London Pay rates for Sub-Contractors

[Chinky]

Hey Everyone

I run a company with around 4 sub-contractors (all self employed individually) that do alot of work for us. We provide a van, fuel, parking, the majority of the plant and all materials. So basically they provide the labour.
Most of our work is in London and the surrounding areas. The electricians have both installation qualifications and supervisor qualifications (Supervisor training supplied by us).
Our normal hours in London are as follows:
Leave home at 0545 arrive in London approx. 0715. Normally start at 0800. Approx. 40 mile trip
Finish at 1500 for home arrival approx. 1630

What would you say is the going rate and are these hours normal???

Thanks

 

[tommy.dale]

Are they registered with a scheme or are you?

 

[Chinky]

We have recently started have changed company name so being a new company and due to not being a year old until May we are currently using one of the sub-contractors NICEIC. We will be registering in the next 4-8 weeks.
So no the majority of them are not registered.

 

[chilliwilly]

For London when I'm asked I get £45.00 per hour cards out, plus expenses and travel time up and down and £0.33 pr mile. That's 10 hours travelling if only one day spent there though, but more like a 26 hour day unless lodging over night, then its about a 12 hour day.

That's to do jobbing work servicing and repairing air con, laundry, catering and refrigeration equipment, gas and electric fueled. I also do away with the need to involve electrical and mechanical contractors to sort out any wiring problems, and repair the odd fire alarm and any lighting and power issues if I'm waiting for my next call. Unless the sites prefer to use their own.

 

[amlu]

10 quid per hour sounds reasonable for me... 3 pm finish sounds good, if you leave it till 4pm then it takes ages to drive out of London.

 

[TaffyDuck]

I would think that HMRC would disagree with you about their employment status. Just saying

 

[Rampantchilli]

10 quid per hour sounds reasonable for me... 3 pm finish sounds good, if you leave it till 4pm then it takes ages to drive out of london.

£10 per hour for a time served electrician?

 

[Megavolt]

Only you can decide as only you know what moneys in the jobs they are doing for you.

 

[stuartcourt]

I pay guys who work for me £15 an hour so £120 for 8 hours plus any fuel and travel (thats agreed on) I up it to £18 if away no one has complained as yet

 

[Sharpend]

Take a look at JIB rates most firms/agencies goby this,not that I agree its right but then it's out of my control!

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

For London when I'm asked I get £45.00 per hour cards out, plus expenses and travel time up and down and £0.33 pr mile. That's 10 hours travelling if only one day spent there though, but more like a 26 hour day unless lodging over night, then its about a 12 hour day.

That's to do jobbing work servicing and repairing air con, laundry, catering and refrigeration equipment, gas and electric fueled. I also do away with the need to involve electrical and mechanical contractors to sort out any wiring problems, and repair the odd fire alarm and any lighting and power issues if I'm waiting for my next call. Unless the sites prefer to use their own.

£45 per hour pmsl

without offending you amigo, what puts a London spark twice as much as any other UK spark?, I know you have the C charge and the parking issues but the cost of living there is not double what it is everywhere else in the UK, roast beef crisps coast the same in ASDA in the North as they do down South, as does a pint in Wetherspoons

 

[GrahamBrighton]

10 quid per hour sounds reasonable for me... 3 pm finish sounds good, if you leave it till 4pm then it takes ages to drive out of London.

£10 an hour?! Why am I bothering spending the next 3 years training??!!

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

£10 an hour?! Why am I bothering spending the next 3 years training??!!

You will be lucky to make that fresh out of training mate!

 

[Robert Turnbull]

£150 is what I've always been paid when i was a subbie working in London.

That really has always been the going rate, only recently people are taking the **** because works shorter.

I did have to pay my own expenses sometimes depending who I was working for.

I would expect the subbie who's NIC your using to have a better rate or a bonus.

