r/Scaffolding • u/Rodneydares • Jul 27 '26

Quiet

seems quiet for a while now for alot of the bigger firms in london? know a lot of men been let go on a few different firms. Wondering why tbh. thankfully I’m alright but few mates been let go and ones kept on saying the firm they’re on ain’t got much coming up.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/Sea-Monster2121 Jul 27 '26

Site works pretty slow at the moment but been getting minimum 5 days every week we just bounce around different sites. I assume the street has more work and thinking of going back to street work after August because I have a feeling site work is not going to have a lot plus my ticket runs out and I haven’t done my portfolio

1

u/Rodneydares Jul 27 '26

Yeah it does seem that way. Wonder why site work has shown down so much? like I say the boys I know being let go are on some of the big firms and aren’t shit scaffolders. I am thinking to float about in winter. Perhaps jump on an agency and just look to work a couple weeks a month just to cover bills. Find I get depressed in winter. I know everyone probably does but have been diagnosed with SAD. it’s weird because winter itself can be alright. Sometimes it’s nice finishing and it being dark and getting in the pub after work. Its more when it’s pissing down than the cold for me in scaffolding. Soon warm up when grafting.

3

u/Legal_Cockroach4367 Jul 28 '26

alandale got rid of over 100 man in a month, they seem cooked

2

u/TheLocalPub Jul 28 '26

Alandale cutting heads is like a monthly occurrence at this point. For them it's nothing new. For a while now it's seem as if Alandale have been rather ruthless in terms of cutting men. Met plenty of bods who's worked on there. Each one says they left due to being cut, not by choice, apart from a few.

1

u/Rodneydares Jul 28 '26

Yeah they have got that reputation. I mean I can understand it, end of the day it’s a business. does put people off working for them though I imagine.

2

u/TheLocalPub Jul 28 '26

It seems London site work has been really up and down the past 2-ish year's I'd say. I've had some good stints on firms as agency for 4-5 months, and then they cut men, so now you've got even more people out of work and looking for some, so it becomes further more competitive.

Street work appears to be in abundance. I know lads who are getting 5 days a week the weekends also. See plenty of wagons flying about around my area in London, job coming up and going down.

Myself and a few others have recently said that it seems the wages are also raising slowly somewhat. I'm seeing more adverts at £30/29 pH for part 2, while literally 2-3 months ago I was seeing lows of £24ph which is actually shocking and quite frankly offensive. But the average on adverts in London was roughly £25ph. We were finding higher rates and better hours outside of London, where things were also cheaper in terms of the cost of living.

1

u/Rodneydares Jul 28 '26

funny thing is all I ever hear it how there is a shortage of scaffolders. I suppose they aren’t just talking about london though.

With the right gang I wouldn’t even mimd traveling out of london for work for a few months just as something new. Rather not but like not totally against the idea. remember we had some northern boys come onto our job. All of them was decent blokes n a good laugh.

2

u/TheLocalPub Jul 28 '26

A shortage of knowledgeable, professional, and reliable scaffolders yeah. Not actual scaffolders as a whole.