productive is the delivery period minus the time to full productivity. A permanent hire with a 32-week ramp leaves 16 productive weeks in a 48-week programme.
Time to full productivity for a permanent hire includes hiring time, notice period and ramp up. For contract and consultancy it is time to start plus ramp up.
Score bands and points. Each active route receives 1 to 3 points in each of three independent dimensions: cost, delivery time and productivity. With two routes, the better route receives 3 and the other 1. With three routes, points are 3, 2 and 1. Ties share the average available points.
Route comparison scores each route across three independent dimensions: cost, delivery time and productivity. Cost combines total effective cost and cost per productive week; delivery time uses time to start; productivity uses estimated productive capacity across the delivery period, including ramp-up effectiveness. The best performer in each gets 3 points, the middle 2 and the worst 1. Maximum score is 9. The highest total performs best across the cost, delivery time and productivity measures used in this comparison. Where cost and speed point in different directions the tool flags the tension. Ties share the average of available points, so two routes tied for first share 2.5 each, leaving 1 for the third. Default scores change with the editable benchmark data; no route is guaranteed to win. Total effective cost: lowest wins. Per week productive cost: total divided by productive weeks, lowest wins. The visible weeks-productive and time-to-full-productivity measures remain decision inputs, but the score avoids counting the same speed effect twice. Delivery time: fastest start wins. Productivity: highest estimated productive capacity across the delivery period wins.
Pension defaults to 10% and remains editable. Review all nufuture benchmark data before using the comparison.
Contractor day rate benchmark of £650 per day reflects senior Life Sciences IT project delivery.
Consultancy rates of £1,200 to £2,500 per day reflect Life Sciences IT market benchmarks. Enter the rate from your proposal. Add supplier margin only if your base rate excludes it.
Ramp up defaults are 12 weeks at 60% for permanent hire, 4 weeks at 80% for contract and consultancy. Source: CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning Report 2024/25.
All figures use nufuture benchmark data unless replaced with your own inputs. Not a substitute for financial, HR or legal advice.