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

[HappyHippyDad]

I did a poll last year on exactly this.

Below I have pasted what I wrote in thread last time so there is a degree of similarity. We can then see if we have changed out prices much (again, bit of fun, not accurate)

pasted...

I thought I would start a poll to see 'roughly' what the average hourly rate is for self employed electricians?

To keep it as simple as possible, forget about any 'first hour' rate you may or may not charge and just go for your rate after that.

I realise this isn't going to cover lots and lots of scenarios (quotes, domestic, commercial, location etc etc), but it's just for a bit of amusement and perhaps along the way we'll gain a very rough idea of an electrician's hourly rate.

It will be anonymous so please do answer honestly

 

[littlespark]

After 3 votes, I think I can tell which vote was from a London based spark or nearby.

 

[buzzlightyear]

After 3 votes, I think I can tell which vote was from a London based spark or nearby.

Looks that way, dick turpins electrical.

 

[Dustydazzler]

...any decent Sparks in London / the SE will be £70+

ain't worth being in business / having the stress of being in business in the capital for anything less

 

[pirate]

It's unlikely to be 100%accurate, but it is a very interesting question.
I, being retired, won't get out of my bed for a small hourly rate. This is partly because I don't do much work anyway, do a fair amount of pro bono stuff, and set my charge according to the ability to pay of the client and how nice they are.
This is why I am permanently broke!

 

[Dustydazzler]

.. a bit like a topic I made in the Arms about NB saying it costs £150 a week just to be in business is to simplistic

its like taking a industry standard 8 hour day So is saying you charge £50 per hour / £400 per every day, it is just way to simplistic

some days I might actually only get to do 4 hours actually chargable work due to traffic / parking issues / access to jobs issues etc

if I only charged say £25 p/h I would barely make £100 that day which just wouldn't even be worth getting in the van

you need to charge high to make sure every hour 'on the job' actually counts and when I am sat in 2 hours traffic the next job is actually worth getting the tools out the Van

 

[James]

It's unlikely to be 100%accurate, but it is a very interesting question.
I, being retired, won't get out of my bed for a small hourly rate. This is partly because I don't do much work anyway, do a fair amount of pro bono stuff, and set my charge according to the ability to pay of the client and how nice they are.
This is why I am permanently broke!

I know the problem, I don’t do domestic work but can be a bit of a sucker when it comes to the elderly or genuine single mums in need.
thankfully being self employed means I don’t have to explain to the boss why todays profits are in the region of minus £500 every now and then.

 

[James]

.. a bit like a topic I made in the Arms about NB saying it costs £150 a week just to be in business is to simplistic

its like taking a industry standard 8 hour day So is saying you charge £50 per hour / £400 per every day, it is just way to simplistic

some days I might actually only get to do 4 hours actually chargable work due to traffic / parking issues / access to jobs issues etc

if I only charged say £25 p/h I would barely make £100 that day which just wouldn't even be worth getting in the van

you need to charge high to make sure every hour 'on the job' actually counts and when I am sat in 2 hours traffic the next job is actually worth getting the tools out the Van

With domestic type work people are only willing to pay for your time on site.
everyone thinks you are there to rip them off.
therefore yes, you have to ramp up the hourly rate to cover all the non chargeable work like traveling and waiting etc.

I find the industrial customers that want me 1 or 2 hundred miles away from base are happy to accept that there will be a £300 to £500 bill for turning up in the first place and any electrical work is extra.

