Subcontractor pay rates: plumbing leads as self-employed earnings hit a record, Construction Enquirer reports

Self-employed tradespeople’s average weekly earnings reached a record £1,110, Construction Enquirer reported on Friday, citing research from Hudson Contract, which it describes as the industry’s largest payroll firm. If subbies are part of how you staff a job, it’s worth checking that the subcontractor pay rates in your quotes still match what you’re being charged.

Your decision on what to charge for labour still starts with the job and the price your subbie agrees to do it for. The new figures are a reference point for that conversation, and a reason to have it sooner.

Across all trades, Construction Enquirer puts that at 3.1% up on July rates and 4.5% up on the same month last year. Construction Enquirer says Hudson tracks average pay for 17 trades across 10 regions in England and Wales, though the report gives no regional figures and doesn’t say which month the record covers.

Plumbing led the reported rise in subcontractor pay

By trade, Construction Enquirer has plumbers at £1,348 a week, up 10.4% month on month. Joiners are at £1,247 in Construction Enquirer’s breakdown, up 8.9%. Steel and timber frame contracting sits at £1,102 in the same Construction Enquirer figures, up 7.6%.

If your jobs lean on those trades, those are the lines in your estimates most likely to feel the pressure first. A subbie who quoted you in the spring may well come back with a different number for the next one.

A weekly average won’t give you a day rate

Construction Enquirer doesn’t say how many hours or days sit behind the £1,110, or whether it’s before or after deductions. Dividing it by five and calling it a day rate would be guesswork, and it says nothing about what a subbie will cost your business once travel, materials and downtime are in.

The report quotes Hudson managing director Ian Anfield saying rates remain strong “not because the sector is booming” but for structural reasons reducing the supply of skilled labour, the same pressure behind the wider skills shortage in UK construction.

He names the removal of grandfather rights from skills cards, which he says has pushed out large numbers of experienced tradespeople, and the lingering effects of Brexit and the loss of skilled EU operatives. He also points to the new Right to Work rules. That’s Hudson’s own explanation of its numbers.

Part of the rise may simply be more time on the tools. Anfield says cautious household spending meant fewer subbies took holidays during August and worked more hours, and that dry weather meant fewer rain delays on site. More hours push weekly earnings up without anyone putting their rate up.

He also says the highest-skilled, best-paid subbies remain in high demand, while the least-skilled and least-productive operators are finding it hardest to get work. For you, that means the good ones you want back are the ones with the most options, and a headline average hides that gap.

Taking on subbies for the first time? Sort out whether you’re a contractor or subcontractor under CIS before the first invoice lands.

Before your next customer quote goes out, get your subbie to price the actual job, with the scope and expected working time written down. A national average won’t turn up on Monday with a van.