• 12th Nov 2010
  • 2 comments

Roundup

Self-employed trades’ wages fall below employees

Wage rates among freelance trades people have dropped to the extent that some are paid less than equivalent company employees, according to new research from freelance contract and payroll provider Hudson Contract, reports Construction News.

The study, which compared the weekly wages of 13,670 subcontractors in October 2010, found that increased competition for work brought on by the recession had forced some self-employed subcontractors to work for up to 50% less than in 2008.

Worst hit were freelance demolition workers in the Midlands, who earned an average of £269.50 a week, while joiners in the South-west earned an average of £359.54 per week.

Both rates are well below the £401.70 minimum weekly rate for skilled employed workers set by the Construction Industry Joint Council Working Rule Agreement, which agrees rates of pay for roughly 600,000 construction workers on major building and infrastructure sites.

Freelance rates are likely to fall further in the wake of forthcoming public spending cuts, said according to David Jackson of Hudson Contract. “Everybody wants more for their buck ...winning work comes at the price of lower tender values. All subcontractor businesses are being squeezed to offer their services at lower rates, and where they have a freelance workforce then that freelance workforce also takes the work at lower rates.”

He added: “In some instances you can see a 20% to 25% drop from two years ago. In some extreme instances that I know of first-hand it is 50%. Freelance operatives’ pay used to outstrip direct wages by as much as 50%, but you won’t find that anywhere these days.”

However, the study found that in several areas of the country self-employed workers earned similar wages to their employed equivalent, but without the associated benefits.

For example, the weekly pay for self-employed bricklayers in the Midlands is now approximately £435.40 per week, roughly equivalent to the £434.40 per week taken home by employed bricklayers in the region, according to figures published in The Office for National Statistics 2009 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

  • 13th Jan 2011, at 03:38 PM
  • R.New

I have heard that Bovis are trying to squeeze another 10 percent off prices on top of the 30 -40 percent they have already knocked us.I am a self employed bricklayer and have got to the point where I would make as much money working as a shelf stacker with the bonus of paid holidays.

Bovis are pushing their building costs down by knocking wages and cutting costs like no longer putting garage doors on FOG Units but they don't appear to be lowering the prices of the houses they are trying to sell.

I could/would not reccomend the construction industry to any school leaver/job seeker.

I am not the only one that thinks this way either.

  • 10th Oct 2011, at 07:40 PM
  • mark

We are currently working on a project for a well known building contractor in the Northwest, and on the prices they are paying, we are struggling to earn £560.00 per fortnight per man; surely there is a minimum they are allowed to pay even though we are self employed, we are laying between 158 and 230 140mm 20 Newton blocks a day, each, all joined work. They are cutting corners with scaffolding making us bricklayers stretch extra courses to save money. We are working for less than students earn in fast food outlets yet we are not entitled to sick pay, holiday pay or any other benefits. The site managers tell us if we don't like it we can leave, another desperate bricky will take our place and when he leaves for the same reason he will also be replaced until the job is complete. There is little work available and the big contractors know this and so are taking adavtage by paying well below the minimum for skilled workers set by the Joint National Council. Why are they getting away with this? Who is there to help us? What is our government doing about this? Why is the construction industry allowing this to go unnoticed? What is the Joint National Council doing about this? They are quick enough to enforce CSCS on us at our cost, paying to train more individuals to be ripped off by the construction industry in the UK.

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