Best paid trades in the UK

Day rate is what a self employed trader charges a customer for a day on site. It is not the same as employee pay. This page uses gov.uk numbers to anchor the range and explains why two traders in the same trade often charge very different rates.

Every rate below is tied to a gov.uk or ONS source read on 24 October 2026. The links are at the foot.

What gov.uk says about pay

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings for April 2025 reports median weekly earnings for full time employees at £766.60. Median gross annual earnings for full time employees were £39,039. Both figures are provisional. Full time means more than 30 paid hours a week.

Divided by five working days that weekly figure is about £153 a day. That is employee pay before tax where the employer meets tools and pension and holiday pay. A self employed day rate must cover those costs plus profit or it is not the same number.

The floor is the legal minimum. National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates on gov.uk for April 2025 to March 2026 set £12.21 an hour for those aged 21 and over. For an eight hour day that is £97.68 before deductions. An apprentice rate is £7.55 an hour. Those are the rates for employees. Your day rate as a trader must sit above that floor or you are below minimum wage once costs are taken off.

Ten trades by day rate

ONS does not publish self employed day rates by trade. The figures below are day rates traders commonly quote in the UK for labour only before materials and before VAT. Each trade is shown with a range. The range comes from where the work sits on skill and risk and ticket size not from a gov table. The gov anchor above tells you how that range sits against employee pay and the legal floor.

• Electrician. £220 to £350 a day. Higher for fault finding and testing and lower for first fix on price work.
• Plumber. £200 to £320 a day. Higher for emergency call outs and lower for planned install.
• Gas engineer. £240 to £380 a day. Gas work needs registration and carries higher risk and cost.
• Builder. £200 to £300 a day. Higher for structural work and lower for general labour led tasks.
• Carpenter and joiner. £200 to £300 a day. Higher for bespoke joinery and lower for site fix.
• Roofer. £210 to £330 a day. Height and weather and access costs push the range up.
• Plasterer. £180 to £280 a day. Lower ticket jobs keep the range below larger installs.
• Painter and decorator. £170 to £260 a day. Prep time often decides if the rate holds.
• HVAC engineer. £250 to £400 a day. Refrigerant and controls work sits at the top of this list.
• Landscaper. £180 to £270 a day. Seasonal demand and plant costs shape the range.

These ranges are not gov rates. Gov rates for these trades as employees are held in ONS occupation tables. Self employed day rates are set by the trader using costs and billable days.

To set your own rate use the day rate calculator. Put in target income less costs divided by the days you actually bill. That result is the rate your year needs. The what to charge guide then builds a job price from days times that rate plus materials and other costs.

The four things that move a rate more than the trade does

One. Where you work

London and the south east pay more and charge more. Travel time between jobs matters too. A trader who loses two hours a day to traffic bills fewer days so the same income needs a higher day rate. The ONS release notes regional pay varies and Northern Ireland saw the highest growth in 2025. Your rate should reflect drive time and parking and congestion where that applies.

Two. Specialist tickets

A ticket that is legally required narrows supply. Gas Safe and MCS and F Gas and Part P sign off each need training and annual cost. Customers pay for that scarcity and for the sign off. A general task in the same trade without the ticket pays less because more traders can do it.

Three. How you price

Day rate is not the only price model. Fixed price for a defined scope often beats day rate on margin when the work is scoped well. Call out fees and half day minimums protect short jobs. Emergency and out of hours rates are higher because the slot cannot be filled twice. The rate on a price work site is not the same as the rate on a private kitchen even for the same skill.

Four. How many days you bill

A trader who bills four days a week for 44 weeks has 176 billable days. At £30,000 target income after costs that trader needs about £170 a day. At 200 billable days the same target needs £150 a day. Holidays and gaps and quoting time reduce billable days. A lower day rate on paper often means more unpaid days off the books.

What to check before you raise your rate

Check costs first. Insurance and tools and vehicle and training sit outside wages and must be in the rate. Then check payment terms. A higher rate paid in 45 days can be worth less than a lower rate paid on the day. The invoicing guide lists what to put on the invoice so payment is not held up. The taking money guide shows how a deposit and staged payments protect cash on long jobs.

Sources

Every gov number above was read on 24 October 2026.

• Employee earnings in the UK 2025 on ONS. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2025. Median weekly earnings for full time employees £766.60 in April 2025. Median gross annual earnings £39,039. Full time defined as more than 30 paid hours. Figures provisional.
• National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates on gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates. Rates from April 2025 to March 2026. £12.21 an hour for 21 and over. £7.55 for apprentices.
• Self Assessment deadlines on gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines. Tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. Used for year references.