 

[pirate]

Purely by amazing coincidence, I visited a job today where the lady wanted A light repositioned, the switch also repositioned, and there was a "dangling" 2 gang switch which switched 2 lights, and had absolutely no back box, merely the switch face plate and a totally open back. All fairly straightforward. Oh, and another light that doesn't work...oh, and while you are here, these kitchen downlights don't work...
The kitchen was an easy fix, 5 minutes.
The rest? Well, I only went to appraise the job as it was a "charity" one to move a light and its switch. However, they are in a basement with 4' headroom, need my hard hat so I don't scar my scull, the second light is in an extra basement with 3' clearance and the whole installation is DIY hell!
The kitchen one is free.
The original repositioning is free.
The extra light, rewiring of the dangerous switch and removal of a badly damaged cable will have to be charged,especially as I will be bent double on my knees for a couple of hours. However, it's the same old story...you see stuff that is potentially dangerous and can't help but want to make it safer, but doing it for nothing, in awkward condidtions...
But she's a widow and helpless...
No! Very nice house, all the accoutrements of a good lifestyle. I will do the original job FOC as it was a referral from the Men's Shed charity, but the extras I will charge out at a good rate. I won't take the money, it will go to the Shed, but I'm not a lackey!
I hate it when people have so much money yet want to screw down every job to the minimum.
I know I will make nothing personally from this job, but if she asks me back for other work it will be at full rate, and that will be £100/hour.
I'm worth it for the time I take and the care I take. She'll pay that to have her hair or nails done. Maybe more to have her dog groomed.
Charity, yes, the first time...but using me for other work...no way.
Poor people add a bit on...
Wealthy people are poor payers and query everything...
Very wealthy people go on recommendation and pay whatever you ask without question...it's a club, and if you come well recommended they are happy to pay provided you do a good job. That also results in many more jobs.
Conclusion?
Do work for ordinary folks and get satisfaction and recommendations...
Do work, if you can get it, for "old money" and be well paid and treated politely...and get even more lucrative jobs from their friends...
Do work for middle-rich ----ers and expect to get complaints, delays in getting paid and being bad-mouthed because they simply think you are dross and not worthy of them...
That is why I am happy being retired, and only work when I want to work...but there are lessons for everyone here...you should be valued!

 

[diditrain]

Purely by amazing coincidence, I visited a job today where the lady wanted A light repositioned, the switch also repositioned, and there was a "dangling" 2 gang switch which switched 2 lights, and had absolutely no back box, merely the switch face plate and a totally open back. All fairly straightforward. Oh, and another light that doesn't work...oh, and while you are here, these kitchen downlights don't work...
The kitchen was an easy fix, 5 minutes.
The rest? Well, I only went to appraise the job as it was a "charity" one to move a light and its switch. However, they are in a basement with 4' headroom, need my hard hat so I don't scar my scull, the second light is in an extra basement with 3' clearance and the whole installation is DIY hell!
The kitchen one is free.
The original repositioning is free.
The extra light, rewiring of the dangerous switch and removal of a badly damaged cable will have to be charged,especially as I will be bent double on my knees for a couple of hours. However, it's the same old story...you see stuff that is potentially dangerous and can't help but want to make it safer, but doing it for nothing, in awkward condidtions...
But she's a widow and helpless...
No! Very nice house, all the accoutrements of a good lifestyle. I will do the original job FOC as it was a referral from the Men's Shed charity, but the extras I will charge out at a good rate. I won't take the money, it will go to the Shed, but I'm not a lackey!
I hate it when people have so much money yet want to screw down every job to the minimum.
I know I will make nothing personally from this job, but if she asks me back for other work it will be at full rate, and that will be £100/hour.
I'm worth it for the time I take and the care I take. She'll pay that to have her hair or nails done. Maybe more to have her dog groomed.
Charity, yes, the first time...but using me for other work...no way.
Poor people add a bit on...
Wealthy people are poor payers and query everything...
Very wealthy people go on recommendation and pay whatever you ask without question...it's a club, and if you come well recommended they are happy to pay provided you do a good job. That also results in many more jobs.
Conclusion?
Do work for ordinary folks and get satisfaction and recommendations...
Do work, if you can get it, for "old money" and be well paid and treated politely...and get even more lucrative jobs from their friends...
Do work for middle-rich ----ers and expect to get complaints, delays in getting paid and being bad-mouthed because they simply think you are dross and not worthy of them...
That is why I am happy being retired, and only work when I want to work...but there are lessons for everyone here...you should be valued!

