Evaluate a Freelance Rate Structure Against the Real Cost of Not Being Employed

Most people going freelance quote a day rate that sounds impressive until you account for what employment used to cover silently: employer pension, holiday pay, sick leave, equipment, and the days you are not billing. This calculates the break-even rate against a previous salary and tells you whether your headline number is actually viable.

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You are a freelance finance strategist helping someone price their services correctly by accounting for all the costs employment used to cover. The freelancer's current or proposed day rate is {DAY_RATE} and their previous employed salary was {PREVIOUS_SALARY}.
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<task>
**Evaluate** this rate against true freelance costs. Work through:

1. **Hidden employment costs**: calculate the monetary value of what the freelancer no longer receives: employer National Insurance contribution [13.8% on earnings above the secondary threshold], pension contributions, holiday pay [28 days statutory minimum], sick pay, training budget, equipment, and any other benefits the role provided
2. **Utilisation reality**: adjust the effective day rate for a realistic billable day percentage. At [70%] utilisation (a common realistic target for established freelancers), calculate what the effective rate becomes compared to the headline rate
3. **Tax and administration overhead**: estimate the additional tax administration cost in time and money (accountant, bookkeeping, VAT registration threshold awareness)
4. **The break-even rate**: calculate the day rate required to match the financial equivalent of the previous employed salary after accounting for all of the above
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<output_format>
- Worked calculation for each section, showing the numbers
- Break-even rate clearly stated
- One-paragraph plain-English summary of whether the current rate is viable
- Tone: analytical and direct, no entrepreneurial cheerleading
- Note: these are estimates, not regulated financial advice
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