The Vacancy Bill
What that open role actually costs you.
Five lines. Five minutes. One number you can take to a partner or a board.
You know the role has been open a long time. You probably have not put a number on it. Most operators have not, because the cost is spread across five different lines and none of them are labelled "vacancy".
Work through the five below for one open role. Use rough figures. Rough and honest beats precise and never done.
The work that never got done
The revenue that tradesperson would have delivered. Use billable hours, not paid hours. Thirty a week is realistic for most trades once travel, admin and rework are taken out.
The overtime you paid to cover it
Only count the premium, the extra above ordinary rates. That is the part that exists purely because you were short.
The labour hire premium
What you paid a labour hire firm above what the same hours would have cost you employed. If you used labour hire at all, this line is usually bigger than people expect.
The work you turned away
The hardest line to face and usually the biggest. Jobs you did not quote, contracts you did not bid, expansion you postponed because you could not crew it. If you cannot remember exactly, count the ones you do remember. The real figure is higher.
What you spent trying to fill it
Job board ads and reposts, recruiter fees for candidates who did not work out, and your own time. Count the hours you and your supervisors spent screening, interviewing and chasing, and price them at what your time is worth.
What it looks like filled in
One maintenance electrician, one site, open twelve months. Illustrative assumptions, not a quote and not a case study. Substitute your own.
| Line | Assumption | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Work not done | $130/hr, 30 billable hrs/wk, 48 wks, 35% margin | $65,520 |
| 2. Overtime premium | 10 hrs/wk at $22.50 above ordinary, 48 wks | $10,800 |
| 3. Labour hire premium | $25/hr above employed cost, 38 hrs/wk, 20 wks | $19,000 |
| 4. Work turned away | Four jobs declined at $5,000 margin each | $20,000 |
| 5. Recruitment spend | Six job ad reposts, plus 40 hours of management time | $6,200 |
| Twelve-month vacancy bill | $121,520 | |
One role. One site. One year.
Three things worth knowing before you file this away
This is not a you problem.
The 2025 Occupation Shortage List puts the fill rate for Skill Level 3 trades at 54.3 per cent. Nearly one in two advertised trade roles is never filled. Electricians alone are heading for a shortfall of 32,000 to 42,000 workers by 2030. Reposting the ad is not a strategy against a structural shortage.
The bill compounds.
Every month the role stays open it adds a month of Line 1, and it quietly raises the odds you lose someone from your existing crew to burnout, which starts a second bill.
Almost nobody has done this sum.
Which is why the vacancy sits there. A vacancy that costs “some money” gets tolerated. A vacancy with a number on it gets solved.
What to do with your number
Compare it against what a solution costs. Whatever route you take, whether that is a retained recruiter, a wage rise, an apprentice programme or an overseas pipeline, you now have the only figure that lets you judge it honestly.
Then ask the harder question: is this a role you cannot fill, or a role you will not be able to fill for the next five years? Because those need different answers.
Next step, two minutes. The Crew Risk Scorecard scores how exposed your business actually is across supply, capability, retention and forward planning, and shows you which one is costing you the most.
RecruitUp Global · recruitupglobal.com · Figures are your own estimates and are not stored or sent anywhere. This tool is general information, not financial advice.