Groundie Salary in 2021

[sirarb]

Hi guys, new here...

 

What is the going rate of an inexperienced groundie with no tickets? I saw some older posts from a while back with the latest one on this topic in 2014. Is the day rate different from 7 years ago? 

 

•What would be a yearly salary an inexperienced groundie with no tickets expect in the South of England? 
•What would be a yearly salary an experienced groundie with tickets (CS30/31) expect in the South of England? 

 

I have been working for a company, a very small one for a month now and they put me on a starting salary of £18k per year. I have a full driving license (although they haven’t yet insured me on their vehicles), no trailer license, no tickets but genuinely graft hard, I know how to use a chipper and use it every time we are on site, going to start using a chainsaw soon to cut up branches which have been cut from above and logging the bigger stems (only a month in, so makes sense), I know all the 10 or so basic knots such as the fisherman, double fisherman, figure of 8, bowline, clove hitch, distel hitch etc, I help out with rigging although admittedly not always intuitively (still learning) and I haven’t been taught how to set up a rig although it has been mentioned, I fill up petrol and oil of the chainsaws as well as help out time to time cleaning and blowing them out although the boss and another groundie with more experience does it more than I get the chance to, I grease the chipper and maintain all the tools so they are in good nick, I use the Kanga from time to time, do a lot of wood splitting if there is time left after a job has been completed before the end of work and overall make sure after every job I (we as a company) clean up like mad and rake and rake and rake some more until everything looks as good as it can. 

 

I initially thought £18k a year was low but being totally new to the industry and not knowing what is and isn’t normal I accepted it as I was green although willing to expand my horizons from a labourer/groundie to hopefully a climber which is what my aspirations are. So I have no idea if what I am getting paid is good, average or bad? Although I do feel like earning just over £1300 a month after tax is low. I could make more working in virtually most other basic jobs such as retail or a bar/pub as a waiter. My contract states 7.15am to 4.45pm but it’s been much more 7.30am to 4.30pm which are still 9 hour days which I think means I am earning a day gross of £69 with a net day income of £61, opinions on this would be nice? 

 

Obviously I have no balls in my court to help me negotiate a better salary when my probation period comes up in 2 months time and even if he was generous enough to give me a 15% increase (which would be highly unlikely) it really equates to not much at all, but at the same time I feel like £18k a year for someone in their mid twenties is really not great no matter how you look at it. I want to stay with my current employer, I like him, he is a genuinely a nice bloke who makes us all work hard and there is a nice personal feeling to the company as it’s pretty small and it’s a young company as well, the two bosses are brothers one is in his late 20’s and the other in his early 30’s. I like them and working for them although it’s hard to motivate myself knowing i’m earning a net of £61 a day, admittedly. 

 

I don’t want it to appear as if i’m talking behind their backs with this post, I am just genuinely interested in other peoples opinions on this who have a lot more experience than myself. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by sirarb

[topchippyles]

I would say your in the correct pay bracket for someone with no experience or tickets.

[Khriss]

Also, a big factor will be if yr a 'stayer'  and loyal to that company. Plenty  o lads bugger off after collecting a wad of certificates. K

[topchippyles]

1 minute ago, Khriss said:

Also, a big factor will be if yr a 'stayer'  and loyal to that company. Plenty  o lads bugger off after collecting a wad of certificates. K

Have you got the staying power K ?

[Khriss]

2 minutes ago, topchippyles said:

Have you got the staying power K ?

Will find out tonight 😉 now that last series finished 😀 K

[Stere]

Isn't that below minum wage?

 

£69   9hrs =   £7.66 per hr

 

Current rates

Wage band	Current rate (from 1 April 2021)
Age 23 and over (National Living Wage)	£8.91
Age 21 to 22	£8.36
Age 18 to 20	£6.56
Under 18	£4.62

 

 

 

 

 

 

[topchippyles]

2 minutes ago, Khriss said:

Will find out tonight 😉 now that last series finished 😀 K

Can only speak for ones self but astonishing staying power for a 50+ guy 😁

[Khriss]

Thankyou Chippy, i put it down to red wine and fresh air and cycling. K

[Retired Climber]

This thread makes me feel old. 18 grand a year for an unskilled trainee still feels like a lot of money. I remember when my brother started his first ever job as a graduate trainee, he was on about 25 grand a year and we thought that was loads of money. 

[Joe Newton]

I got my first job in arb 11 years ago with CS30, 31 and 38 and I started on £13,800 pa.