Notice: BuildPartner Updated Labour Rates
January 25th, 2025
We’ve recently reviewed and updated our average labour rates (bricklayer, plumber, electrician, plasterer, etc.) so that BuildPartner reflects the latest industry trends. As a result, benchmark rates for existing and new projects have automatically updated.
These changes do not override the default rates that you may have set up when creating your BuildPartner account. You may want to consider changing your own default rates.
For more details on the changes and how to update your default rates, read on below.
Overview Of Changes
When you create a project, on your Dashboard, you’ll notice three columns summarising a breakdown of cost by project area. These three columns represent:
- Your rates – the rates you set up on account creation.
- Low – the average regional rates of smaller, less-specialised contractors.
- High – the average regional rates of larger, specialist contractors.
(On the Quote page, you can also access Mid rates—the rates of medium-sized contractors that offer a balanced mix of cost-effectiveness and specialisation.)
Low, Mid, and High rates are determined by our central default prices.
Given that we’ve recently updated our average labour rates per region, it’s important to be aware that these changes (to Low, Mid, and High rates) will automatically update for:
- Existing projects
- New projects
“Your rates” will not update automatically, so you may want to consider changing them. For more details on how to do this, read the section below.
Comparison Of Labour Rates Year On Year
Here’s an example of the average rates for 2024 for a selection of contractors in three regions:
| 2024 Average Labour Rates | ||||||
| Region | Bricklayer | Carpenter | Electrician | Gas Safe Engineer | Plasterer | Plumber |
| Greater London | £207 | £224 | £263 | £332 | £204 | £236 |
| Inner London | £201 | £229 | £260 | £337 | £202 | £232 |
| South East | £199 | £218 | £256 | £318 | £201 | £234 |
| South West | £196 | £200 | £232 | £294 | £183 | £229 |
| Wales | £167 | £183 | £223 | £284 | £166 | £185 |
| Scotland | £164 | £199 | £249 | £317 | £164 | £214 |
| Midlands | £181 | £193 | £228 | £266 | £174 | £198 |
| East Anglia | £182 | £196 | £234 | £289 | £175 | £225 |
| North West | £170 | £182 | £225 | £257 | £173 | £199 |
| North East | £185 | £197 | £235 | £263 | £177 | £208 |
| Northern Ireland | £185 | £197 | £235 | £263 | £177 | £208 |
| Rep. of Ireland | £149 | £169 | £202 | £252 | £149 | £169 |
And here’s how they look for 2025:
| 2025 Average Labour Rates | ||||||
| Region | Bricklayer | Carpenter | Electrician | Gas Safe Engineer | Plasterer | Plumber |
| Greater London | £215 | £223 | £261 | £328 | £207 | £237 |
| Inner London | £206 | £234 | £261 | £337 | £212 | £242 |
| South East | £208 | £222 | £261 | £319 | £206 | £240 |
| South West | £194 | £197 | £229 | £296 | £185 | £221 |
| Wales | £162 | £163 | £216 | £268 | £160 | £178 |
| Scotland | £172 | £204 | £247 | £267 | £165 | £214 |
| Midlands | £181 | £186 | £222 | £267 | £167 | £190 |
| East Anglia | £193 | £193 | £236 | £285 | £179 | £219 |
| North West | £164 | £175 | £213 | £263 | £157 | £181 |
| North East | £156 | £179 | £216 | £255 | £158 | £180 |
| Northern Ireland | £179 | £196 | £220 | £232 | £191 | £196 |
| Rep. of Ireland | £139 | £158 | £189 | £252 | £139 | £158 |
Overall, labour rates have changed by:
| Percentage Change | ||||||
| Region | Bricklayer | Carpenter | Electrician | Gas Safe Engineer | Plasterer | Plumber |
| Greater London | 4% | -1% | -1% | -1% | 1% | 1% |
| Inner London | 3% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 4% |
| South East | 4% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| South West | -1% | -2% | -1% | 0% | 1% | -3% |
| Wales | -3% | -11% | -3% | -6% | -3% | -4% |
| Scotland | 5% | 2% | -1% | -16% | 1% | 0% |
| Midlands | 0% | -3% | -3% | 1% | -4% | -4% |
| East Anglia | 6% | -1% | 1% | -1% | 2% | -3% |
| North West | -4% | -4% | -5% | 2% | -9% | -9% |
| North East | -16% | -9% | -8% | -3% | -10% | -14% |
| Northern Ireland | -3% | -1% | -7% | -12% | 8% | -6% |
| Rep. of Ireland | -7% | -6% | -7% | 0% | -7% | -6% |
Not all trades are included in this list. Log in to view full trades and their respective rates.
How To Amend Your Default Labour Rates
There are two ways to amend your labour rates:
- By amending the default rates of a specific project.
- By amending the default rates for all projects (existing and new).
1. Set Rates For A Specific Project
If you want to set the default rates for a specific project, open the project in question and head to the Schedule tab. Then, click the GBP icon (£) and select Labour.
You’ll then be presented with a window where you can manually change the Cost/hr or Cost/day (amending one automatically changes the other). You can then apply an additional percentage for overheads and profit (OH&P) which updates the Rate/day field.
When you’ve entered your rates for this specific project, click Save & Exit.
2. Set Default Rates For All Projects (Existing and New)
To set default labour rates for all projects—including existing and newly created projects—hover over your account initials in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen to reveal your account settings. Then, select Labour Rates.
On the page, you can amend the labour rates for all respective trades (bricklayer, plumber, electrician, plasterer, etc.).
Important! These rates will be applied to all newly created projects and existing projects.
Any Queries About Our Labour Rates?
We hope this provides you with insight into the changes happening behind the scenes to keep pricing as up-to-date and accurate as possible.
If you have any issues or questions regarding these updates, feel free to contact us at contact@buildpartner.com. We’re happy to help.