SLA Contract Job Trends

Service Level Agreement (SLA)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring SLA skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 7 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

 6 months to
7 Aug 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 246 195 171
Rank change year-on-year -51 -24 +12
Contract jobs citing SLA 572 479 566
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.07% 1.46% 1.45%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 6.24% 8.57% 10.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 327 274 271
10th Percentile £190 £200 £156
25th Percentile £250 £225 £200
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £375 £340
Median % change year-on-year +13.33% +10.29% -2.86%
75th Percentile £519 £544 £492
90th Percentile £600 £613 £588
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £325 £275
% change year-on-year +30.77% +18.18% -7.56%
Number of hourly rates quoted 72 66 80
10th Percentile £13.45 £16.03 £11.79
25th Percentile £17.26 £17.49 £13.14
Median hourly rate £18.79 £22.14 £16.56
Median % change year-on-year -15.13% +33.74% -11.54%
75th Percentile £21.22 £25.15 £24.05
90th Percentile £27.65 £38.25 £30.11
UK excluding London median hourly rate £18.50 £22.14 £14.70
% change year-on-year -16.44% +50.61% -19.34%

All Quality Assurance and Compliance Skills
UK

SLA falls under the Quality Assurance and Compliance category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring quality assurance or compliance skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for quality assurance or compliance skills 9,162 5,588 5,295
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 17.15% 17.01% 13.57%
Number of daily rates quoted 5,886 3,600 3,277
10th Percentile £331 £281 £294
25th Percentile £413 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £505
Median % change year-on-year - -0.99% -3.81%
75th Percentile £600 £606 £625
90th Percentile £700 £716 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £495 £475 £475
% change year-on-year +4.21% - -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 561 254 322
10th Percentile £14.00 £13.60 £11.11
25th Percentile £19.00 £17.46 £14.48
Median hourly rate £40.00 £27.59 £25.77
Median % change year-on-year +45.01% +7.06% -34.64%
75th Percentile £70.00 £59.38 £54.84
90th Percentile £80.00 £83.29 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £40.00 £24.66 £25.60
% change year-on-year +62.21% -3.67% -28.39%

SLA
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing SLA relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

SLA job vacancy trend in the UK

SLA
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing SLA.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing SLA

SLA
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing SLA over the 6 months to 7 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for SLA in the UK

SLA
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing SLA.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing SLA

SLA
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing SLA over the 6 months to 7 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for SLA in the UK

SLA
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing SLA within the UK over the 6 months to 7 August 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads		 Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months		 Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Live
Jobs
England -65 476 £425 +7.59% 314
UK excluding London -73 340 £425 +30.77% 227
London -17 200 £450 +5.88% 125
Work from Home -16 131 £475 +18.75% 99
North of England -60 79 £418 +28.46% 42
South East -90 79 £463 +85.00% 83
Scotland +34 59 £325 -4.41% 12
Midlands -71 53 £250 -33.33% 31
North West -22 47 £443 +36.15% 25
West Midlands -76 44 £250 -35.90% 17
East of England -5 37 £505 +124.44% 30
Yorkshire -47 29 £401 +60.18% 11
South West -46 27 £400 +29.03% 24
Wales -6 11 £525 +100.00% 8
East Midlands -15 8 £475 +259.85% 14
North East -40 3 £228 - 6
Northern Ireland +5 1 £175 - 5

