Tradespeople working days!

[SM4713]

We've been renovating and some of the trades work short days, 1 does a 5hr day! Arrives at 8, doesn't start till 8:30. Half hour tea break at 10am, lunch at noon, another break in the afternoon and leaves by 3 at the latest.

We are paying a day rate, so essentially paying him £45 an hour! Do tradespeople generally work shorter days than nearly every other profession, or is this guy in particular taking the piss?

Oh yes we’ve had lots like this. We asked our plasterer to add an extra very small room to the job he was doing (obviously we paid for it) and he acted like he was doing us a massive favour and would need to work late to do it. He was still gone by 4pm every day so not exactly a long day!

My mum had this recently with builders. Turning up late, doing an hours work and then having early lunch then buggering off to the suppliers. Plasterer and his mate were also late then the lad was sitting off playing guitar in the back of the van 😀She wasn't paying a day rate so that wasn't a problem but I'm surprised they get anything done working like that.

in my experience, many of them are like this. i know some days they leave earlier because they need to let something dry/set/not worth starting the next task and sometimes they need to go for supplies but in general I would say they work a very short day.

Its can be tiring work so working shorter days than for example office work makes sense, but I wouldn't pay a day rate in that case, only hourly (my OH is an electrician and he charges by the hour).

Yes many of them seem to do this. I wonder how many go home and say to their wife ‘ohh I couldn’t possibly do the bath time/bed time/shopping/cooking because I am so tired from work ’. 😂

On the upside after watching workmen in my house for 3 months I realised I could do so much myself, it’s saved me a fortune.

The issue is paying a day rate. Every time we've had someone on a day rate it ends up getting dragged out. So a 3 day job turns into a 5 day job. And the bugger will keep nipping out to get more supplies/lunch/cakes. We only ever employ for a fixed rate for the job now

I never agree to paying a day rate.

If you agree a rate for the job instead, they mysteriously become able to work full 8 hour days.

I guess it's a tiring manual job - sometimes when they leave early that's when they go and do quotes for other jobs. I know a good plasterer, he works very hard but works 8-3 so he can pick his kids up from school as the wife works full time too. He then does his admin or any new quotes in the evenings once she's home.

However, I've also known some that seem to spend more time in screwfix/wickes or in their van on a break than they do on the job!

We need more female trades tbh, the majority ( not all ) of the ones we dealt with our renovations were so inefficient, aways having to nip in and out get this and that sorted.
I understand leaving something to fry or set but they were so disorganised and fobbed you off a lot, well basically lie to your face about what was going on.
I've kept the numbers of the ones that had their shit together and binned the rest.

We’ve had them leave early but it’s usually for a reason - going to collect supplies for the next day/waiting for plaster or paint to dry etc. I’ve never had tradesmen start late though. If anything they’re here early at 7-8am.

I’d ask how many days it’s likely to take so that you have an idea on cost beforehand.

My lot all start at 8 and finish 4-4.30, apart from the electrician who does 9-5. They don't take long breaks at all. But they aren't on a day rate

I can understand if this guy was doing very heavy, manual labour- he isn't though. He leaves at 3pm to go to the pub! No kids to pick up either.

A lot really take the piss. Pretend they've got to go to suppliers to pick up supplies - either they're incredibly disorganised not to bring what they needed with them, or they're just lying to go to do another small job or for a quote, and charging you for it!

I understand sometimes, they need bits unexpectedly, but a lot of the time, they don't even bring (or so they say), the stuff that was blatantly obviously going to be needed. Like the plumber we had to change our soil waste from the septic tank to a saniflow, didn't bring enough pipework to connect the saniflow to the mains drainage (blatantly obvious how much was needed), didn't bring a "cover" to block off the old drain (again blatantly obvious it was needed), had to go for a new hacksaw blade because he broke it sawing the pipes (would have expected him to have spares of consumables like that in his van). Three different trips out, all an hour each. He charged us a "day", but was away more than he was here!

And yes, the morning lost hour to go for bacon butties and coffee mid morning, after only turning up around 9 or 9.30, then 90 minutes away for a pie/chips at lunchtime, then finishing at 3 or 4 (or more like 2 on a Friday for pub afternoon!).

Trouble is, due to the shortage (caused by decades of not training enough tradesmen), they know they can get away with taking the piss like that.

They just seem to have so many breaks. Very much like road works people. They might arrive at 8am, but they have a natter in the van, then get the stuff out and start about 9am. 10am till 10.45 is break time, then lunch is 12 - 1pm, then they need to go and get something, which includes stopping off for another sandwich and can of coke and they’re back to work between 2 and 3.

Thats what it feels like anyway.

Then add in coffee/tea breaks, and if they smoke, all the fag breaks. When we had our decking replaced, the "boss" guy had a fag break between every single board he put down - the guy helping him just stood there looking gormless as he didn't smoke. In fact the guy "helping" only seemed to hand him decking screws out of a box and did a bit of manual work helping carry boards off the van. It certainly wasn't a "two person" job, yet we had to pay 2x day rate for them. Took two days to put down about 20 decking boards. (They didn't have to do any supports/structure work as that was already in place from previous, so just the boards themselves). OH says he's going to do it himself next time as he was home part of the time watching how much of a meal they made of the job - he's just going to buy a bench saw for a couple of hundred quid which is far cheaper than the almost £2k they charged us for standing around fagging and drinking!

Well this is why you should always get a job rate, not day rate.

End of the day, they've probably worked their way up to build their own business, which isn't easy. Probably been apprentices and then employed for several years prior in shitty jobs.

If you are your own boss, I don't see why they can't take breaks or leave a bit earlier than usual. Just means the job takes longer for them. You will always get people taking the piss in any industry

This is the problem with paying day rate - I’d rather pay someone by job and then it’s in their interest to get it finished asap.

Our builders in at the moment turn up at 8am and finish at 5pm. Some days they hardly seem to stop for lunch, they’re working all day long (other than a chat with us!)

I’m amazed at their work ethic. They even worked a Saturday when it was raining on the Thursday and they couldn’t work due to needing a dry day.

@sheeplikessleep then you’ve got some good ones! Hang on to them.

Yes reading all of the posts here has made me realise even more. I’m grateful and we do show it via tea/coffee, doughnuts and bacon butties ;)

Your contact with him is to blame here, a day rate should specify an average number of hours. You need to tell him you are unhappy and that a normal working day is 8 hours.