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• 

  Richard King July 3, 2012 at 3:50pm

  That is just an insult to any "experienced" gardener! Just because jobs are hard to come by don't mean you can pay pittance.
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  Bespoke Lawncare July 3, 2012 at 4:39pm

  As you state your general cost to a client for a days work is £120 a day that is £15 an hour on a 8 hr day.

  To earn your £15 an hour you have had costs prior to getting the job and ongoing costs carrying out the job now you have it.

  Tools to do the job cost , maintenance of your plant and machinery cost you, replacing lost broken past there usable time tools and plant cost you.

  Time in an evening putting your invoices together cost you, the computer printer ink etc cost you.

  Your van, diesel, insurance for the van, insurance for the company cost you.

  Account fees, Tax deductions, NI stamp, pension savings

  You also have the headache of if any issues arise, clients canceling, inclement weather, winter, no holiday pay no bank holiday pay. all for the £15 an hour you charge.

  A gardening assistant on the other hand turns up does his days work, gets paid.

  As 5 weeks holiday a year gets paid

  9 bank holidays a year get paid.

  Off sick gets paid.

  As employee rights

  Maternity payment rights

  Bereavement rights. & a all lot more

  "I am sure this certain maintenance and landscaping company is charging their wealthy clientèle a lot more than £7.00 per hour". of course they do it called making a profit after operating costs.

  "I wouldn't get out of bed for £7.00 an hour...it's a bloody insult!" you work all your X'S out on £15.00 an hour by the time you have finished you will be lucky to be left with £7.00.

  Sorry if this sound harsh however its fact.

   
• 

  Dan Frazer Gardening July 3, 2012 at 4:59pm

  Exactly my thoughts, a sole trader charging £15 an hour is lucky to go home with £7 an hour.
  
  Lawn lover said:

  As you state your general cost to a client for a days work is £120 a day that is £15 an hour on a 8 hr day.

  To earn your £15 an hour you have had costs prior to getting the job and ongoing costs carrying out the job now you have it.

  Tools to do the job cost , maintenance of your plant and machinery cost you, replacing lost broken past there usable time tools and plant cost you.

  Time in an evening putting your invoices together cost you, the computer printer ink etc cost you.

  Your van, diesel, insurance for the van, insurance for the company cost you.

  Account fees, Tax deductions, NI stamp, pension savings

  You also have the headache of if any issues arise, clients canceling, inclement weather, winter, no holiday pay no bank holiday pay. all for the £15 an hour you charge.

  A gardening assistant on the other hand turns up does his days work, gets paid.

  As 5 weeks holiday a year gets paid

  9 bank holidays a year get paid.

  Off sick gets paid.

  As employee rights

  Maternity payment rights

  Bereavement rights. & a all lot more

  "I am sure this certain maintenance and landscaping company is charging their wealthy clientèle a lot more than £7.00 per hour". of course they do it called making a profit after operating costs.

  "I wouldn't get out of bed for £7.00 an hour...it's a bloody insult!" you work all your X'S out on £15.00 an hour by the time you have finished you will be lucky to be left with £7.00.

  Sorry if this sound harsh however its fact.

   
• 

  Paving & Landscaping July 3, 2012 at 5:29pm

  If i worked for someone in Devon, £7 per hour is avg. i have laid countless patios for firms on less then that. i ran my x boss's company for 8 months once, think i was only on £5 per hour, got a £50 bonus, Happy days lol.
• 

  Nic Johnson July 3, 2012 at 6:55pm

  I agree with the above also
  
  Lawn lover said:

  As you state your general cost to a client for a days work is £120 a day that is £15 an hour on a 8 hr day.

  To earn your £15 an hour you have had costs prior to getting the job and ongoing costs carrying out the job now you have it.

  Tools to do the job cost , maintenance of your plant and machinery cost you, replacing lost broken past there usable time tools and plant cost you.

  Time in an evening putting your invoices together cost you, the computer printer ink etc cost you.

  Your van, diesel, insurance for the van, insurance for the company cost you.

  Account fees, Tax deductions, NI stamp, pension savings

  You also have the headache of if any issues arise, clients canceling, inclement weather, winter, no holiday pay no bank holiday pay. all for the £15 an hour you charge.

  A gardening assistant on the other hand turns up does his days work, gets paid.

  As 5 weeks holiday a year gets paid

  9 bank holidays a year get paid.

  Off sick gets paid.

  As employee rights

  Maternity payment rights

  Bereavement rights. & a all lot more

  "I am sure this certain maintenance and landscaping company is charging their wealthy clientèle a lot more than £7.00 per hour". of course they do it called making a profit after operating costs.

  "I wouldn't get out of bed for £7.00 an hour...it's a bloody insult!" you work all your X'S out on £15.00 an hour by the time you have finished you will be lucky to be left with £7.00.

  Sorry if this sound harsh however its fact.

