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 25 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

 6 months to
25 Aug 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 240 200 174
Rank change year-on-year -40 -26 0
Contract jobs citing SLA 581 462 542
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.08% 1.41% 1.40%
As % of the Quality Assurance & Compliance category 6.26% 8.28% 10.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 344 262 260
10th Percentile £181 £186 £156
25th Percentile £250 £220 £200
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £425 £350 £320
Median % change year-on-year +21.43% +9.38% -20.00%
75th Percentile £519 £544 £488
90th Percentile £600 £613 £588
UK excluding London median daily rate £425 £325 £295
% change year-on-year +30.77% +10.08% -6.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 64 67 77
10th Percentile £13.45 £15.80 £11.76
25th Percentile £14.45 £17.48 £13.00
Median hourly rate £18.79 £22.14 £18.00
Median % change year-on-year -15.13% +23.00% +2.86%
75th Percentile £22.56 £25.15 £24.18
90th Percentile £27.86 £37.35 £41.58
UK excluding London median hourly rate £18.79 £20.83 £14.92
% change year-on-year -9.79% +39.61% -14.74%

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 9,286 5,579 5,233
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 17.31% 17.04% 13.47%
Number of daily rates quoted 5,910 3,583 3,207
10th Percentile £325 £285 £288
25th Percentile £413 £400 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £500 £513
Median % change year-on-year - -2.44% -2.38%
75th Percentile £600 £606 £625
90th Percentile £700 £713 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £490 £475 £484
% change year-on-year +3.16% -1.86% -3.20%
Number of hourly rates quoted 581 266 302
10th Percentile £13.88 £13.60 £11.07
25th Percentile £17.36 £17.38 £14.10
Median hourly rate £36.07 £29.50 £25.00
Median % change year-on-year +22.27% +18.00% -28.57%
75th Percentile £69.82 £60.94 £55.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £85.50 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £36.07 £25.15 £24.18
% change year-on-year +43.42% +4.01% -30.91%

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 25 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 25 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 25 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 -62 481 £425 +13.33% 368
UK excluding London -59 349 £425 +30.77% 247
London -24 199 £425 +4.94% 148
Work from Home -20 136 £463 +43.41% 129
North of England -37 96 £444 +77.15% 52
South East -77 76 £474 +42.27% 71
Scotland +43 67 £353 +10.16% 11
North West -2 66 £455 +39.85% 33
Midlands -71 54 £250 -28.57% 53
West Midlands -52 46 £250 -33.33% 32
East of England -13 30 £505 +44.29% 29
South West -50 30 £356 +9.54% 28
Yorkshire -47 27 £444 +85.26% 12
Wales -11 11 £525 +100.00% 6
East Midlands -22 7 £363 +170.52% 21
North East -37 3 £228 - 8
Northern Ireland +1 1 £175 - 6

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 41 (7.06%) SharePoint
2 27 (4.65%) Microsoft Exchange
3 8 (1.38%) Confluence
4 7 (1.20%) OpenStack
5 5 (0.86%) IIS
