What is your hourly rate as a self employed electrician? (2023)

[oscar21]

Instead of an hourly rate some people charge by point, maybe £60 a point, if you do that and say you wire 6 downlights in a room with a 1 gang switch, would you charge for 6 or 7 points, similarly if you wired a spur controlling a single socket is that 1 or 2 points. Maybe even go as far as charging a switch out at £60 per switch so a 4 gang switch would cost £240 to install as opposed to £60 (or nothing if you include it with the installed lighting). What's the consensus on that one.

 

[oscar21]

The companies themselves are avoiding paying Income Tax and National Health contribution, holiday pay etc if found out the will end up in court, periodic checks are made of companies by HMRC.

A company I was consulting for had such a check together with other consultants, I was interviewed and only when I showed them the results of a VAT inspection and a list of my other clients was the investigation dropped.

This wasn't a problem back in the day though, when tories were tories they encouraged people to branch out and become successful, they wanted people to be self employed and get on in life. If that meant losing out on a bit of NI or tax then it didn't matter, people wanted to be their own boss and it suited everyone just fine.

Nowadays we have governments that are obsessed with blowing money left right and centre on vanity projects and they need the serfs to work themselves into an early grave to pay for it and one of those ways is to hound people into becoming an insignificant employee who has no other option other than to pay his dues.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Very strange view point, I don't know how old you are, but I am 75 and retired ten years ago, so my previous post was probably "back in the day"

 

[ipf]

Instead of an hourly rate some people charge by point, maybe £60 a point, if you do that and say you wire 6 downlights in a room with a 1 gang switch, would you charge for 6 or 7 points, similarly if you wired a spur controlling a single socket is that 1 or 2 points. Maybe even go as far as charging a switch out at £60 per switch so a 4 gang switch would cost £240 to install as opposed to £60 (or nothing if you include it with the installed lighting). What's the consensus on that one.

Per point is the general way of quoting for rewire, say. However, can't see how you would get away with that method for downlights in a room.
eg. Lighting, Price per 1way plus any extra lights at 'so much per unit'
Same for price per 2way.
Same for intermediate.
Power circuits just 'so much' per point
No way should you be charging one switch in room with 6 downlights as 6 'full' points.........unless you can get away with it, maybe.

 

[Risteard]

Per point is the general way of quoting for rewire, say. However, can't see how you would get away with that method for downlights in a room.
eg. Lighting, Price per 1way plus any extra lights at 'so much per unit'
Same for price per 2way.
Same for intermediate.
Power circuits just 'so much' per point
No way should you be charging one switch in room with 6 downlights as 6 'full' points.........unless you can get away with it, maybe.

If charging by points then each downlight/switch is a point. If people don't want to pay for 40 lighting points per room then maybe downlights aren't the answer!

 

[ipf]

If charging by points then each downlight/switch is a point. If people don't want to pay for 40 lighting points per room then maybe downlights aren't the answer!

I know what you're saying but I'm on about pricing for 6 downlights on one switch cct not 6 switch circuits and the wiring for 'em. It's not going to take as long to wire 6 in one room as 6 in 6 rooms

 

[Risteard]

I know what you're saying but I'm on about pricing for 6 downlights on one switch cct not 6 switch circuits and the wiring for 'em. It's not going to take as long to wire 6 in one room as 6 in 6 rooms

I find that measuring out downlights (to avoid joists etc.) can be extremely time consuming.

 

[LukeD]

Exactly ..On a new build type job its easy if exposed timbers .But you never know whats in the void on many jobs and Ive see a few come unstuck with a "rogue Nogging"

I find that measuring out downlights (to avoid joists etc.) can be extremely time consuming.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Per point pricing is for much bigger jobs / new builds when you plan to be there for weeks on end and need a method of pricing for the whole job and lot.
I haven't done per point pricing in ages as most of my work is small jobs 3 maybe 4 days on the job Max so hourly works better

 

[oscar21]

Per point pricing is for much bigger jobs / new builds when you plan to be there for weeks on end and need a method of pricing for the whole job and lot.
I haven't done per point pricing in ages as most of my work is small jobs 3 maybe 4 days on the job Max so hourly works better

Not necessarily, people constantly want prices off you so instead of sitting down for hours on end working stuff out time and time again you just give them a price per point.

That's what we do when we are doing these insurance jobs. Ours is £60 per point, doesn't matter what it is, its £60. The fans cost us more than £60 to buy and sometimes so does the shower cable and pull cord, not to mention the smoke/heat alarms with lithium batteries but when a 1 gang light switch is also £60 then it evens itself out again. Its surprising how near the total always is to what we would want if we priced the job anyway or did it on a day rate.

The exception is if its only 3 sockets in a bedroom but they take all day to do, sometimes its a non payer but most of the other bigger jobs make up for it.