how much to pay my helper?

[huggytree]

i lost my part time plumbers helper/laborer 4 weeks ago...ive been searching for 6 weeks now for a replacement....im going no where on the search

im not even looking for previous plumbing experience...just someone with some sort of construction related background and who can use a sawzall

a few i tried interviewing didnt show up
i did interview 3 a few weeks ago....2 were bad, 1 was decent.....so i hired the decent one......but then he stopped returning calls and didnt show up for work

so im back to looking again....80-90% of the applicants have no experience related to the job.....jiffy lube and pizza hut are the 2 common themes i keep seeing

i am offering $15 an hour....to me it seems like a lot for a laborer.......but im starting to think i need to bump it to $20

$20 an hour for someone to carry my tools and drill holes......

most likely the part time thing is whats hurting me the most

[Freelancier]

Pretty sure your local UPS driver makes $25/hr, but a "driver helper" only makes $9.30.

I think it's your "part time" thing as well. Either do it or don't do it, but don't half-way do it. Also, go talk with your state Dept of Labor, I'll bet they have a pool of people who are looking and tax credits for hiring them.

[webdesignphx]

$15 an hour for a laborer is a great deal! In Arizona my power washing company we start employees out at $11 per hour. $15 per hour is the highest we pay for experienced workers. You can hire laborers for $10 out here.

But here is something that works great for me. When you post the add looking for work. Put in the add $15-$20 per hour DOE. Then you will get the guys interested in the $20 hour price and you can interview them. Those guys will still accept it for $15 an hour to start if you offer it to them. Then if you find someone that is truly experienced it may be worth the $20 an hour. But no matter who I hired I would offer $15 to them at first even if they applied for $20.

More applicants, more interviews, more options...

Good luck!

[Harold Mansfield]

Well, I'm not sure what the market rate for unskilled labor is. All I can say is, just speaking logically...$15 part time is a decent wage if you're a kid living at home. It is not enough for an adult with adult bills.

Considering that Unemployment pays $10 x 40hrs a week (on average) and you don't have the expense of going to work ( gas, clothes, lunch, tools, and so on), then $15 an hr, part time is actually a pay cut.

I know, I know...many will say "You have to start somewhere", and "This is what's wrong with society, people would rather collect UE than work"..yeah, yeah, yeah. That sounds great to people who have a job and are already paying their bills. But when it's you who's barely making enough to keep the lights on, and no food in the fridge and you have rent to pay...taking a pay cut just to prove work ethic immediately makes you homeless. You can't even go to work if you have nowhere to sleep, shower, and store your stuff.

Even still, some people will risk it if there's a chance to be full time in the very near future, like say after a probationary period. But not many adults can take a chance on $15 hr part time with uncertainty. Especially if the part time hours fluctuate where as they couldn't even take a second job if they wanted to because they never know from week to week what their schedule will be.

Seems to me what you're looking for is someone who is available anytime, and doesn't really need the money. That's going to be hard to find. Generally those are teenagers with no bills, live at home and are just trying to make money to keep gas in their car and buy some new Nike's every now and then..who can fill those positions.

On the flipside, is it your problem or responsibility if people can't live in $15 hr part time or that they didn't plan or aren't doing better in life? Well, not really. But if you want to find good help that will keep showing up everyday you need to understand what makes that happen. Good help is hard to find, and most would think that any job is worth having if you have no job, but not if you can't survive on it and it keeps you from getting something else.

[huggytree]

i got 2 resume's tonight that were perfect

1 going to school to be a plumber (looking for part time work while in school)
1 going on the apprentice list and looking for experience.....(he could be on the list for 2 years or 2 weeks, so who knows how long he would last)

i agree that it would hurt to offer $15-20 an hour to see if it helps and YES i would be willing to pay $20 for someone w/ more experience

im not necessarily looking for someone to work anytime for me and devote his life to me for part time.....i am willing to work around a school schedule....as long as mornings are what he has open....im willing to give 1 or 2 days off.........

for someone to want the job they need a unique situation....the last guy i had had his own web design business....he worked for me part time and then on the time off he worked for himself....it was a perfect situation....until his web design business went no where

i wish i could hire full time, but i dont have the hours.....some weeks i only have 10-12 hours (2 hours a day)......some weeks are so slow i just decide to go on vacation....then some weeks are like this week where i can work 12 hours a day all week long.....construction has no consistency

[Harold Mansfield]

The school guy sounds perfect. At least you know how long he'll be in school. Like you said, the apprentice guy could get called tomorrow or not at all.
Probably can't go wrong either way if everything else with them pans out.

[billbenson]

Back into this from a different direction. I think Steve_B made a post in this thread or another one how he uses laborers around the house when times are slow.

If your budget allows, hire someone. Without doing that you won't grow. Take a one week vacation instead of two weeks next year (I don't know what you took, but that's and example). Find someone that doesn't just know plumbing but can remodel your kitchen in slow times. Maybe create a sub business for him to do labor on other peoples houses in slow times.

It's really a budget issue. How much are you willing to spend, and what will you get for that. A hit in finances now may make you a bunch of money later.

[huggytree]

Back into this from a different direction. I think Steve_B made a post in this thread or another one how he uses laborers around the house when times are slow.

If your budget allows, hire someone. Without doing that you won't grow. Take a one week vacation instead of two weeks next year (I don't know what you took, but that's and example). Find someone that doesn't just know plumbing but can remodel your kitchen in slow times. Maybe create a sub business for him to do labor on other peoples houses in slow times.

It's really a budget issue. How much are you willing to spend, and what will you get for that. A hit in finances now may make you a bunch of money later.

you brought up some different ideas....sub him out as a laborer to other people....its something to think about

i DO have things to do around my house, but not 100's of hours.....probably around 20-30 hours right now

im not sure if i want my business to grow.....its growing, but very slowly....im kinda stuck right now where i am...i dont seem to be able to attract new builders/remodelers anymore....homeowner jobs keeps growing steadily.........the market is all about cheap right now and i think ive gotten all the higher end contractors that are attracted to a small 1 man plumbing company....i send out fliers every 2-3 months like i always have.....every time more and more come back (out of business)....i used to send them out to 650-700 companies....now im down to 250 (the market is cut in 1/2 and ive already bid with 100+ of them without getting them as customers-most were looking for low price)....out of the 250 i just sent i got back 7 already as gone....and thats 7 gone in just the past 3 months....im sure ill get more in the mail tomorrow....