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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be surprised at £18 per hour for gardening?

217 replies

Spagnolia · 23/01/2023 18:25

We are struggling to keep the weeds and brambles at bay and started to think we might get someone to help.

A guy was recommended by neighbour but I almost fell off my chair when I found out he charges £18 per hour for general weeding, grass cutting etc using our tools and equipment.

My junior doctor child gets £14 per hour!

We are far from the South East.

Do you have gardening help?
What is the going rate at the moment?

OP posts:
IrishSee · 23/01/2023 18:47

£18 an hour would be amazing. I was recently quoted £65ph plus VAT for two gardeners, nearly passed out with shock.

Swiftswatch · 23/01/2023 18:48

@PassAnotherJumper t's actually more shocking that junior doctors are only paid about £26k tbh.

They typically aren’t, it’s £14 an hour for a year one for the most basic hour. For evenings, weekends etc it’s higher.
The lowest salary a year 1 can have is about 30k then goes up by about 5k a year. With typical nhs shifts it’s often much higher.

ShakespearesBlister · 23/01/2023 18:49

This is quite typical of the attitude people have towards services they don't want to do themselves. People have an attitude that gardeners don't deserve to earn a reasonable wage and should be happy to work for peanuts. I was charging £18 per hour 15 years ago. I worked like a slave and carried thousands of pounds worth of equipment in my van. If your boiler broke you'd pay to get it repaired, you wouldn't quibble about it and think the Plummer should earn less. You wouldn't get a builder in then start quibbling about the price. Gardeners work as hard as any builder and deserve to earn a decent wage for the service they provide. They also have to pay to get rid of the waste they remove as well if it cannot be collected free. Having spent 16 years in the trade when I was younger it seems attitudes toward gardeners haven't changed much. Just a tip, people who were always tight arsed toward us years ago and didn't pay us fairly always got a crap job in return. Be careful what you wish for..

80sMum · 23/01/2023 18:51

You might be able to find someone who'll do it on a casual ad-hoc basis for less, but if you're looking for a regular thing from someone who gardens for a living I think you'll struggle to find anything cheaper.

Peartreewalk · 23/01/2023 18:52

£20 per hour and he works his socks off so I’m quite happy.
Had one previously who charged £15 but was very slow so actually get better value for money now.

PassAnotherJumper · 23/01/2023 18:52

Swiftswatch · 23/01/2023 18:48

@PassAnotherJumper t's actually more shocking that junior doctors are only paid about £26k tbh.

They typically aren’t, it’s £14 an hour for a year one for the most basic hour. For evenings, weekends etc it’s higher.
The lowest salary a year 1 can have is about 30k then goes up by about 5k a year. With typical nhs shifts it’s often much higher.

Ah - so the OP's comparison was a bit misleading then!

Onwayoutsoon · 23/01/2023 18:54

Screwedupworld · 23/01/2023 18:30

Ours is £22 an hour. We have them through May to September for 3ish hours every 6 weeks or so. Worth every penny as we have a toddler and full time jobs.

That would suit me perfectly! Never thought about having an intermittent gardener !

IDontCareMatthew · 23/01/2023 18:54

So where is the wind up merchant? Sorry, I mean the op!

Everygrainofsand1 · 23/01/2023 18:55

Sounds cheap for a self employed person, if it's basic stuff that needs doing I would get a young student to do it and pay them about £10 an hour as they won't have overheads or be a taxpayer

FirstnameSuesecondnamePerb · 23/01/2023 18:56

I'm not surprised at £18. Seems reasonable for someone with skill and experience.

Wildro · 23/01/2023 18:58

Beneficialchampion2 · 23/01/2023 18:26

Does your junior doctor buy all their own tools, pay their own NI, tax and Pension contributions. Pay for their own insurance plus everything else required to do their job safely?

YABU

Yep Junior doctor of course pays their own NI, tax and contributes to a pension. They also need to pay to park at work, exam fees, registration fees, insurance, uniform/scrubs, cost of stethoscope, buy their own tea/coffee etc….

MirandaWest · 23/01/2023 18:58

Just looked to see how much we’ve paid for a gardener - last summer we paid £12.50 an hour so I think we were getting a great deal!

iwishiwereafirefly · 23/01/2023 18:59

I pay £15 but it's not even for an hour. The job is done in 20 minutes - lawn mow and trimming the edges. But he brings his own equipment and will have to pay tax on that plus a cost to dispose of the grass/bush cutting. I think between £15-18 is average I'm afraid.

A doctor won't always earn £14 an hour.

Original poster
Spagnolia · 23/01/2023 19:00

The gardener is not qualified, brings no tools or removes any of the garden waste. I have no idea about his insurance (our home insurance covers people working around our house and garden though.

I mentioned my DC as they did 5 years at medical school and currently does night shifts as the only doctor on duty covering several wards, so a lot of responsibility looking after someone’s child, partner, parent.

I was surprised that an unqualified unskilled wage was higher than a junior doctor wage. Nothing to do with snobbery.

Though it does go some way to explain why many new doctors are leaving for Aus/NZ sadly. And are currently voting to take strike action. There are no market conditions for doctors. The NHS has a monopoly unfortunately. And awful working conditions.

But getting back to the subject, I won’t be paying that much so it looks like we will be embracing rewilding!

OP posts:
Hwory · 23/01/2023 19:03

An unqualified unskilled gardener? Get him in the work house.

Everygrainofsand1 · 23/01/2023 19:03

Do you know any young people aged about 16-18 that may like a casual job in the school holidays, you can just pay them cash in hand then for the help.

theworldhas · 23/01/2023 19:03

£18 an hour sounds very reasonable to me.

slowquickstep · 23/01/2023 19:04

Do it yourself if you think Gardeners shouldn't be able to put food on the table.

DeoForty · 23/01/2023 19:04

Gardeners don't work a 9-5 (or whatever) at £18 an hour. They charge £18 an hour for their labour. Which is hard labour, in shitty conditions. The hours where they are travelling to jobs or buying supplies (or don't have jobs on) are unpaid.

Also yes, junior doctors aren't paid very much, but they have better earning potential. I'm sure there aren't 55 year old doctors earning £14 an hour.

arcencielpoisson · 23/01/2023 19:05

I hate this 'junior doctors only earn this much...' argument. When I was a nanny, it was used by a family who were trying to employ me (I didn't accept).

If you don't value this persons services, feel free to look else where. Or do it yourself.

And with regards to your comment about junior doctors leaving... quite. The NHS is in a terrible state.

(But that has nothing at all to do with the state of your garden).

Georgyporky · 23/01/2023 19:06

It might be cheaper if you offered cash.

Crazycactuslady · 23/01/2023 19:06

I'm a gardener. I'm self employed.

I charge £25 pH for 6+ hours a day bookings. All of my current bookings are for holiday lets and 2nd homes. For less hours a day, I charge milage at 45p per mile on top.

Most of my large tools are provided and live on site - some are difficult to transport, think ride on mowers etc.

I have tonnes of experience and specific qualifications. Often, you get what you pay for with gardening - the more expensive and harder to book, the more experience and knowledge etc.

I only book work I want to do and can afford to be choosey. I turn a fair amount down to be honest. I'm still generally fully booked all year round.

missymousey · 23/01/2023 19:06

I'm a gardener. I wouldn't want to work for you with that attitude.

DeoForty · 23/01/2023 19:06

Also, a skilled gardener (pruning, lifting and dividing HPs) is a different thing again.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 23/01/2023 19:07

We pay £25 per hour.