Electrician Pricing Guide 2026

What is the JIB hourly rate for an electrician in 2026?

From January 2026 the JIB standard rate for a qualified Electrician is £18.38 an hour, an Approved Electrician £20.08, and a Technician £22.70, based on a 37.5-hour week. Those figures rose 3.95% in the first year of the 2026 to 2028 agreement, and London work adds roughly £2.20 to £2.77 an hour on top.

Source: JIB Industrial Determination 2026-2028 (National Standard Rates, effective 5 January 2026)

What is the difference between JIB rates and what I charge customers?

JIB rates are the gross wage an employed electrician earns, so they are a floor, not a price list. When you are self-employed your charge-out rate has to cover your own wage plus van, tools, insurance, certification, downtime between jobs, and the hours you spend quoting and chasing invoices in the evening. That is why a self-employed electrician charges far more per hour than the JIB wage rate, and why pricing off the JIB figure alone leaves money on the table.

How much should a self-employed electrician charge per hour in the UK?

Checkatrade puts the UK average at £45 to £60 an hour, rising to £80 to £100 an hour for emergency or out-of-hours work, with London and the South East typically at the higher end. Many price common jobs at a fixed rate instead, for example £350 to £800 for a consumer unit or £100 to £250 for an EICR, which is clearer for the customer and protects your margin on the work you are quicker at.

Sources: Checkatrade: Electrician hourly rate in the UK in 2026, Checkatrade: How much does consumer unit replacement cost in 2026?, Checkatrade: Electrical safety check (EICR) costs in the UK 2026

How much does a self-employed electrician make in the UK?

Take-home depends on how many chargeable hours you actually bill, not your headline rate. An electrician charging £55 an hour who bills 25 to 30 hours a week after travel, quoting, and admin will gross roughly £70,000 to £85,000 before costs, and the biggest leak is unbilled hours: time spent quoting, chasing payment, and doing paperwork instead of being on the tools.

What are the SJIB rates in Scotland?

The SJIB is the Scottish equivalent of the JIB and sets its own graded rates for electricians in Scotland, structured in a similar way by grade and updated annually. Check the current SJIB National Working Rules for the exact figures for your grade, as they are set separately from the JIB rates above.