How Much Do Electricians Charge Per Hour? (UK)

Checkatrade's 2026 UK guide puts an electrician at about £45–£60 per hour, with an average of roughly £50, and an eight-hour day at about £400. These are estimates, not a tariff: the job, location, urgency, access, materials, and certification can all change the quote.

Use these figures as a starting point:

Pricing basis	Published guide price
Standard hourly work	£45–£60 per hour
Standard eight-hour day	About £400
Emergency or urgent call-out	About £80–£100 per hour

Hourly and day rates usually describe labour. A written quote should make clear whether materials, VAT, travel, testing, certification, and any minimum attendance charge are included. For an accurate local price, compare written quotes for the same scope of work.

A UK electrician's hourly rate typically falls between £45 and £60, against a national average of about £50. Five things move a quote inside and beyond that band, which is why two electricians in the same town quote differently for identical work.

• Urgency: Planned daytime work sits in the £45–£60 band. Evening, weekend, bank-holiday, and emergency call-outs run at about £80–£100 per hour.
• Qualifications and scope: Registration under a competent person scheme covers specific categories of work, not all electrical work. Check the electrician's qualifications and exactly what their registration covers.
• Location: Travel, parking, congestion charges, and local demand are priced into the rate.
• Job complexity: Access, fault-finding time, existing wiring condition, specialist equipment, testing, and notification requirements all add chargeable hours to a job that looked like a one-hour visit.
• Materials and business costs: Components, insurance, vehicles, tools, training, and scheme fees are recovered through the hourly rate a properly run electrical business charges.

An hourly rate is not the same as a fixed total for the job. Ask for a written quote or estimate that states exactly what is included:

• Labour: Confirm when chargeable time starts, the minimum charge, and whether testing and fault finding are included.
• Materials: Check whether cables, fittings, protective devices, and other components are included or itemised separately.
• Certification and notification: Electrical Installation Certificates and Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificates are BS 7671 documents. For notifiable domestic work in England or Wales, a separate Building Regulations compliance certificate may also be required. Rules differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so ask which documents apply where the property is located and whether their cost is included.
• Travel and call-out: Some electricians apply a minimum attendance or call-out fee, particularly for small or urgent jobs. Ask for the amount before booking.
• VAT: Confirm whether the consumer price includes VAT. Compulsory VAT registration starts at £90,000 of taxable turnover, so a smaller electrician may not be registered at all.

When comparing quotes, compare the same scope, materials, testing, documents, and VAT treatment. A lower headline rate can cost more if important items are excluded.

Emergency electricians usually charge more because they work evenings, weekends, overnight, and on bank holidays. Checkatrade's 2026 UK guide puts urgent call-outs at about £80–£100 per hour, with an average around £90. A separate call-out or minimum charge may also apply.

Ask for the emergency hourly rate, call-out charge, minimum billable time, and VAT-inclusive total before the visit where the situation allows. For sparks, a burning smell, exposed live parts, electric shock, or water affecting electrics, do not touch the fault and seek urgent professional help. If there is smoke or fire, get out, stay out, and call 999.

Many common electrical jobs are quoted at a fixed total rather than by the hour. Checkatrade's 2026 UK guide gives these ballpark averages:

Job	Published guide price
Install a socket	About £55–£75
Replace a light fitting	About £65
Replace a fuse box / consumer unit	About £625
Electrical safety inspection/report	About £212.50

These are estimates, not quotations. Property condition, access, materials, testing, remedial work, location, and VAT can materially change the total.

Getting a fair price from an electrician isn't just about finding the cheapest quote. Here's how to approach it properly:

• Get three quotes for large jobs: For anything that will take more than half a day (rewires, consumer unit replacements, EV charger installations) get at least three quotes. At an £45–£60 hourly rate, a half-day difference in how two electricians scope the same job is worth more than the difference in their rates. Be specific about exactly what you need; vague requests produce vague quotes that are hard to compare.
• Batch small jobs: If you have multiple small tasks (a faulty socket, a new outdoor light, a broken extractor fan), organise them into a single visit rather than booking separately. You'll only pay one call-out fee and may get a better rate on the labour.
• Book non-urgent work in advance: Planned work usually gives you more choice and avoids emergency pricing.
• Check the right registration: Building rules differ across the UK. For notifiable domestic work in England or Wales, verify the electrician's exact self-certification scheme and scope on the Electrical Competent Person Register. Registered installers can self-certify covered work and provide compliance evidence; schemes also offer complaints procedures and insurance-backed warranties. Check the applicable Scottish or Northern Irish route for properties there.
• Ask for an itemised quote: Itemised quotes let you see exactly what you're paying for. If the quote is a single round number with no breakdown, ask for the split between labour, materials, and certification. Reputable electricians are happy to provide this.

If you run an electrical business, clear pricing is only useful when it reaches the customer quickly and the job keeps moving. Tradehand gives electricians an office team that handles the admin around the work, with no monthly fee: it charges 5% of an invoice, and only when the customer actually pays you.

• Quote from your own rates: Create clear, branded quotes for electrical work, review each one before it is sent, and let customers accept through one link.
• Catch work while you're on the tools: Answer calls, texts, email, and web chat, gather the job details, and book routine work into the diary.
• Collect without a separate process: Take deposits, staged payments, or the balance on completion, with the money paid into your connected account.

See how Tradehand runs the office around each job, from the first enquiry to quoting, booking, payment, and follow-up.