Salaries up, tea drinking down among British builders

British builders get paid a packet and have relatively little stress despite longer working hours according to a new survey by Covers.

The average builder is paid an average wage of £30,700 a year which rises to £45,200 in London. If that wasn’t enough 10% of London builders say they earn more than £100,000 a year. Builders in the east Midlands can only dream of that kind of money as they were the lowest paid at £23,600.

In addition to high wages, it would seem being a builder is also a pretty stress free career. Seventy one per cent said they experience 'reasonable to low' stress levels at work. London builders, obviously dealing with the stress that comes from earning a six-figure salary, are not so carefree. More than half complained of 'high to very high' stress levels.

Long hours seem to be the only draw back to a life on a building site. The average working day lasts 9.5 hours while 42% of builders stated that they work more than 10 hours per day.

Scotland is home to the hardest working builders with 12% working over 16 hours per day.

And despite all the evidence to the contrary, builders consume just two cups of tea a day. A traditional cuppa is favoured by most, but the poorly paid east Midlands builders have gained a taste for herbal or green tea.

Steven Osborne, managing director at Covers Timber and Builders Merchant, which carried out the research, said: "Our research debunks the myth of the work-shy brickie. Today's builders work an average 50 hour week and can expect to take home more than £30,000 a year, making building a serious career option for those willing to put in the hours."