   
• 

  Paving & Landscaping July 3, 2012 at 7:20pm

  http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/listjob.aspx?sessionid=c09c98f0-1db...

  I did a search for work in my local area £8.50 was the best for a head gardener.

  I do all the landscaping work for my business, so i would not pay someone £7 an hour to carry stuff for me or make mixes, if they could be trusted to be left alone, think for them selfs and do the work i do, the max i could go to would be £10, but they would have to be bloody good.

   
• 

  Chris Auld July 3, 2012 at 7:38pm

  Paul, im assuming you dont employ anyone?
• 

  Paul Lewis July 3, 2012 at 7:40pm

  Maybe I need to up my rates then, but currently my overheads are very low as I am living with my girlfriend in her mother's house!!

  I still think that £7 an hour is a disgraceful hourly wage for 2012!! I was earning £4.00 an hour back in 1988 (24 years ago) as a silver service waiter in a posh country club in the Midlands!

  That £4.00 for an hour of my time bought a hell of a lot more in 1988 than £7.00 an hour will buy you now!

  A gallon of petrol in 1988 was £1.57, so my £4.00 hourly rate would have paid for nearly 3 gallons.

  £7.00 an hour in 2012 will buy you just over a gallon of petrol!! It's the same with food, clothes, rental, house prices etc, etc!

  If people are happy to do a skilled gardening job for only a pittance then more fool them! But it makes it a lot more difficult for the rest of us!!

  My girlfriend's sister's husband works up in Docklands doing I.T. for an international bank. He earns £600-700 a day!! Is that a decent hourly rate for the work he does?

  Gardening and garden design/landscaping is a highly skilled job using multiple disciplines! It should not be seen as a third rate occupation that pays poorly. We really shouldn't undersell ourselves. If you create a stunning garden for a client then you are bringing a little bit of magic into their lives! I just finished a garden design and build for a family in their rear garden in the Kent North Downs. It cost them £7k but they are chuffed to bits with it!

  Excuse my rant..but it is a real bugbear of mine when people are undervalued and paid peanuts. Especially when it is a garden maintenance company charging clients £20 plus per hour and paying their staff a pittance!! 

  Paul - Dragonfly Designs
• 

  Chris Auld July 3, 2012 at 8:26pm

  Your obviously paying your staff 'cash in hand', if it was all through the books, PAYE, employers NI contributions, sick pay, holiday pay, etc theres no way you could be paying them £12.50 an hour!!!
  
  Paul Lewis said:

  I have employed other people and I have charged the client a day rate for them. In the case of the recent job I completed, I was charging a £250 day rate per day for myself and one assistant. The assistant was getting £100 for 8 hours work, so their hourly rate was £12.50, which is much more reasonable and realistic than a paltry £7.00!! There is no need to pay people a pittance, if you believe in a fair and ethical society.

  I obviously earn a little more (£150 day rate) because I have the responsibility for the job and all the decision making and dealing with the client. I would like to add that I am paying £12.50 per hour to someone who is skilled and able to use their own initiative. If you are employing a young person or a long term jobless person with no skills (and why would you?) then obviously their hourly rate will be lower. However I believe the original advert I commented on was asking for 'skilled' gardeners and landscapers at £7.00 per hour!

  If anyone on here is happy to pay 'skilled' gardening/landscaping staff only £7.00 per hour...well I don't know how you sleep at night! A pint of beer in a decent pub costs nearly £5 here in Kent!!

  
  
  Chris Auld said:

  Paul, im assuming you dont employ anyone?
• 

  Dan Frazer Gardening July 3, 2012 at 8:26pm

  Paul, did your labour go through the HMRC system/did you pay tax contributions/NI? Have you got employer's liability? If so, you do realise that your labourer earned more for that day's work than you did?

  If there is an experienced gardener willing to work for osmeone for £7 an hour that's up to them. There are better jobs available and offering £7 an hour is not going to get you a good staff member.
  
  Paul Lewis said:

  I have employed other people and I have charged the client a day rate for them. In the case of the recent job I completed, I was charging a £250 day rate per day for myself and one assistant. The assistant was getting £100 for 8 hours work, so their hourly rate was £12.50, which is much more reasonable and realistic than a paltry £7.00!! There is no need to pay people a pittance, if you believe in a fair and ethical society.

  I obviously earn a little more (£150 day rate) because I have the responsibility for the job and all the decision making and dealing with the client. I would like to add that I am paying £12.50 per hour to someone who is skilled and able to use their own initiative. If you are employing a young person or a long term jobless person with no skills (and why would you?) then obviously their hourly rate will be lower. However I believe the original advert I commented on was asking for 'skilled' gardeners and landscapers at £7.00 per hour!

  If anyone on here is happy to pay 'skilled' gardening/landscaping staff only £7.00 per hour...well I don't know how you sleep at night! A pint of beer in a decent pub costs nearly £5 here in Kent!!

  
  
  Chris Auld said:

  Paul, im assuming you dont employ anyone?