Wise words in pirates post. This is the mindset you need.

 

[LukeD]

£60- a hour ... But Currently on a big project so have done a Day rate that suits the customer.Its a 2 bed full refurb and its me and one labourer .Marylebone High Street , so a nightmare for logistic ! 3 months worth I think

 

[Baddegg]

Really hard one to answer…..any small hour jobs, of which there seem to be an endless supply round here are always £70 plus materials and no one ever complains so I may up it a bit, I also find that rate tends to keep me away from the people who want something for nothing or the jobs that will be a ball ache….any other jobs I always do as price work and try to aim at around £300-£400 a day, but being multi trade and living in a heavily Populated area I never have to travel further than a mile or two and I never leave this little island for work, which I love,
Obviously those rates are for electrical work and other work I do I couldn’t get the same rates unless it’s for bespoke carpentry stuff but that’s few and far between….but as I say I’m happy to work for less doing other stuff as long as I’m not travelling….sitting in a van for hours in traffic is just dead money and time away from my family

 

[Dustydazzler]

...this is why trying to stick to a flat hourly rate is too simplitsic for a lot of people but works for others..

a rewire 250 yards from your house you could easily do cheaper than say the very same rewire 50 miles from your house.

But for me proper high hourly rate is the only way I can seem to make things work over the course of a week, it covers for lostt time / traffic time / trying to find a parking space etc and everyone pays the same when I walk through the door.
I have tried pricing work over the phone via video call but I don't like this and have ofetn under cut myself this way

 

[pc1966]

When I did design/consultancy work on my own I found that I had to charge about double what I theoretically needed to live on to cover the overheads (computing equipment, accountancy fees, etc) and for the times there was no work coming in. It was also the sort of "feast or famine" work where you might win a good 12-18 month project and be well paid, and when that ends nothing comes along for another 6-9 months or so.

So for folks working on small hourly-charged jobs I would expect much the same, you need to earn a day's wages in half a day.

 

[Dustydazzler]

...the same could be said for all self employed / trades etc who literally only get paid when they are 'on the job'

you have to charge enough to make sure you are covered for all down time / quiet spells & lost time in traffic / off sick etc

I see a few on this poll only charging £20-30 per hour, I was charging that almost 20 years ago

 

[Baddegg]

...the same could be said for all self employed / trades etc who literally only get paid when they are 'on the job'

you have to charge enough to make sure you are covered for all down time / quiet spells & lost time in traffic / off sick etc

I see a few on this poll only charging £20-30 per hour, I was charging that almost 20 years ago

Agree, at that rate I doubt you are even hitting minimum wage?

 

[Dustydazzler]

Agree, at that rate I doubt you are even hitting minimum wage?

In the mid 00s when I first went self delpoyed I charged £20 per pour ( £160 per day ) becuase I roughly worked out that would pay me an £11 per hour wage ( after my set up costs & running costs )

 

[HappyHippyDad]

You have to take the following average with far more than just a pinch of salt. the last poll ran for a year , this poll has only been going a week, but I just fancied doing a quick comparison.

Mean average hourly rate for 2022 was £41.48
Mean average hourly rate for 2023 (so far) is £41.92

It'll be a much better comparison when I tot up the stats in 11 months when the poll closes.

 

[Dustydazzler]

In other words people have been charging roughly the same rate for the last 2 years

 

[JBW175]

I had a heating engineer (plumber) round to do a job I couldn’t do myself, he charged £85+VAT and was only here around 15 minutes. I had absolutely no problem paying him that as I understand he’s running a business and needs to make profit.

So to that end, I don’t mind charging £80 an hour for smaller one off jobs.

Day rate, I’m never less than £350 but push for more where I can.

I’ll also price by postcode.

For context, I’m in pretty much the same area as Baddegg, but most my work is off the island.