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.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Do any of you charge your hour rate from the moment you step into your vehicle? or do you have a traveling time rate?

 

[Dustydazzler]

I charge from when I walk in the door £95 per hour if its a call out. If I have to go out to get something for the job the clock is still running until I get back and the job is concluded. For me this is the only way I can make every job pay.

 

[LukeD]

Call out this morning ...2 hours from door back to door . But easy actual fault finding .£140 as I always get work from them .

 

[Marvo]

I didn't vote because I don't want to skew the results being non-UK. I don't do domestic and very rarely do small jobs where I'm billing an hourly rate for just myself on the tools on site but on the odd occasion I do I would bill my time at ZAR1450.00 per hour which converts directly as about 70 quid an hour. It might not sound much by UK standards but by local standards I'm fairly expensive. Mostly I work on plant room machine and motor controls.

From conversations on site I think a self employed qualified sparky doing domestic or light commercial work might be charging anything between ZAR650.00 and ZAR850.00 (30-40 quid) an hour in Cape Town before VAT.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Location must play a pretty significant part in hourly rates ?

Up the North £30-40 per hour would be a decent rate

South East and London £70-80 per hour would be more the norm

If you think about it to rent a 3 bed house up the North would cost what £700-800 per month , In London that same house could easily set you back £2000 per month in rent

 

[LukeD]

Location must play a pretty significant part in hourly rates ?

Up the North £30-40 per hour would be a decent rate

South East and London £70-80 per hour would be more the norm

If you think about it to rent a 3 bed house up the North would cost what £700-800 per month , In London that same house could easily set you back £2000 per month in rent

more along the lines of a 2 bed apartment with small garden in a semi nice area

 

[Diddy]

The issue is lets say a man has went through his apprenticeship Boy-Man lol. Then he stays at that firm for a couple of years on JIB rates. He then decides "I'm fed up on £18 an hour" (Or whatever the current JIB rate is).
So they set up on their own. Not a business lesson behind them nothing. They think ok I was getting lets say the 18x8 per day £144 a day....They then think ok if i charge £25 per hour that will cover me and I will make much more than I do currently.
But it doesn't work like that in the real world. You need to pay for EVERYTHING...Well really the customer does.
There are NO free quotes - that ---- is added to the rate.
All of our insurance and scheme memberships need paying
The van you previously didn't need as an employee needs paying for
Your 4 weeks holiday needs paying for
You really should also save 2 weeks per year as "sick days"
Fuel needs paying
Tools that an employer would supply now need bought and paid for
Even with 4 weeks of holiday booked in you will NOT work on site 48 weeks per year....Now you need to "guess" how many days down time you will have - It may be one whole day a week doing admin and quotes - that's another 48+ days someone needs to pay for or you would be better off working for an employer imho.
It gets even more complicated if you are doing large jobs where you would be earning overtime rates if you were working for JIB firm - Double time for the £18 per hour guy is now £36 per hour.....
Accountant fees
Employer NI and Employee NI
Anyone could sit down and come up with the real figure that they NEED to make the move from 8-4 employees to self-employed businessmen.
Oh I missed something out - The company NEEDS to make a profit or it is eventually doomed to fail unless the sole trader is very lucky in that nothing bad ever happens (van break-in, broken leg plant breaking)...a business without profit simply isn't a viable business.
I have been banging on for years that ALL apprenticeships should tag on even a basic business course on the end of it for those who may want to go solo.
I have seen electricians verbally abuse (on Facebook sparks groups) other electricians for charging even £35 per hour, telling them they are robbing the public and its not rocket science etc etc....
Im happy to average 3 days a week, I only actually NEED 2. So zero Facebook jobs for me. No wee Dorris tells her mate at the local parish council meeting how shiny my vacuum cleaner is and the fact that I sprayed a bit of air freshener after cleaning up lol.I do enjoy a Facebook post asking for recommendations for an electrician to do X who doesn't charge the earth...lol Yet if on occasion I am looking for a recommendation for say a decent car garage I word it asking who is "Good/Best" nothing about what they charge...I dunno maybe im the fool here lol

 

[pc1966]

I have been banging on for years that ALL apprenticeships should tag on even a basic business course on the end of it for those who may want to go solo.

<= This!

Should be one any sort of trade really, but what of ten p***** me off are folks objecting to £XX fee when they are on a decent salary and their employer is having to find that plus 100% overheads income to make it work.

 

[nicebutdim]

<= This!

Should be one any sort of trade really, but what of ten p***** me off are folks objecting to £XX fee when they are on a decent salary and their employer is having to find that plus 100% overheads income to make it work.

Lack of business acumen aside, I think a lot of newly self employed people feel an obligation to under value their time and struggle to justify necessary labour rates to themselves, much less to customers. I know quite a few guys who charge the same rate to individual customers as they do to contractors when subbed in for long term labour only contracts. It doesn't seem to occur to them that running around various small jobs is much less profitable than solid 8 hour days on site and therefore need to be charged at a much higher rate. It's as though every job is a favour to them and they should be greatful at being asked to do it - it leaves people with the impression that a plumber's time is worth £80 for the hour it takes to service a boiler, but an electrician should be able to do an hour's work for £5.

Idiots.