3 o'clock finish is a nice touch and most would appreciate that as its a long day getting though the traffic other wise

 

[chilliwilly]

No offence taken my learned friend, but when I'm asked to go that's what I ask for and that is what the rate is set at. Electrical work only makes up a small part of my daily work routine these days, being an electrician plateaud for me many years ago. So I decided to take an electromechanical approach to work within a multi skilled service that has a good to steady demand, challenging, and rewarding, despite rejoining the niccy just recently to keep a minority of my customers happy.

The rates that I get locally around the North aren't far behind that for repairing the same equipment. If I'm to part with my environment and home comforts and increase the stress of a days work with getting around a city like London, I want rewarding for it. When some of them phone up, if they don't want to pay that kind of money, I just thank them for their enquiry and bid them good day.

My regular customers (could be every 6 weeks or more) don't ask me about money, they know what the rates are set at and just email me a works order and I confirm and give them an ETA. The one urgent repair job that I get usually turns into about 5 jobs, but it turns into a 26 hour day, otherwise I lodge over if any more jobs come in. Then invoice them when I get back home, after I've slept of course.

Its not about being better than any spark, engineer, technician, its about being as good as them, and at the same time knowing what the customer expects for their money. Which isn't always competitiveness.

 

[Guitarist]

Imo, £10 per hour for someone time-served and qualified is only acceptable if you are employing them full-time with holiday and sick pay.

 

[Rampantchilli]

No offence taken my learned friend, but when I'm asked to go that's what I ask for and that is what the rate is set at. Electrical work only makes up a small part of my daily work routine these days, being an electrician plateaud for me many years ago. So I decided to take an electromechanical approach to work within a multi skilled service that has a good to steady demand, challenging, and rewarding, despite rejoining the niccy just recently to keep a minority of my customers happy.

The rates that I get locally around the North aren't far behind that for repairing the same equipment. If I'm to part with my environment and home comforts and increase the stress of a days work with getting around a city like London, I want rewarding for it. When some of them phone up, if they don't want to pay that kind of money, I just thank them for their enquiry and bid them good day.

My regular customers (could be every 6 weeks or more) don't ask me about money, they know what the rates are set at and just email me a works order and I confirm and give them an ETA. The one urgent repair job that I get usually turns into about 5 jobs, but it turns into a 26 hour day, otherwise I lodge over if any more jobs come in. Then invoice them when I get back home, after I've slept of course.

Its not about being better than any spark, engineer, technician, its about being as good as them, and at the same time knowing what the customer expects for their money. Which isn't always competitiveness.

I think you maybe confused between rates charged to customers for work done, and rates paid to the work force. If your paying subbies 45 an hour then charge 45 to the customer. You won't make much money

 

[danzor]

I think you maybe confused between rates charged to customers for work done, and rates paid to the work force. If your paying subbies 45 an hour then charge 45 to the customer. You won't make much money

Have you not seen Pimlico Plumbers hourly rates? If they can charge that and still be around with a huge fleet of vans then anything is possible. I did see an advert to join them, was interested in what they pay a spark. But the idea of jobbing around London everyday would take 20 years off your life.

 

[Essexboy7]

Have you not seen Pimlico Plumbers hourly rates? If they can charge that and still be around with a huge fleet of vans then anything is possible. I did see an advert to join them, was interested in what they pay a spark. But the idea of jobbing around London everyday would take 20 years off your life.

My mate worked for them as a spark.They charge punters £150 an hour and they have to pay up front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think my mate was geting about £30 an hour but then you had to pay to lease the van etc and a whole host of hidden extras that took a bite out of your money

 

[Guitarist]

My mate worked for them as a spark.They charge punters £150 an hour and they have to pay up front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think my mate was geting about £30 an hour but then you had to pay to lease the van etc and a whole host of hidden extras that took a bite out of your money

That's one of the things which drives most electricians mad. People see plumbers as life-savers and are happy to pay anything, yet electricians are a necessary evil.