How much extra turnover does one employee need?

As a rule of thumb, plan for the total employment cost — wage plus roughly 25 to 30% — divided by your realistic gross margin. For most trade businesses that means a five-figure uplift in annual turnover per hire.

Can I pay a labourer cash day-to-day?

You still have to record it, report it correctly and check status and right-to-work. Undocumented cash payments create tax, insurance and liability exposure that far outweighs the convenience.

When is the right time to hire?

When you are consistently turning down profitable work, your forecast shows three months of cover for the extra cost, and you have written down the tasks the new person will actually do.

Growing the Team for UK Tradespeople | The Trades Business Builder

Growth breaks businesses that had no systems to begin with. A second pair of hands doubles the paperwork, the purchasing, the quality risk and the pressure on cash before it doubles the income.

This hub covers hiring timing and affordability, employee versus subcontractor, apprentices, administrators, onboarding, quality control, purchasing authority, expense cards, limits, vans, tools, timesheets, payroll, cover, delegation and moving off the tools.

Start with the numbers

What this hub covers

Topic clusters

Written in the order the decisions actually arrive.

Before you hire
Affordability and structure.
Onboarding and standards
Quality does not travel by osmosis.
Spending and delegation
Letting go without losing control.

Marcus on this hub

What matters most here

The three things that change the numbers fastest in this part of the business.

Employee or subcontractor is not your choice alone

Status is decided by how the work actually happens: control, substitution, equipment, financial risk and mutuality of obligation. Calling someone a subcontractor while directing their hours, supplying their tools and refusing substitution invites a costly reclassification.

If you need someone on your jobs, on your schedule, using your van, plan for employment and price the work accordingly.

Cost an employee properly before you hire

The wage is roughly two thirds of the cost. Employer's National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday pay, employer's liability insurance, tools, PPE, training, phone and unproductive time all sit on top.

Then be honest about chargeable hours: a new employee rarely bills more than 25 to 28 hours a week in the first months. Work out the extra turnover you need before the first payslip, not after it.

Get off the tools deliberately, one task at a time

Trying to run the business in the evenings is how good trades burn out. Move one task at a time — quoting, or purchasing, or scheduling — into a fixed slot in the working week and protect it.

Write the process down as you hand it over. A one-page instruction is the difference between delegating and repeatedly rescuing.

Tools

Calculators for this area

Templates

Paperwork for this area

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Straight answers

Common questions

How much extra turnover does one employee need?: As a rule of thumb, plan for the total employment cost — wage plus roughly 25 to 30% — divided by your realistic gross margin. For most trade businesses that means a five-figure uplift in annual turnover per hire.
Can I pay a labourer cash day-to-day?: You still have to record it, report it correctly and check status and right-to-work. Undocumented cash payments create tax, insurance and liability exposure that far outweighs the convenience.
When is the right time to hire?: When you are consistently turning down profitable work, your forecast shows three months of cover for the extra cost, and you have written down the tasks the new person will actually do.

Growing the Team

Start with the numbers

Before you hire

Onboarding and standards

Spending and delegation

Employee or subcontractor is not your choice alone

Cost an employee properly before you hire

Get off the tools deliberately, one task at a time