6 4 (0.69%) SAS
7 3 (0.52%) Apache Airflow
8 2 (0.34%) Adobe Experience Manager
8 2 (0.34%) Anypoint
8 2 (0.34%) Apache
8 2 (0.34%) Exchange Server 2010
8 2 (0.34%) 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 56 (9.64%) Microsoft Office
2 28 (4.82%) Microsoft Excel
3 6 (1.03%) MS Visio
4 5 (0.86%) Spreadsheet
5 4 (0.69%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 2 (0.34%) Microsoft Project
7 1 (0.17%) Adobe Creative Suite
7 1 (0.17%) Autodesk Inventor
7 1 (0.17%) Chatbot
7 1 (0.17%) MicroStation
Business Applications
1 14 (2.41%) Remedy ITSM
2 8 (1.38%) ContrOCC
3 5 (0.86%) Dynamics CRM
3 5 (0.86%) Oracle Applications
4 4 (0.69%) Oracle Assets
4 4 (0.69%) Oracle Payables
4 4 (0.69%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 3 (0.52%) Oracle General Ledger
5 3 (0.52%) Oracle Receivables
5 3 (0.52%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
6 2 (0.34%) Dynamics GP
6 2 (0.34%) Oracle Cash Management
6 2 (0.34%) Oracle EBS
7 1 (0.17%) Actimize
7 1 (0.17%) OpenText VIM for SAP
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle EBS R12
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle ERP
7 1 (0.17%) Oracle Financials
7 1 (0.17%) SAP S/4HANA
7 1 (0.17%) Unit4 Business World
Cloud Services
1 115 (19.79%) Microsoft 365
2 105 (18.07%) Azure
3 55 (9.47%) AWS
4 54 (9.29%) Entra ID
5 24 (4.13%) OneDrive
6 21 (3.61%) Power Platform
7 19 (3.27%) SaaS
8 15 (2.58%) Azure DevOps
8 15 (2.58%) Datadog
9 11 (1.89%) IaaS
9 11 (1.89%) PaaS
10 10 (1.72%) Amazon CloudWatch
10 10 (1.72%) Amazon S3
10 10 (1.72%) OCI
11 9 (1.55%) Azure Sentinel
11 9 (1.55%) Serverless
11 9 (1.55%) Snowflake
12 7 (1.20%) AWS CloudFormation
12 7 (1.20%) GCP
13 6 (1.03%) Virtual Private Cloud
Communications & Networking
1 42 (7.23%) DNS
2 37 (6.37%) VPN
3 33 (5.68%) DHCP
4 27 (4.65%) WAN
5 26 (4.48%) LAN
6 23 (3.96%) Firewall
6 23 (3.96%) TCP/IP
6 23 (3.96%) Wi-Fi
7 17 (2.93%) Network Security
8 16 (2.75%) SAN
9 14 (2.41%) SDH
10 12 (2.07%) VLAN
11 11 (1.89%) MPLS
12 9 (1.55%) Skype
13 8 (1.38%) Cisco IOS
13 8 (1.38%) Radio Access Network
13 8 (1.38%) Wireless
14 7 (1.20%) 5G
14 7 (1.20%) LTE
14 7 (1.20%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (3.44%) SQL Server
2 15 (2.58%) Power BI
3 8 (1.38%) Tableau
4 7 (1.20%) Oracle Reports
5 5 (0.86%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (0.69%) Delta Lake
6 4 (0.69%) MySQL
6 4 (0.69%) Pentaho
7 3 (0.52%) Amazon Athena
7 3 (0.52%) Amazon RDS
7 3 (0.52%) Big Data
7 3 (0.52%) Data Lake
7 3 (0.52%) Db2
7 3 (0.52%) Oracle Database
7 3 (0.52%) Relational Database
8 2 (0.34%) Oracle Database 10g
8 2 (0.34%) Oracle Database 11g
8 2 (0.34%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 1 (0.17%) Apache Iceberg
9 1 (0.17%) Metadata
Development Applications
1 46 (7.92%) JIRA
2 10 (1.72%) GitLab
3 8 (1.38%) Jenkins
4 7 (1.20%) Chocolatey
5 6 (1.03%) Git
6 4 (0.69%) RStudio
7 3 (0.52%) Visual Studio
8 2 (0.34%) Artifactory
8 2 (0.34%) Maven
8 2 (0.34%) Toad
9 1 (0.17%) Bitbucket
9 1 (0.17%) WiX
General
1 244 (42.00%) Social Skills
2 109 (18.76%) Analytical Skills
3 105 (18.07%) Finance
4 37 (6.37%) Public Sector
