By Jad Salman · · All guides
There's a point most busy sole traders hit. The diary is full three weeks out, you're turning down bathrooms because you can't fit them in, and evenings disappear into quotes and invoices. The obvious answer feels like "get someone on the van". Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's the most expensive way to fix a problem that's really about time, admin or the phone.
This guide walks through how to tell whether you're ready, the different kinds of help you can take on, and what UK law expects of you once you do. It's general guidance, not legal or tax advice, so check anything that matters with GOV.UK or an accountant who works with trades.
Signs You're Actually Ready
Being busy isn't the same as being ready to employ someone. A good test is whether the extra work is steady, not just a good month.
You're probably ready if most of these are true:
- You've been turning work away for three months or more, not just over the winter boiler rush
- You're regularly quoting jobs you know you can't start for weeks
- There are tasks a second pair of hands could do without you standing over them, like first fix, stripping out or carrying
- Your prices leave enough margin to pay someone even in a quiet week
- You have money set aside to cover a wage for a couple of months if work dips
If the honest answer is "I'm busy because I'm doing everything myself, including admin and answering the phone", you might not need another plumber at all. You might need the jobs around the plumbing taken off you.
Work Out What Kind of Help You Need
"Hiring" covers very different things. Picking the wrong one is where people come unstuck.
A Subcontractor for Overflow Work
Lots of plumbers start by passing work to another self-employed plumber they trust, or bringing one in for bigger jobs. You pay per job or per day, they bring their own tools and insurance, and there's no payroll.
Two things to watch. First, the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). If you pay subcontractors for construction work, which covers a lot of plumbing and heating installs, you may need to register as a contractor with HMRC, verify each subcontractor and deduct tax from their payments. The CIS guidance on GOV.UK sets out who it applies to.
Second, employment status. Calling someone self-employed doesn't make them self-employed. If they work set hours, only for you, in your van, using your tools and doing what you tell them, HMRC and an employment tribunal may treat them as an employee. That brings back-dated tax and holiday pay claims. GOV.UK has a check employment status tool worth running before you rely on a "self-employed" arrangement.
An Apprentice
An apprentice is a long game. In year one they'll slow you down more than they speed you up. By year three, a good one is doing real work and knows exactly how you like things done.
Apprentices are employees, so everything in the employer section below applies. The training side is done with a college or training provider, and small employers usually pay little or nothing towards the training itself. Funding rules change, so check the current position on the GOV.UK apprenticeships pages and with local colleges. There's a separate apprentice rate of minimum wage, also on GOV.UK.
An apprentice suits you if you enjoy teaching, have steady work, and want someone in two or three years who can run their own jobs.
An Employed Plumber or Labourer
Taking on a qualified plumber or a labourer as an employee gives you the most control and the most responsibility. You set the hours, provide the van and tools, and they represent your business on every job.
It works best when you've got enough steady work to keep two people busy most days, and when you're comfortable stepping back from some jobs and letting someone else do them their way. If they'll be doing gas work, they'll need their own Gas Safe registration linked to your business.
Office Help Instead of Another Pair of Hands
For a lot of one-van plumbers, the real bottleneck isn't plumbing hours. It's the two hours a night spent ringing people back, writing quotes and chasing invoices.
A part-time admin person, a virtual assistant, a good accountant or a booking system can free up more paid time than a labourer would. So can sorting the phone. If calls go unanswered while you're under a floor, you lose jobs before you even get to price them. We've written about how many calls plumbers miss, and it's often enough to make a difference. Call cover, whether that's a person, an answering service or an AI receptionist like Slotby, costs far less than a wage and frees you to stay on the tools.
What UK Law Expects Once You Employ Someone
Once you take on an actual employee, including an apprentice or a part-time admin person, there's a list of things you have to get right. None of it is hard, but none of it is optional.
- Register as an employer with HMRC. You need to set up PAYE before the first payday and report pay through payroll software each time you pay them. GOV.UK has the steps under registering as an employer.
- Employers' liability insurance. This is a legal requirement from the first employee, separate from your public liability cover. Your insurer can usually add it to your existing policy.
- Right to work checks. You must check someone can legally work in the UK before they start, and keep a record of the check.
- A written statement of employment. Employees are entitled to written terms from day one: pay, hours, holiday, notice and so on.
- Minimum wage and holiday. Pay at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for their age, and give the statutory holiday entitlement, which for a full-time worker is 5.6 weeks a year including bank holidays. Current rates are on GOV.UK.
- Workplace pension. Under auto-enrolment, you'll usually need to put eligible staff into a pension and pay contributions. The Pensions Regulator's website walks you through it.
- Health and safety. Think about risk assessments, PPE, asbestos awareness and working at height, especially if they'll ever be on a job without you.
It's a good idea to pay an accountant or payroll bureau to run payroll for the first year. It isn't expensive and it takes a lot of worry off your plate.
The Real Cost of Your First Employee
The wage is only part of it. When you're doing the sums, include:
- Gross wage, plus employer's National Insurance above the threshold (small employers may be able to claim the Employment Allowance to reduce this)
- Employer pension contributions
- Holiday and sick pay, when they're paid but not earning
- A second van, or the fuel and wear of sharing one
- Tools, workwear and PPE
- Extra insurance, phones and payroll costs
- Your own time spent training, checking work and sorting problems
Then work out how many extra billable days you need each month to cover that, before you've made a penny from them. If the answer is "more than we realistically get", hold off, use a subcontractor for overflow, or raise your prices first.
Hiring Well When You Do Go Ahead
Small trade businesses tend to hire people they already know. That can work, but it's worth being a bit more deliberate than "a mate's son needs a job".
- Be clear on what you need: qualified plumber, improver, labourer or apprentice
- Ask other trades and your merchants who's good and looking, because word of mouth is still the best source
- Do a paid trial day on a real job before you commit
- Check cards and qualifications, and call at least one reference
- Agree a probation period in writing, with a review date in the diary
The first few weeks matter more than the interview. Show them how you want customers treated, how you leave a job, and what you expect on timekeeping. Those standards end up being your reputation.
A Simple Way to Decide
If you're full but most of the pressure is calls, quotes and admin, sort that first. It's cheaper and easier to reverse. If you've got more plumbing than one person can physically do, and it's been that way for months, try a subcontractor on overflow. If that keeps going well and the numbers stack up, that's when an employee or apprentice starts to make sense.
If you're earlier on and still putting the basics in place, our guide on how to set up a plumbing business in the UK covers the foundations. And if the phone is what's holding you back, see how Slotby works for plumbers or get in touch with us. We'll get back to you the same evening.