 

[Diddy]

As if by magic IT happened on Facebook Electricians UK group today. The chap had been charging himself out for a few years at just over JIB rates lol. This year's rates for him were £22 per hour now this was his own work not even a subby which if people took time to look are hovering between £20-£25 per hour..but anyway.....
The unfortunate chap has just had someone crash into him on his way to work and "the company" has zero cash reserves. He also has zero cash reserves.
He is now facing time out of work awaiting either insurance paying him out and/or providing him with a loan vehicle.
This exact situation could have been less stressful if the guy had been charging appropriately with an eye on PROFIT for the company as well as paying himself a wage. He says he is now going to put up his prices, so i suppose a harsh and unlucky lesson learned.
There are a million and one other things that can happen to the sole trader that can leave the "business" in tatters for those who ignore the actual business.
Keep an eye on those profits people. Keep a fund that is not your wages for the company and it will be there for you to invest/re-invest in the business itself.
BTW I DO feel sorry for the fella but just thought I would share as an example of why we need to cover the overheads and profit "properly".

 

[oscar21]

<= This!

Should be one any sort of trade really, but what of ten p***** me off are folks objecting to £XX fee when they are on a decent salary and their employer is having to find that plus 100% overheads income to make it work.

Of course young people should be taught business sense, kids at school should be taught about money, finance and the like, they should be hit in the head with a board duster until they understand about compound interest rates.

But they won't, because if they did they wouldn't get into all sorts of high interest debts when they are older using up their working life making obscenely rich people even richer.

 

[nicebutdim]

Of course young people should be taught business sense, kids at school should be taught about money, finance and the like, they should be hit in the head with a board duster until they understand about compound interest rates.

But they won't, because if they did they wouldn't get into all sorts of high interest debts when they are older using up their working life making obscenely rich people even richer.

They could also avail of all manner of free resources and provide themselves with a beneficial education.

But they won't because stuffing one's face with fast food, while watching mindless nonsense is much easier, especially when it's accepted that all of life's woes are the fault of someone else.

The real education needed in the western world is one of personal responsibility.

 

[LukeD]

They could also avail of all manner of free resources and provide themselves with a beneficial education.

But they won't because stuffing one's face with fast food, while watching mindless nonsense is much easier, especially when it's accepted that all of life's woes are the fault of someone else.

The real education needed in the western world is one of personal responsibility.

Correct ..... there seems to be a great lack of it. I am 60 and have zero debt of any description .Some of my friends are so in debt its unreal .They own a house .I dont . They can lose it all far quicker than I can .they have this believe that debt is not a issue

 

[Risteard]

I have been banging on for years that ALL apprenticeships should tag on even a basic business course on the end of it for those who may want to go solo.

I certainly take your point, although if I'm honest when I was finishing my Apprenticeship I never had the intention of ever going out on my own. It was probably largely forced false Self-Employment which made the decision for me, where if you're being forced to register as Self-Employed to essentially be an employee without your statutory rights then I may as well become properly self-employed.

 

[nicebutdim]

Correct ..... there seems to be a great lack of it. I am 60 and have zero debt of any description .Some of my friends are so in debt its unreal .They own a house .I dont . They can lose it all far quicker than I can .they have this believe that debt is not a issue

Even best laid plans are prone to failure and people fall into debt for all manner of reasons, but I find it difficult to sympathise with people who complain about debt while failing to recognise their own extravagence.

I've been in debt once and learned some hard lessons about business, along with life in general. I don't plan on repeating that experience, but it's impossible to know what the future holds. The best we can do is plan ahead with a good measure of responsibility.

 

[baldelectrician]

I certainly take your point, although if I'm honest when I was finishing my Apprenticeship I never had the intention of ever going out on my own. It was probably largely forced false Self-Employment which made the decision for me, where if you're being forced to register as Self-Employed to essentially be an employee without your statutory rights then I may as well become properly self-employed.

Exact thing happened to me in 2003

The guy I worked for told all of us we had to go self employed.

Within 6 weeks I realised I could make double what he was paying by going on my own.

The first week his son called me on the way back from Port Patrick (just south of Stranraer) and asked me to go to Port Glasgow as I was about to reach my house on the A77. Told him NO

After his stunned silence I pointed out that if I said that 2 months ago he could have disciplined me but as I am now self employed I could pick and choose my own jobs

 

[richy3333]

Do any of you charge your hour rate from the moment you step into your vehicle? or do you have a traveling time rate?

I charge mileage on top of my hourly/day rate. I have to being in the Highlands. Local for me could easily be a round trip of 300+ miles! I rarely charge an hourly rate due to the distances involved.

Personally I think most electricians charge way too little when you look at other professions and the way the cost of living has increased so much. Over the last couple of years I have nearly doubled my rate and it has had zero effect on my workload.

 

[LukeD]

Exact thing happened to me in 2003

The guy I worked for told all of us we had to go self employed.

Within 6 weeks I realised I could make double what he was paying by going on my own.

The first week his son called me on the way back from Port Patrick (just south of Stranraer) and asked me to go to Port Glasgow as I was about to reach my house on the A77. Told him NO

After his stunned silence I pointed out that if I said that 2 months ago he could have disciplined me but as I am now self employed I could pick and choose my own jobs

I find this whole practise of people been forced to work for a company on a self employed basis a Joke and immoral .

 

[Dustydazzler]

I find this whole practise of people been forced to work for a company on a self employed basis a Joke and immoral .

Wasn't uncommon back in the day for firms to askpeople if they wanted to come off the cards and become subbies back to the firm.Happened to me and loads of blokes I knew back then.
In fact I remember one company I did work for being audited for having so many 'self employed; people working for them on a regualr basis.

 

[Mike Johnson]

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.