5 31 (5.34%) Banking
6 29 (4.99%) Telecoms
7 28 (4.82%) Organisational Skills
8 22 (3.79%) Documentation Skills
9 21 (3.61%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 17 (2.93%) Legal
11 15 (2.58%) Local Government
12 14 (2.41%) Retail
13 13 (2.24%) Manufacturing
14 11 (1.89%) Billing
15 8 (1.38%) Influencing Skills
16 6 (1.03%) Financial Institution
17 5 (0.86%) Aerospace
18 4 (0.69%) French Language
19 3 (0.52%) Marketing
19 3 (0.52%) Presentation Skills
Job Titles
1 79 (13.60%) Analyst
2 63 (10.84%) Support Engineer
3 49 (8.43%) IT Support
4 43 (7.40%) Senior
5 36 (6.20%) IT Engineer
6 35 (6.02%) Lead
7 31 (5.34%) Consultant
7 31 (5.34%) Service Manager
8 28 (4.82%) Service Analyst
9 25 (4.30%) Desktop Support
9 25 (4.30%) Field Engineer
9 25 (4.30%) IT Support Engineer
9 25 (4.30%) Network Engineer
10 21 (3.61%) Architect
10 21 (3.61%) Service Desk Analyst
11 20 (3.44%) Delivery Manager
12 18 (3.10%) Administrator
12 18 (3.10%) Applications Support
13 17 (2.93%) Desktop Engineer
13 17 (2.93%) Service Delivery Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (3.10%) Terraform
2 13 (2.24%) REST
3 11 (1.89%) .NET
4 8 (1.38%) LDAP
5 7 (1.20%) Oracle Fusion
6 6 (1.03%) XML
7 5 (0.86%) Middleware
7 5 (0.86%) PySpark
7 5 (0.86%) Software Packaging
8 4 (0.69%) Kafka
9 3 (0.52%) .NET Framework
9 3 (0.52%) ARM Templates
9 3 (0.52%) Jakarta EE
9 3 (0.52%) Java RMI
9 3 (0.52%) JSON
9 3 (0.52%) RESTful
9 3 (0.52%) SOAP
9 3 (0.52%) Web Services
10 2 (0.34%) AWS CDK
10 2 (0.34%) OpenAPI
Miscellaneous
1 62 (10.67%) Onboarding
2 26 (4.48%) Data Centre
3 23 (3.96%) CMDB
4 20 (3.44%) Enterprise Software
5 14 (2.41%) PKI
5 14 (2.41%) Smartphone
6 13 (2.24%) Virtual Team
7 12 (2.07%) Video Conferencing
8 10 (1.72%) Cyber Threat
8 10 (1.72%) Product Ownership
9 8 (1.38%) Driving Licence
9 8 (1.38%) iPhone
9 8 (1.38%) Self-Motivation
10 7 (1.20%) BYOD
10 7 (1.20%) Data Protection Act
10 7 (1.20%) Fat Client
10 7 (1.20%) Thin Client
11 6 (1.03%) Fibre Optics
12 5 (0.86%) Analytical Mindset
12 5 (0.86%) Security Operations Centre
Operating Systems
1 163 (28.06%) Windows
2 64 (11.02%) Windows 10
3 36 (6.20%) Android
4 35 (6.02%) Windows Server
5 32 (5.51%) Linux
6 13 (2.24%) Unix
7 12 (2.07%) Mac OS
7 12 (2.07%) Windows 7
8 11 (1.89%) Apple iOS
9 9 (1.55%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 5 (0.86%) Windows Server 2012
11 4 (0.69%) CentOS
12 3 (0.52%) Windows Server 2019
12 3 (0.52%) Windows XP
13 1 (0.17%) OpenVMS
13 1 (0.17%) Solaris
13 1 (0.17%) Ubuntu
13 1 (0.17%) VMS
13 1 (0.17%) Windows Server 2003
13 1 (0.17%) Windows Server 2016
Processes & Methodologies
1 233 (40.10%) ITIL
2 134 (23.06%) ITSM
3 128 (22.03%) Problem-Solving
4 125 (21.51%) Continuous Improvement
4 125 (21.51%) Customer Service
5 122 (21.00%) Service Management
6 102 (17.56%) Stakeholder Management
7 97 (16.70%) Service Delivery
8 90 (15.49%) Change Management
9 65 (11.19%) Root Cause Analysis
10 63 (10.84%) Incident Management
11 62 (10.67%) Agile
12 61 (10.50%) Problem Management
13 52 (8.95%) Validation
14 48 (8.26%) Migration
15 43 (7.40%) Stakeholder Engagement
16 41 (7.06%) DevOps