SLA
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 36 (6.29%) SharePoint
2 24 (4.20%) Microsoft Exchange
3 8 (1.40%) Confluence
4 7 (1.22%) OpenStack
5 5 (0.87%) IIS
5 5 (0.87%) SAS
6 4 (0.70%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 3 (0.52%) Apache Airflow
8 2 (0.35%) Anypoint
8 2 (0.35%) Apache
8 2 (0.35%) Exchange Server 2010
8 2 (0.35%) Mule
9 1 (0.17%) Apache Spark
9 1 (0.17%) ArcGIS
9 1 (0.17%) Exchange Server 2013
9 1 (0.17%) JBoss
9 1 (0.17%) Oracle Workflow
9 1 (0.17%) Skype for Business
9 1 (0.17%) Smallworld
Applications
1 54 (9.44%) Microsoft Office
2 31 (5.42%) Microsoft Excel
3 7 (1.22%) Spreadsheet
4 6 (1.05%) MS Visio
5 4 (0.70%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.35%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.17%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.17%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.17%) MicroStation
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle Smart View
Business Applications
1 15 (2.62%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (1.40%) ContrOCC
3 5 (0.87%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.87%) Oracle Applications
3 5 (0.87%) Oracle Assets
3 5 (0.87%) Oracle Payables
3 5 (0.87%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
4 4 (0.70%) Oracle General Ledger
4 4 (0.70%) Oracle Receivables
4 4 (0.70%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
5 3 (0.52%) Oracle Cash Management
6 2 (0.35%) Dynamics GP
6 2 (0.35%) IntelliMatch
6 2 (0.35%) Oracle EBS
6 2 (0.35%) Oracle ERP
6 2 (0.35%) Payment Gateway
7 1 (0.17%) Actimize
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle EBS R12
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle Financials
7 1 (0.17%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 105 (18.36%) Microsoft 365
2 103 (18.01%) Azure
3 52 (9.09%) Entra ID
4 49 (8.57%) AWS
5 23 (4.02%) Power Platform
6 22 (3.85%) OneDrive
7 16 (2.80%) Datadog
8 15 (2.62%) SaaS
9 14 (2.45%) Azure DevOps
10 12 (2.10%) OCI
11 11 (1.92%) Amazon S3
11 11 (1.92%) IaaS
11 11 (1.92%) PaaS
12 10 (1.75%) Snowflake
13 9 (1.57%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 9 (1.57%) Azure Sentinel
14 8 (1.40%) Amazon EC2
15 7 (1.22%) Virtual Private Cloud
16 6 (1.05%) AWS CloudFormation
16 6 (1.05%) Dynamics 365
Communications & Networking
1 36 (6.29%) DNS
2 33 (5.77%) VPN
3 30 (5.24%) DHCP
4 27 (4.72%) LAN
4 27 (4.72%) WAN
5 23 (4.02%) Firewall
5 23 (4.02%) Wi-Fi
6 19 (3.32%) Network Security
6 19 (3.32%) TCP/IP
7 15 (2.62%) SAN
8 12 (2.10%) SDH
9 11 (1.92%) VLAN
10 10 (1.75%) Cisco IOS
10 10 (1.75%) MPLS
11 8 (1.40%) Cisco ASA
11 8 (1.40%) Radio Access Network
11 8 (1.40%) Wireless
12 7 (1.22%) 5G
12 7 (1.22%) LTE
12 7 (1.22%) Skype
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (4.02%) SQL Server
2 18 (3.15%) Power BI
3 10 (1.75%) Tableau
4 8 (1.40%) Oracle Reports
5 6 (1.05%) MySQL
5 6 (1.05%) Oracle Database
6 5 (0.87%) Pentaho
6 5 (0.87%) PostgreSQL
7 4 (0.70%) Amazon RDS
8 3 (0.52%) Amazon Athena
8 3 (0.52%) Big Data
8 3 (0.52%) Data Lake
8 3 (0.52%) Relational Database
9 2 (0.35%) Db2
9 2 (0.35%) Oracle Database 10g
9 2 (0.35%) Oracle Database 11g
9 2 (0.35%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 1 (0.17%) Data Warehouse
10 1 (0.17%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 1 (0.17%) Sybase ASE
