On the sites. Advice Lads.

[HologramTam]

I am looking for some advice. I have went back on the sites self employed, I find the prices per meter are Sh1te, as I probably made the same wage twenty years ago! Its bothering me that guys on the site are saying there with agencies and getting £12.50 an hour regardless how much work gets done as long as they sign in and out the agencies pay the hours your on site. Should I go with one of these agencies? What's the pro's and cons? I know practically nothing about how these agencies work. Could I sign up to one in the winter months and jump back on to price work in the summer?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

What's the pro's and cons? I know practically nothing about how these agencies work. Could I sign up to one in the winter months and jump back on to price work in the summer?

Pros - you always get paid (generally a week in hand)
Cons - you get a lot of ****e work that nobody else will touch, everyone lies to you (says it's two months work - when you get there it's two DAYS), they all insist on paying you through a composite company so it will take £16 to £24 off the top each week (before they deduct tax), you don't have any guarantee of work at all so it can be bitsy-piecy

I'm sure others will chime in

 

[OwainDIYer]

guys on the site are saying there with agencies and getting £12.50 an hour

They're doing well. There are people in London waiting to be picked up in a van for a day's work getting £30 a day on site (according to programme about Super Rich People on TV earlier).

 

[Deleted member 174758]

guys on the site are saying there with agencies and getting £12.50 an hour

They're doing well. There are people in London waiting to be picked up in a van for a day's work getting £30 a day on site (according to programme about Super Rich People on TV earlier).

It's not quite as bad as that - but £12.50 at this time of year is a bit optimistic, I'd say, because there's the usual January downturn

 

[HologramTam]

So nobody can answer me ?... I would love an hourly rate. The way I look at it. I might get three days if I am lucky due to weather etc. but in the summer months I can make a good wage.... What do I do in the winter months on site? Cant get on site due to HS ... Getting sent home because its a bit breezy or a bit frost on the scaffolding? I cant be the only tradesman wondering the same?

 

[gregers]

thats why i got out of it and went paye,
slim chance but have you tried any small local builders to see if they need a hand?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

So nobody can answer me ?...

I did, I thought

Cant get on site due to HS ... Getting sent home because its a bit breezy or a bit frost on the scaffolding?

That happens on agency work as well - and if you're sent home, you get nothing. BTW why can't you get on site "due to HS"?

As to getting paid regardless of how much or how little you do that's a fallacy. When I'm wearing my black hat (I flip between being on the tools and "other work") I expect a minimum level of toolkit, a minimum level of experience/ability and a minimum amount of work from agency guys - if you can't meet my minimums then you're out. That's because I have a contracts manager on my back expecting his quotas to be met within his budgets - and if I can't manage that, then I'm out. And **** rolls downhill, so...... The flip side, of course, is that if work flattens out and I want to keep somebody for something starting in a few days or so's time, I'll try to keep hold of them if needs be having them doing labouring on a trades rate, although there is a limit to how long you can do that for