17 39 (6.71%) Asset Management
18 38 (6.54%) CI/CD
19 36 (6.20%) Incident Response
Programming Languages
1 44 (7.57%) SQL
2 41 (7.06%) PowerShell
2 41 (7.06%) Python
3 13 (2.24%) Bash
4 11 (1.89%) JavaScript
5 9 (1.55%) Java
6 7 (1.20%) Shell Script
7 6 (1.03%) PL/SQL
8 5 (0.86%) C#
9 4 (0.69%) Bicep
9 4 (0.69%) MATLAB
9 4 (0.69%) R
10 2 (0.34%) DataWeave
10 2 (0.34%) Korn
10 2 (0.34%) X++
11 1 (0.17%) ActionScript
11 1 (0.17%) Go
11 1 (0.17%) RPG
11 1 (0.17%) Scala
11 1 (0.17%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 158 (27.19%) Security Cleared
2 127 (21.86%) SC Cleared
3 50 (8.61%) Degree
4 27 (4.65%) DV Cleared
5 20 (3.44%) ITIL Certification
5 20 (3.44%) Microsoft Certification
6 18 (3.10%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
7 17 (2.93%) BPSS Clearance
8 16 (2.75%) Cisco Certification
9 11 (1.89%) Azure Certification
10 10 (1.72%) CCNP
11 9 (1.55%) A+ Certification
12 8 (1.38%) Computer Science Degree
12 8 (1.38%) MCSE
12 8 (1.38%) PMI Certification
13 7 (1.20%) CCNA
13 7 (1.20%) DBS Check
14 6 (1.03%) CCSE
15 5 (0.86%) CCSM
16 4 (0.69%) PMP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (3.96%) Data Quality
2 14 (2.41%) NIST
3 12 (2.07%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 10 (1.72%) PMO
4 10 (1.72%) QA
5 9 (1.55%) ISO/IEC 20000
6 6 (1.03%) GRC
7 5 (0.86%) COBIT
7 5 (0.86%) Cyber Essentials
7 5 (0.86%) GDPR
7 5 (0.86%) ISO 9001
7 5 (0.86%) NCSC
8 4 (0.69%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 3 (0.52%) JSP 440
10 2 (0.34%) PCI DSS
10 2 (0.34%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 1 (0.17%) DICOM
11 1 (0.17%) HIPAA
11 1 (0.17%) HL7
11 1 (0.17%) ISO 20022
System Software
1 118 (20.31%) Active Directory
2 27 (4.65%) VMware Infrastructure
3 19 (3.27%) Virtual Desktop
4 15 (2.58%) VMware ESXi
5 10 (1.72%) Docker
6 9 (1.55%) Hyper-V
7 7 (1.20%) vSphere
8 6 (1.03%) Firmware
9 4 (0.69%) Virtual Machines
10 3 (0.52%) ACF2
10 3 (0.52%) RACF
11 2 (0.34%) Oracle RAC
11 2 (0.34%) Virtual Servers
12 1 (0.17%) Apache ZooKeeper
12 1 (0.17%) BitLocker
12 1 (0.17%) Ceph
12 1 (0.17%) Microsoft Virtual Server
12 1 (0.17%) VMware Workstation
12 1 (0.17%) XenDesktop
Systems Management
1 54 (9.29%) Microsoft Intune
2 32 (5.51%) SCCM
3 21 (3.61%) Kubernetes
4 12 (2.07%) Single Sign-On
5 11 (1.89%) Grafana
6 10 (1.72%) Ansible
6 10 (1.72%) vCenter Server
7 6 (1.03%) Jamf Pro
7 6 (1.03%) Prometheus
8 4 (0.69%) Check_MK
8 4 (0.69%) Podman
8 4 (0.69%) Red Hat Satellite
9 3 (0.52%) Oracle Identity Management
9 3 (0.52%) Oracle Identity Manager
9 3 (0.52%) vMotion
10 2 (0.34%) Data Guard
10 2 (0.34%) Oracle RMAN
10 2 (0.34%) SCOM
10 2 (0.34%) ServiceCenter
10 2 (0.34%) WSUS
Vendors
1 206 (35.46%) Microsoft
2 113 (19.45%) ServiceNow
3 47 (8.09%) VMware
4 45 (7.75%) Cisco
5 33 (5.68%) Oracle
6 22 (3.79%) Apple
7 18 (3.10%) HP
7 18 (3.10%) Remedy
8 12 (2.07%) Zscaler
9 11 (1.89%) Nokia
10 10 (1.72%) Citrix
10 10 (1.72%) Databricks
10 10 (1.72%) Fortinet
10 10 (1.72%) Splunk
10 10 (1.72%) Tenable
11 9 (1.55%) Dynatrace
11 9 (1.55%) Okta
11 9 (1.55%) Salesforce
12 8 (1.38%) CheckPoint
12 8 (1.38%) Ericsson
414 SLA jobs Nationwide