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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

That £26.50/hour for weeding is insanity?

494 replies

LaBellySausage · 21/02/2021 19:54

I'm looking for someone to come around for 3 hours/week to help with weeding the garden.

I was given a couple of names of local people who do gardening. I expected to pay somewhere between £10-12/hour, perhaps £15/hour if the person was an experienced gardener. I believe minimum wage is £8something but I don't think people can live on that.

The first person wouldn't give a quote til they came to view the garden and then was hesitant to give an hourly rate, preferring to give a rate for 'the job'. It's not a job that can be finished- it's like when I shave my legs the bastards on the other one have started growing back when I start the second. I just want a few weeds less per week. He eventually said £18/hour. I thanked him for his time but said it was a bit more than I had budgeted. The second guy said £26.50/hour!

This is simple weeding. Trowel and hoe provided. £26.50/hour is about £55,000 annually.

I worked jobs like this while in uni at minimum wage. For reference, we live in a very inexpensive part of the country- he would not be weeding Chelsea Flower Show. Both candidates were local so didn't have more than a 5/10 minute drive.

Am I being unreasonable, or is this a crazy rate?

OP posts:
HungryHippo20 · 21/02/2021 19:59

Waw I'm in the wrong job!!! That sounds very steep for weeding!

rosesinmygarden · 21/02/2021 19:59

In my area £20 per hour is the going rate for an experienced gardener.

When you're self employed you don't always work 40 hours a week as you have quieter times and have to travel between jobs. You also have insurances, vehicles and equipment to pay for.

You might find a local student or teenager happy to do it for your preferred fee if they are working cash in hand and not declaring their earnings.

Original poster
LaBellySausage · 21/02/2021 19:59

I used to manage myself but I'm newly pregnant, have a 11 month old, and am working 30hrs/week. Last pregnancy I had terrible SPD and needed crutches so I think by the Summer the weeds will be more than I can manage alone.

OP posts:
Junobug · 21/02/2021 20:00

Buy presumably these are experienced, qualified gardeners you are asking? Even if it is just weeding, it's their profession and they should be paid appropriately. Out of the hourly pay, they need to take out travel and fuel, insurance, equipment and maintenance, time spent doing the business side. How do you expect someone to run a business on £10-12 an hour?

Original poster
LaBellySausage · 21/02/2021 20:01

@rosesinmygarden that's interesting, are you in a part of the country with a higher than average cost of living?

OP posts:
rawalpindithelabrador · 21/02/2021 20:02

Times are different from when you were at uni. Cast about to try to find someone cheaper or pay the going rate.

rosesinmygarden · 21/02/2021 20:02

I've just worked it out and your 55,000 a year is based on them working and billing 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year!

LubaLuca · 21/02/2021 20:03

A handyman would probably be a better bet, and they'll certainly be cheaper. It's not a skilled gardener you need.

gamerchick · 21/02/2021 20:03

When you think gardening is seasonal work, you can't really say it's 55 grand a year or whatever.

If it's regular weading then surely it wouldn't be that many hours a week?

Dreambigger · 21/02/2021 20:05

How weedy is your garden ?!? I agree with others you are hiring a gardener there is no such thing as a weeder. Gardeners will have their own set hourly rate to cover a multitude ....same as any tradesman. They are all expensive.

Original poster
LaBellySausage · 21/02/2021 20:05

@Junobug I view it in the same way as a cleaning job which people have to travel to. My cleaner charges £13/hour. The skill level is no different and the labour is of a similar intensity.

OP posts:
Retrogal · 21/02/2021 20:05

I pay £18 per hour for my very reliable gardeners in SE. There's 4 of them and they spend an hour in my garden every fortnight which is enough to keep weeds down and grass cut and dead matter cleared

Racoonworld · 21/02/2021 20:05

I think you need to get a teenager or handyman type person rather than an experienced Gardner. It’s easy work that doesn’t really require experience. It would be like paying a hairdresser to just brush your hair.

crowsfeet57 · 21/02/2021 20:06

I don't know what my next door neighbour pays her gardener but he takes three hours to cut her lawn and strim a few bushes. Mind you he probably isn't very experienced because she told us he was going to plant a few ground cover plants in the front garden. Unfortunately they have turned out to be huge straggly tree things which are more sky cover than ground cover.

Psychobobble · 21/02/2021 20:06

If you only want weeding in a generally well maintained garden you don't want an experienced gardener though, do you? That's like hiring an electrician to change your lightbulbs.
You need a garden maintenance or odd jobber I think.

rosesinmygarden · 21/02/2021 20:06

I'm in the southeast but £20 Is the minimum you'd pay a gardener or tradesperson here.

I think you need a local teen or student if you want to pay very cheap rates to be honest. If the work is as unskilled as you describe you don't need a proper gardener.

Also, I know a few gardeners. They much prefer to take on mowing, hedgecutting or landscaping jobs. Weeding is really hard work and not the easiest or most pleasant job. So they'll want to make it worth their while.

Original poster
LaBellySausage · 21/02/2021 20:07

It's just for weeding because it's a large garden. I do the grass/edges/some weeding/pruning/planting/mulching etc. So it's just weeding I need help with.

OP posts:
Retrogal · 21/02/2021 20:08

[quote LaBellySausage]@Junobug I view it in the same way as a cleaning job which people have to travel to. My cleaner charges £13/hour. The skill level is no different and the labour is of a similar intensity.[/quote]
Yes but cleaners don't have expensive tools to maintain, service and replace. They bring leaf blowers, mowers, hedge cutters and all other equipment with them. They've also been trained at the local agricultural college - more skilled than cleaning

adventurealice · 21/02/2021 20:08

£26.50/hour is about £55,000 annually

No it’s not. Not once you’ve taken out four weeks of holidays, the work in getting and keeping customers, time spent preparing and fixing tools, the cost of the tools in the first place, replacing the tools, insurance, training every few years, trade body memberships.. you’re being very unrealistic.

Original poster
LaBellySausage · 21/02/2021 20:10

@gamerchick you're right it wouldn't be that much. We would only need them for 8-9 months of the year.

OP posts:
user1493494961 · 21/02/2021 20:10

Perhaps they didn't really want the job.

Volcanoexplorer · 21/02/2021 20:10

The going rate for gardeners by me is £18 per hour. I’m in the NW so not London prices. Cleaners are similar.

SeasonFinale · 21/02/2021 20:11

£22 hour here for gardening work of any type too.

shalalala · 21/02/2021 20:11

@Retrogal

I pay £18 per hour for my very reliable gardeners in SE. There's 4 of them and they spend an hour in my garden every fortnight which is enough to keep weeds down and grass cut and dead matter cleared
Sorry to derail but what part of the SE?! I'm trying to find someone/a service that does exactly what you have described. Thanks!
Original poster
LaBellySausage · 21/02/2021 20:11

@Retrogal I don't need any of those services. I only need weeding so just a trowel/hoe

OP posts: