North-South divide: £94 between garage labour rates in London and Huddersfield

Garage labour rate research conducted by What Car? has compared the hourly labour rates of 279 independent garages around the UK, all of them members of the Independent Garage Association. The results show that there is almost £100 difference between the highest (south-west London – £141) and lowest (Huddersfield – £47).

The evidence also highlighting an ongoing North-South divide. Specifically, hourly rates are most expensive within the M25. Here, average labour amount to £105. But they drop by £51 by driving just 10 miles from south-west London to Sutton, where an hour’s labour costs £90.

In the north of England rates were even cheaper still. For example, in Leeds and Oldham the average hourly labour rate was £78. And yet, there was still big disparity between rates. Just 20 miles away in Huddersfield it’s £47.

Put all this together and the What Car? research shows that the UK’s average labour rate is £76 per hour. That’s a large increase on the £47 a hour figure found in a survey conducted by the Independent Garage Association found to be the case in 2020.

Still, the increased rates aren’t enough, according to “The Garage Inspector” Andy Savva. Autocar quoted Savva as saying:

“I coach thousands of garage staff and the single biggest mistake they make is to align their hourly labour rates with local rivals – this despite their very different costs, skills and facilities…Their explanation is that if they don’t, they will be uncompetitive and lose business. However, on average it costs around £60 per hour just to operate a typical garage with all its running and fixed costs.

“To pay it, labour is all they have. Aside from parts, it’s all they sell and they should value it. If they don’t, they will lose money, and their premises, facilities and the quality of the staff they employ will deteriorate, at which point customers will ask why they should spend their money with them.”

That doesn’t take recruitment and retention into account, something Savva is pessimistic about: “Shoddy premises and poor salaries have been a problem for years and few in the industry are trying to do anything about it”.

Nevertheless, opportunity remains in the post-Covid environment: “…awful quality of public transport taught people to appreciate their cars, while high vehicle prices are encouraging them to keep them for longer. It’s a boom time for the aftermarket, with long waiting times for servicing. Garages should capitalise on this.”