To think that tradesmen take the piss with their rates?

Just that really. I have had a few repairs needed and some DIY recently. I paid £130 to have a leaking toilet valve fixed (it took 45 mins), £75 to have a pull string light replaced (10 mins) and then £270 labour for 6 hours work putting up some shelves, a small area of tiling and replacing skirting boards. He arrived at 10, left at 12 for lunch, back at 2 then was finished by 4pm. I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

There are a lot of cowboys out there sadly.

This!! It's the clients putting pressure on.

So £270 day rate - let's assume has 6 weeks off including bank holidays, that's 210 days per year. That's around £56,000.

Then he has costs of around £10,000 and pays £10,000 into a pension (he won't get an employer contribution) - He earns roughly £36,000. OK but not fantastic.

Then he can only work full time up to the age of 55 due to a dodgy back so has to do a minimum wage job for the last 10 years ....

You may (or may not) believe the number of people who put pressure on to pay cheaper for cash, saying the quote is too much! It's often the client who wants the trader not to pay tax so they get a cheaper job, with all the risk on the traders shoulders, while they sit back adding value to their property for naff all and then moan like fuck to all and sundry that all traders are tax dodgers. DH often becomes very 'sorry, booked up for months' for quite a lot of CFs!

It must be very regional, or perhaps size of job? If look across the three places I have / had property in the UK since Covid, only a landscaping firm offered any discount for cash (on a £5k bill) - but even then for just half the bill. So presumably wanted to put half through the books. Across 3 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, some roofing and general building work, and a lot of decorating - not a mention of a discount for cash. I don’t really want to add up how much that was!! But, it was in SW London, South Coast and Cotswolds and using decent sized firms in most cases. I guess it’s harder to ‘lose’ the VAT on kitchens / bathrooms as a lot of the cost is materials.

You may (or may not) believe the number of people who put pressure on to pay cheaper for cash, saying the quote is too much! It's often the client who wants the trader not to pay tax so they get a cheaper job, with all the risk on the traders shoulders, while they sit back adding value to their property for naff all and then moan like fuck to all and sundry that all traders are tax dodgers. DH often becomes very 'sorry, booked up for months' for quite a lot of CFs!

So £270 day rate - let's assume has 6 weeks off including bank holidays, that's 210 days per year. That's around £56,000.

Then he has costs of around £10,000 and pays £10,000 into a pension (he won't get an employer contribution) - He earns roughly £36,000. OK but not fantastic.

Then he can only work full time up to the age of 55 due to a dodgy back so has to do a minimum wage job for the last 10 years ....

It's not just "10 minutes" anyway is it?
There's Admin time in arranging and booking the job in as well as invoicing. Then the travel time to the job.
Then insurance for the business, for the tools, for the work vehicle, professional insurance...
Then parts and upkeep of tools (which wear out a lot faster than you expect. A drill, for example, needs new bits fairly often)

Quite the opposite is our experience.

We've had scaffolders (£2500 job), fencers (£500 job), lawn replacement (£750 job), shed roof replacement (£300 job) all saying they'll knock off the VAT if we pay in cash and don't want an invoice, in the last couple of years - all unprompted and the shed roof and fencing were both just over an initial enquiry phone call to random firms we'd googled for so didn't know us from Adam. The lawn guy even said he could put a couple of casual cash in hand day labourers on the job for a bigger reduction if we agreed to pay them directly and just pay him for the grass. All four mentioned the VAT and discount right from the outset without us asking.

Just that really. I have had a few repairs needed and some DIY recently. I paid £130 to have a leaking toilet valve fixed (it took 45 mins), £75 to have a pull string light replaced (10 mins) and then £270 labour for 6 hours work putting up some shelves, a small area of tiling and replacing skirting boards. He arrived at 10, left at 12 for lunch, back at 2 then was finished by 4pm. I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

Quite the opposite is our experience.

We've had scaffolders (£2500 job), fencers (£500 job), lawn replacement (£750 job), shed roof replacement (£300 job) all saying they'll knock off the VAT if we pay in cash and don't want an invoice, in the last couple of years - all unprompted and the shed roof and fencing were both just over an initial enquiry phone call to random firms we'd googled for so didn't know us from Adam. The lawn guy even said he could put a couple of casual cash in hand day labourers on the job for a bigger reduction if we agreed to pay them directly and just pay him for the grass. All four mentioned the VAT and discount right from the outset without us asking.

So £270 day rate - let's assume has 6 weeks off including bank holidays, that's 210 days per year. That's around £56,000.

Then he has costs of around £10,000 and pays £10,000 into a pension (he won't get an employer contribution) - He earns roughly £36,000. OK but not fantastic.

Then he can only work full time up to the age of 55 due to a dodgy back so has to do a minimum wage job for the last 10 years ....

You may (or may not) believe the number of people who put pressure on to pay cheaper for cash, saying the quote is too much! It's often the client who wants the trader not to pay tax so they get a cheaper job, with all the risk on the traders shoulders, while they sit back adding value to their property for naff all and then moan like fuck to all and sundry that all traders are tax dodgers. DH often becomes very 'sorry, booked up for months' for quite a lot of CFs!

I don’t understand this at all. Why do you think a trades person shouldn’t be paid more than you? It’s basic demand and supply. They charge what people will pay.

You must understand that some people earn more than others???

Just that really. I have had a few repairs needed and some DIY recently. I paid £130 to have a leaking toilet valve fixed (it took 45 mins), £75 to have a pull string light replaced (10 mins) and then £270 labour for 6 hours work putting up some shelves, a small area of tiling and replacing skirting boards. He arrived at 10, left at 12 for lunch, back at 2 then was finished by 4pm. I can’t help wondering why I spent 5 years at University to get paid far less per hour as a teacher.

Tbh @SassK i would report him to hmrc.
This cash in hand crap is pure fraud and just another reason this country is in such a mess.

I’m afraid that ship has sailed - look what the OP (a Teacher, don’t you know?) thinks of people who acquire these skills.
All my DC only got “careers” advice to “Get a degree”, neither did and neither has needed one.
Whilst I have nothing at all against getting a degree, it should be either Vocational, a means to getting a professional job that genuinely requires it, or even (if the young person is able to afford it) a means of expanding their knowledge while learning how to live independently.
Many of my DC’s friends, hoodwinked into the “you must get a degree” mantra started by the cynical Tony Blair in an effort to reduce unemployment figures (as PP’s have already mentioned) have completed their degrees to a decent level, and still can’t get any jobs other than what would have been considered School-leaver entry level, back in the ‘80s…

The guy is a chancing greedy chunt, charging top end for a cash in hand/tax dodge job.
I'd've gave him 200 quid and told him I won't tell the tax man if you don't.

> there’s maybe not much work out there as a lot of people do their own these days.

If that were true, the price would be lower

It's because the vast majority of millennials can't (or can't be bothered to) do simple DIY jobs that means tradesmen can charge what they like (and, btw, £45/hour is not excessive for a competent trained professional)