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- Thread starter jtsplumbing
- Start date
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tamz
They probably dont want to hear the question again of "are you ripping the pysh"
Not one of those pre fab bathroom kits is it??
I think it depends how bad it is for you at the mo , some money is better than none imo,
If i can find the right money i will try get on books steady wage money in bank every week and i have subbed for years !!
Bathrooms in a factory built box.
Used for hotels an student accomodation.
Craned into the building shell before the curtain walls are erected.
Connect up mains hot and cold and soil pipe and it's done
No thinking, no planning, low skills required.
The game was deskilled when pushfit came into the industry .
overnight lost all the kitchen sinks i use to do because chippy paranoid about scorching kitchen cupboard, same with bathrooms ,all those jobs went because of plastic and flexis .
overnight lost all the kitchen sinks i use to do because chippy paranoid about scorching kitchen cupboard, same with bathrooms ,all those jobs went because of plastic and flexis .
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anth001
i know that if your plumbing (general maintenance etc) £10.50 is the going rate, however what has been stated is that the hourly rate is falling all over the country.
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tamz
Craft or level 2
Scotland and NI £11.32
England & Wales £11.58
Advanced or level 3
Scotland and NI £12.89
England & Wales £13.50
No rise in Scotland this year as they couldn't come to an agreement.
These are minimum rates. Anyone who is decent enough should be able to get more.
It is not so much that the hourly rate is falling. It isn't. It is employers taking advantage of the situation and the workplace being flooded by so called tradesmen who are no better than 2nd year apprentices. There are many out there not worth a fiver an hour.
theres some absolute comedian employers out there, they must of had a little chuckle to themselves when putting these ads on, a gas fitter/part p electrician/tiler all in one £10 an hour, I wonder what he pays the cleaning girls in his office, saying that though its probably an honour just to be in the guys prescence, money is just a bonus
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Bernie2
There is a race to the bottom when it comes to wages. JIB wages are reasonable its finding JIB companies that is the hard bit. 30-40 years ago usually easy to find but not so easy now. The companies that use plumbers large scale, have all kinds of ways to employ them now. Agencies, sub contract, short contract, bonus, price work and all kinds. Sometimes even the ones that pay decent money, the plumbers daily job load is fantastic. The likes of the companies that do mostly HA work pay in all different ways and seem to try to reduce wages as much as possible. One company gets all the fast trackers that companies will not employ and pays them little or a reasonable amount with a big work load. And they want you to be multi skilled. The thing is, you might not like it but they get the guys to do it.
A mate was telling me about his mate some years ago that went and got a job with a big national company, it was a good deal money wise. But the work and driving to and from places meant he was out at about 6.30am and not getting home until 11.30pm every day including weekends.
A mate was telling me about his mate some years ago that went and got a job with a big national company, it was a good deal money wise. But the work and driving to and from places meant he was out at about 6.30am and not getting home until 11.30pm every day including weekends.
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You think the end client pays a tenner an hour for your services, think again. This is just so the middle man can bulk out the cream on the job.
Profits isn't dirty word but paying someone minimum wage to do a skilled trade is an insult.
Profits isn't dirty word but paying someone minimum wage to do a skilled trade is an insult.
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tamz
It is indeed a race to the bottom. As Bernie said there are not so many JIB firms around these days so wage rates seem to be a bit of a lottery. Piecework rates have also fallen to near 1990's levels.
This trade (and others) is being strangled by a combination of over supply of low - semi skilled workers who can do a mainly semi skilled job and greed. There is not a lot of skill required to do most plumbing jobs using modern materials. Even many gas positions require little thought or skill. Only the very best employed guys who can do beyond the normal everyday stuff will have a chance of any decent money. The self employed are being squeezed in this too. The general public think (wrongly) that plumbers make a fortune yet the majority grudge paying a reasonable rate to employ one. Many won't survive through this.
By the time we come out of this recession (probably imo at least another 10 years if we are lucky) the rates being offered to many will barely be livable. When rates go down they take a very long time to rise again. This will be a very different trade in 10 years time.
I wouldn't like to be entering the trade now. It used to be a good trade where you could earn a decent (tho not particularly good) living but you were just about guaranteed that you would always be in work. That is changing rapidly. What a rude awakening most of the career changers are in for.
This trade (and others) is being strangled by a combination of over supply of low - semi skilled workers who can do a mainly semi skilled job and greed. There is not a lot of skill required to do most plumbing jobs using modern materials. Even many gas positions require little thought or skill. Only the very best employed guys who can do beyond the normal everyday stuff will have a chance of any decent money. The self employed are being squeezed in this too. The general public think (wrongly) that plumbers make a fortune yet the majority grudge paying a reasonable rate to employ one. Many won't survive through this.
By the time we come out of this recession (probably imo at least another 10 years if we are lucky) the rates being offered to many will barely be livable. When rates go down they take a very long time to rise again. This will be a very different trade in 10 years time.
I wouldn't like to be entering the trade now. It used to be a good trade where you could earn a decent (tho not particularly good) living but you were just about guaranteed that you would always be in work. That is changing rapidly. What a rude awakening most of the career changers are in for.
5 years in training/ £1000s spent on gas courses/ skills held that will eventually be lost via 6 week courses/ lord knows how much moneys worth of tools/ years of wear and tear on knees and backs/ most of us go out of our way to do a proper job that you'd be proud to have in your own home and all for 7.50/8.50 ph. WHAT IS HAPPENING SURLY WE DESERVE BETTER!!!
Truck driveing ! left plumbing for 10 years, drove HGV1 artic's same as this game lots just see the nice big shine'y Truck, most pay low wages but you get a new truck, Last driveing job i did was running grain on bulk tippers, leave home Sun am get back Sat pm, live all week in Truck been back in plumbing now for 15 years, and this is going same way ! low pay but nice van, but home at nights,
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Bernie2
Yes! I am afraid to say the trade is going back wards. I think the difference now though is set up and running costs for a small business are so high. What with ACS, Gas Safe, transport, insurance and other costs you need about £5 an hour at least just to cover the basics. The thing is the big costs of ACS and Gas Safe could at least be deferred by the big players in the industry paying proportionally more and lowering the cost for the little man. The cost of transport fuel should be tax allowable as vehicles should. And insurance that should be dirt cheap with people only having to pay for what their level of risk is, rather than lump it all in together as though all Plumbers use oxy-acetylene every day. You should be able to buy a short couple of days cover if you intend to use it rather than have to pay for a whole year as it is assumed you might use it. Then you could have rebates like no claims bonuses. The overall objective being to lower running costs so a small company can survive on lower prices.
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ecowarm
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