AIBU to ask if the cost of the work should now be less?

[Tink3rbell30]

Currently having some work done in the garden. Price quoted included materials cost and labour costs for 2 workers. Only one person has been doing the work, I asked in a roundabout way will the other person be joining and he said no he isn't now. Should the labour cost be less? He hasn't mentioned it so I'm wondering if I should. My mum says yes bring it up as it should be cheaper now, my friend says no don't say anything as the cost is the cost.

Yabu - don't say anything
Yanbu - ask the "new cost" due to it being 1 worker and not 2

Surely the person alone is now doing double the work, so I wouldn't bring it up at all on that basis

Is it going to take twice as long with only 1 person? Depends if the quote was based on hours worked or for the total cost of the work

Is it a day rate or a job rate ? If day rate, will it take longer? And if job rate then no

Well surely it’s more labour work for the one person than 2 people doing it

Is it one person for twice as long? Or one person working many more hours a day? You can ask, but one person doing a two man job is hard work. Of course if he's not stretched it was probably an inflated price to include two people.

Are you paying by the hour or by the job?

The pay is for the job not per hour and the days taken is the same as what he said it would be for him and another person.

The quote is the quote, if the work is the same then the cost is the same - one person just means double the time to completion…. Unless you had a time stipulation?

If the same job is being done, the same amount of labour is being done. Doesn't matter whether it's being done by 1, 2 or 10 people, it's still the same amount of labour to do the job.

You are paying for the amount of labour required, not per person doing it.

You’ve still got the same amount of labour that needs doing in your garden, it’s just that only one person will be doing it all now.

Thanks for replies, it was confusing my head 😂

If it takes 2 people 8 hours to do work or one person 16 hours, is there more or less labour involved?

So he said it would take him and is mate 10 days to do the job and now it’s just him, he’s still saying he can do it in 10?

I get where you are coming from. Has the labour costs been itemised on the invoice? If do, I think you have a case, because now your paying one man for ten hours (ten hours total) instead of two men for ten hours (twenty hours total) for example.

The pay is for the job. If the job is completed as agreed then the required labour is done, just by one person instead of spread across two.

Yes that's what he said.

The work would definitely be finished quicker by two workers. There is no doubt about that.
He probably had spare time and said he’d do the entire job himself.
I would not say anything. The price is the price.

Yes it is written on the invoice and broken down into materials and labour costs for 2. And the hours are the same even though it is now 1 worker.

I understand the comments about the labour too.. so should he get the "other person's" pay too as he's working harder by himself? I think the fact the time scale is the same has thrown me.

Just say it to him then, it’s unlikely that he won’t have an excuse or reason. Tradesmen deal with this a lot. He’ll be able to explain the reasoning. Are you sure it had a breakdown of hours? As that’s is unusual on a priced job.
Just speak up before the job is completed as then it may make the contract trickier for question.

Hopefully he’s a decent contractor and doesn’t lift up half of the work he completed.

I Woukd question it then.

Yes, pretty much. You're paying for X amount of labour over Y days - whether it's paid to one person or split between 10 people is irrelevant.