Development Applications
1 47 (8.22%) JIRA
2 10 (1.75%) GitLab
3 8 (1.40%) Chocolatey
3 8 (1.40%) Jenkins
4 6 (1.05%) Git
5 4 (0.70%) Maven
6 3 (0.52%) Visual Studio
7 2 (0.35%) Artifactory
7 2 (0.35%) Toad
8 1 (0.17%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.17%) WiX
General
1 247 (43.18%) Social Skills
2 114 (19.93%) Finance
3 102 (17.83%) Analytical Skills
4 42 (7.34%) Public Sector
5 32 (5.59%) Banking
6 28 (4.90%) Telecoms
7 26 (4.55%) Organisational Skills
8 21 (3.67%) Documentation Skills
9 20 (3.50%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 19 (3.32%) Legal
11 16 (2.80%) Retail
12 15 (2.62%) Local Government
13 10 (1.75%) Influencing Skills
14 9 (1.57%) Billing
14 9 (1.57%) Manufacturing
15 8 (1.40%) Financial Institution
16 6 (1.05%) Marketing
17 5 (0.87%) Aerospace
18 4 (0.70%) French Language
19 3 (0.52%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 76 (13.29%) Analyst
2 57 (9.97%) Support Engineer
3 45 (7.87%) IT Support
4 43 (7.52%) Senior
5 33 (5.77%) Service Manager
6 32 (5.59%) IT Engineer
6 32 (5.59%) Lead
7 27 (4.72%) Service Analyst
8 24 (4.20%) Consultant
9 23 (4.02%) Desktop Support
9 23 (4.02%) Network Engineer
10 22 (3.85%) Field Engineer
10 22 (3.85%) IT Support Engineer
11 20 (3.50%) Delivery Manager
11 20 (3.50%) Service Desk Analyst
12 19 (3.32%) Administrator
13 18 (3.15%) Desktop Engineer
14 17 (2.97%) Applications Support
14 17 (2.97%) Service Delivery Manager
15 16 (2.80%) Azure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 12 (2.10%) .NET
2 11 (1.92%) REST
3 9 (1.57%) Oracle Fusion
4 8 (1.40%) LDAP
5 6 (1.05%) Web Services
5 6 (1.05%) XML
6 5 (0.87%) Jakarta EE
6 5 (0.87%) Middleware
6 5 (0.87%) Software Packaging
7 4 (0.70%) .NET Framework
7 4 (0.70%) AngularJS
7 4 (0.70%) Bootstrap
7 4 (0.70%) CSS
7 4 (0.70%) jQuery
7 4 (0.70%) Sass
7 4 (0.70%) SOAP
7 4 (0.70%) Spring
7 4 (0.70%) Spring MVC
8 3 (0.52%) ARM Templates
8 3 (0.52%) Java RMI
Miscellaneous
1 59 (10.31%) Onboarding
2 32 (5.59%) Data Centre
3 20 (3.50%) CMDB
4 18 (3.15%) Enterprise Software
5 14 (2.45%) PKI
6 13 (2.27%) Smartphone
7 11 (1.92%) Cyber Threat
8 10 (1.75%) Product Ownership
8 10 (1.75%) Virtual Team
9 9 (1.57%) Driving Licence
10 8 (1.40%) BYOD
10 8 (1.40%) Data Protection Act
10 8 (1.40%) iPhone
10 8 (1.40%) Self-Motivation
11 7 (1.22%) Video Conferencing
12 6 (1.05%) Analytical Mindset
12 6 (1.05%) Cloud Native
12 6 (1.05%) Fat Client
12 6 (1.05%) Fibre Optics
12 6 (1.05%) Thin Client
Operating Systems
1 153 (26.75%) Windows
2 58 (10.14%) Windows 10
3 36 (6.29%) Windows Server
4 30 (5.24%) Linux
5 28 (4.90%) Android
6 15 (2.62%) Unix
7 11 (1.92%) Windows 7
8 9 (1.57%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 8 (1.40%) Mac OS
10 6 (1.05%) Apple iOS
11 5 (0.87%) Windows Server 2012
12 4 (0.70%) CentOS
13 3 (0.52%) Windows Server 2019
13 3 (0.52%) Windows XP
14 1 (0.17%) OpenVMS
14 1 (0.17%) Ubuntu
14 1 (0.17%) VMS
14 1 (0.17%) Windows Server 2003
14 1 (0.17%) Windows Server 2008
14 1 (0.17%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 210 (36.71%) ITIL
2 130 (22.73%) ITSM
3 123 (21.50%) Continuous Improvement
4 121 (21.15%) Problem-Solving
5 119 (20.80%) Customer Service
6 107 (18.71%) Service Management
7 106 (18.53%) Stakeholder Management
8 97 (16.96%) Service Delivery
9 95 (16.61%) Change Management
