What to Pay an Employed Tradesperson in 2026

A salary that matches what a good tradesperson earns self-employed will always look expensive on paper, because employment carries costs the day rate never showed. Work backwards from the total cost to your business, not forwards from a salary figure, and the number you can afford becomes obvious quickly.

Start with the benchmark that already exists

For electrical work, the JIB (Joint Industry Board) publishes graded rates for electricians, approved electricians and technicians, along with allowances for travel, lodging and tools. Even if you are not a JIB member, it is the most widely recognised framework in the trade and a sensible reference point for what a wage should look like at each grade.

Similar frameworks exist elsewhere in construction, and larger employers in your area will be paying against something. If you are recruiting in a town with a big M&E contractor, their rates are your competition whether you like it or not.

Beyond published frameworks, the practical benchmark is what a competent person in your trade can earn on the tools locally as a subcontractor. If a self-employed sparky in your area comfortably clears a certain figure, an employed role has to be within reach of it or offer something else in exchange.

The true cost of employing someone

Salary is roughly two-thirds of the story. Before you decide what you can pay, add up everything else:

Employer’s National Insurance on earnings above the threshold.

Pension contributions under auto-enrolment.

Holiday pay. Statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks including bank holidays. Those are weeks you pay for and get no output from, so they raise the effective cost of every productive day.

Employers’ liability insurance, which becomes compulsory the moment you employ anyone.

A van, fuel and insurance if the role includes one. This is often the single biggest add-on.

Tools and PPE, and replacing them.

Training and certification. Card renewals, 18th Edition updates, ticket courses, Gas Safe or scheme fees if you cover them.

Phone, workwear, and the admin time of payroll and management.

Non-productive time. Nobody bills eight hours a day. Travel, loading, merchant runs, waiting for other trades, and days where the job falls through.

Add those up and the total employment cost typically sits well above the headline salary. The exact multiple depends on the van and the tools, but it is never close to 1.

Work out what you can afford, properly

The sum is straightforward. Take the total annual cost of employing the person, including everything above. Divide it by the number of days you realistically expect them to be productive — after holiday, sickness, training and non-productive time, that is normally well under 220.

That gives you a break-even day cost. Whatever you charge a customer for that person’s day has to sit meaningfully above it, or the hire loses money.

If the numbers only work at full utilisation, do not hire. Somebody who needs to be busy every single day to break even will be a source of anxiety rather than growth.

Employed versus self-employed: the honest comparison

A tradesperson comparing a job offer against self-employment is not comparing like with like, and the conversation goes better if you make that explicit.

What employment gives them: guaranteed pay whether or not the work is there, holiday pay, sick pay, a pension, a van and fuel, tools provided, no invoicing, no chasing money, no accountant, no quoting on evenings, and no responsibility when a job goes wrong.

What self-employment gives them: a higher headline day rate, expense deductions, control over which jobs they take, and the upside of a good year.

The gap between a self-employed day rate and an equivalent salary is not the employer profiting. It is the value of everything in the first list. Say so plainly during the offer conversation, and put the total package in writing — salary, van, fuel, tools, pension, training, holiday — rather than a bare salary figure.

One warning: whether someone is employed or self-employed is determined by the reality of the working relationship, not by what you agree to call it. Directing someone’s hours, supplying their tools and van, and requiring them personally to do the work points strongly towards employment. Getting this wrong is an HMRC problem, not a paperwork one.

Structuring the package

The van. A van and fuel card is worth a substantial amount to an employee and often costs you less than the equivalent in salary. Be clear about private use, because that has tax consequences for them.

Tools. Providing tools is standard for employed roles. Set out what you provide, what they are expected to have, and what happens if tools are lost or damaged.

Overtime. Decide whether it is paid at an enhanced rate, banked as time off, or absorbed. Ambiguity here causes more resentment than the money involved.

Call-out. If there is a rota, pay a standby allowance separate from the call-out itself. Paying only for calls attended means people hope for a quiet week, which is not the incentive you want.

Bonus. Keep it simple and tied to something they control — jobs completed to standard, no returns, customer feedback. Bonuses tied to company profit mean little to someone with no visibility of it.

Progression. State what moves them up a grade and what that is worth. Good trades leave firms where the pay never changes.

What you can offer instead of the top of the market

You will not always beat a large contractor on money. You can beat them on the things that make a trade’s life better:

A finish time that is actually the finish time.

Being paid on the same day every month without fail.

Decent tools and a van that starts.

Not being sent forty miles at 4pm on a Friday.

Being backed up when a customer is unreasonable.

Training paid for and time given to do it.

Trades talk to each other. A reputation as a firm people want to work for is worth more than a few hundred pounds on a salary, and it is cheaper to build.

Do not hire until the work is there

The riskiest month of employing someone is not the first, it is the fifth — when the novelty has worn off and the diary has a hole in it. Before you commit to a wage, be honest about where the next six months of work comes from and what it would cost to top it up.

Trade Pilot is free to join, charges only when a real local job lands in your inbox, and sells each lead to no more than three trades in an area. Because there is no monthly membership, you can increase lead flow as the new person comes on and dial it back when the diary is full, rather than paying a fixed subscription regardless.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert a self-employed day rate into a salary?

Multiply the day rate by the realistic number of billable days a year, then subtract the value of what employment provides that self-employment does not — holiday, sick pay, pension, van, fuel, tools, insurance and admin. Present the result as a total package, not a bare salary.

What is the real cost of employing a tradesperson?

Meaningfully more than the salary once you add employer’s National Insurance, pension, holiday, employers’ liability insurance, van, fuel, tools and training. Build the full figure before you make an offer.

Do I have to provide a van?

No, but for most trade roles it is expected and it is usually cheaper than paying the equivalent in wages. Be explicit about private use.

Can I take someone on as self-employed instead?

Only if the working relationship is genuinely one of self-employment — they control how the work is done, supply their own tools, can send a substitute, and take real financial risk. Labelling an employee as self-employed to save cost is an HMRC risk you do not want.

What benchmark should I use for electricians?

The JIB grades and rates are the recognised reference in the electrical industry, alongside what competent self-employed sparkies actually earn in your area.

When is someone worth a pay rise?

When they can be left on a job unsupervised, when customers ask for them by name, and when they bring back fewer returns than they used to. Say those things out loud so people know what they are working towards.

Related reading: writing a job ad for a tradesman · holiday pay and sick pay · taking on an apprentice · day rate vs price work