29/09/2026
A £57,900 palletiser pays for itself in under 18 months against one operator on one shift. On 24/7, it's under five months.
Hard-to-fill production roles are usually talked about as a frustration, not a cost. So we put a number on it.
One full-time operator on roughly the National Living Wage, on one shift, costs around £38,500 a year all-in once you add employer NI, holiday cover, pension, sick pay, recruitment, training and management time. More if it's agency cover or there are shift premiums.
A role covered around the clock isn't one salary. It's four:
One shift: ~£38.5k a year, payback ~18 months
Two shifts: ~£77k, payback ~9 months
Three shifts: ~£116k, payback ~6 months
24/7: £154k+, payback under 5 months
That's labour cost alone, before counting higher output, less transit damage and the manual handling risk that goes away when the lifting stops.
It doesn't mean replacing your people. The team stacking pallets moves to supervision, quality and changeovers, the roles that are easier to recruit for and keep. What goes is the vacancy that never stays filled.
Our new article covers why the labour pool has changed, the full cost breakdown, and how to tell whether it applies to your site https://zurl.co/5ZsRQ