10 67 (11.71%) Agile
10 67 (11.71%) Root Cause Analysis
11 58 (10.14%) Problem Management
12 54 (9.44%) Incident Management
13 46 (8.04%) Migration
14 44 (7.69%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 40 (6.99%) Asset Management
16 38 (6.64%) Validation
17 37 (6.47%) Roadmaps
18 36 (6.29%) Project Delivery
18 36 (6.29%) Project Management
Programming Languages
1 46 (8.04%) SQL
2 38 (6.64%) PowerShell
3 34 (5.94%) Python
4 14 (2.45%) Bash
5 10 (1.75%) JavaScript
6 8 (1.40%) Java
7 6 (1.05%) PL/SQL
8 5 (0.87%) C#
8 5 (0.87%) Shell Script
9 4 (0.70%) Bicep
9 4 (0.70%) MATLAB
10 2 (0.35%) DataWeave
10 2 (0.35%) Korn
10 2 (0.35%) X++
11 1 (0.17%) ActionScript 2.0
11 1 (0.17%) Go
11 1 (0.17%) Perl
11 1 (0.17%) RPG
11 1 (0.17%) Scala
11 1 (0.17%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 141 (24.65%) Security Cleared
2 110 (19.23%) SC Cleared
3 52 (9.09%) Degree
4 24 (4.20%) DV Cleared
5 19 (3.32%) Microsoft Certification
6 18 (3.15%) ITIL Certification
7 17 (2.97%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
8 16 (2.80%) Cisco Certification
9 15 (2.62%) BPSS Clearance
10 10 (1.75%) CCNP
11 9 (1.57%) A+ Certification
11 9 (1.57%) PMI Certification
12 8 (1.40%) Azure Certification
12 8 (1.40%) MCSE
13 7 (1.22%) CCNA
13 7 (1.22%) Computer Science Degree
14 6 (1.05%) CCSE
14 6 (1.05%) CISSP
14 6 (1.05%) DBS Check
15 5 (0.87%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 15 (2.62%) Data Quality
1 15 (2.62%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 14 (2.45%) PMO
3 12 (2.10%) NIST
4 9 (1.57%) GRC
4 9 (1.57%) QA
5 7 (1.22%) COBIT
5 7 (1.22%) Cyber Essentials
5 7 (1.22%) GDPR
5 7 (1.22%) ISO/IEC 20000
6 5 (0.87%) ISO 9001
6 5 (0.87%) PCI DSS
7 4 (0.70%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 3 (0.52%) ISO 20022
8 3 (0.52%) JSP 440
9 2 (0.35%) ISO 31000
9 2 (0.35%) ISO 8583
9 2 (0.35%) SOC 2
10 1 (0.17%) GxP
10 1 (0.17%) NCSC
System Software
1 111 (19.41%) Active Directory
2 25 (4.37%) VMware Infrastructure
3 16 (2.80%) Virtual Desktop
4 15 (2.62%) VMware ESXi
5 7 (1.22%) Docker
5 7 (1.22%) Hyper-V
6 6 (1.05%) vSphere
7 4 (0.70%) Firmware
7 4 (0.70%) Virtual Machines
8 2 (0.35%) ACF2
8 2 (0.35%) Oracle RAC
8 2 (0.35%) RACF
9 1 (0.17%) BitLocker
9 1 (0.17%) Ceph
9 1 (0.17%) Virtual Servers
9 1 (0.17%) VMware Workstation
9 1 (0.17%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 51 (8.92%) Microsoft Intune
2 28 (4.90%) SCCM
3 16 (2.80%) Kubernetes
4 15 (2.62%) Terraform
5 12 (2.10%) Single Sign-On
6 10 (1.75%) Ansible
6 10 (1.75%) vCenter Server
7 9 (1.57%) Grafana
8 5 (0.87%) Jamf Pro
8 5 (0.87%) Prometheus
9 4 (0.70%) Check_MK
9 4 (0.70%) Podman
9 4 (0.70%) Red Hat Satellite
9 4 (0.70%) ServiceCenter
10 3 (0.52%) FortiGate
10 3 (0.52%) Oracle Identity Management
10 3 (0.52%) Oracle Identity Manager
10 3 (0.52%) vMotion
11 2 (0.35%) AirWatch
11 2 (0.35%) CloudHub
Vendors
1 192 (33.57%) Microsoft
2 111 (19.41%) ServiceNow
3 46 (8.04%) Cisco
4 45 (7.87%) VMware
5 41 (7.17%) Oracle
6 22 (3.85%) HP
7 21 (3.67%) Apple
8 19 (3.32%) Remedy
9 13 (2.27%) Zscaler
10 11 (1.92%) Dell
10 11 (1.92%) Nokia
10 11 (1.92%) SAP
10 11 (1.92%) Tenable
11 10 (1.75%) Fortinet
12 9 (1.57%) Okta
12 9 (1.57%) Salesforce
12 9 (1.57%) Splunk
13 8 (1.40%) AppDynamics
13 8 (1.40%) CheckPoint
13 8 (1.40%) Liquidlogic
364 SLA jobs Nationwide