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The paperwork every builder needs, in the right order: right to work, National Insurance number, UTR, CIS and CSCS.
Employers must check your right to work before you start. Most people prove it online with a Home Office share code. If you are unsure about your status, check before you take a job.
You need it to pay tax and National Insurance. You can often start work while you wait for it to arrive, but apply as soon as you can.
Employers and contractors pay into a UK account. Take your ID and proof of address. Some banks have accounts made for people who have just arrived.
Employed (PAYE): your employer handles your tax. Self-employed (CIS): you invoice a contractor and look after your own tax. Your status depends on how you really work, not only on what you choose. Compare the money side first.
Register for Self Assessment. HMRC posts your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). It can take a few weeks, and longer if you are abroad.
If you are not registered, contractors must deduct 30% from your labour payments instead of 20%. You need your UTR and your National Insurance number.
Most sites will not let you start without one. You pass the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test and show the right qualification for your role.
Many contractors expect self-employed workers to carry public liability insurance. Employed workers are normally covered through their employer.
Hard hat, safety boots, hi-vis and gloves are the minimum on most sites. If you are employed, ask what your employer provides.
Tell UK contractors who you are: your trade, CSCS, day rate and where you can work. It is free and you keep 100% of your rate.
Links marked Partner may earn us a small commission, at no extra cost to you. General information, not legal or tax advice — the links go to the official GOV.UK and CSCS pages.
Mostly yes — the right to work and National Insurance number come first, and the UTR and CIS steps only matter if you will be self-employed. You can often start the CSCS test while you wait for other paperwork.
It depends on how you work and what you are offered, and your status is decided by how the work is really done. Use the take-home calculator to compare the money, then check your employment status with HMRC.
Free profile, free to reply. Company jobs cost you nothing, and you never pay for a lead you don't win.
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 30 October 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how The Trades Guild collects, uses and protects personal data when you use this website — as an employer or contractor, a candidate looking for permanent work, a homeowner posting a project, or a tradesperson looking for leads.
1. Who we are
The Trades Guild is operated by:
33 Bold Hire Ltd
167-169 Great Portland Street, London, England, W1W 5PF
company no. 14009719
We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.
To ask us anything about your data, use the "Need help?" button on this website, reply to any email we have sent you, or write to us at the address above.
2. What we collect
Candidates looking for permanent work
Name, email, phone number, trade or category, location and postcode, rate, availability date, travel radius, experience, and — if you choose to give them — CSCS card, driving licence and right-to-work details, and a photo.
Employers and contractors
Company name, contact name, email, phone number, billing address and VAT number where applicable, details of the projects or contracts you post, and your contact requests and payments.
Homeowners
Name, email, phone number, address and postcode, a description of your project, any photos you upload, your budget and timing, and which tradespeople you choose.
Tradespeople
Name, business name and address, email, phone number, trades and areas covered, hourly rate, description, qualifications, photos of your work, whether you declare insurance, Gas Safe or DBS status (and any proof you upload), the payment details you choose to put on invoices, and reviews you receive.
If you ask for the ✓ Verified badge, we also keep the documents you upload (insurance, CSCS, Gas Safe, DBS or qualification certificates) in a private folder that only our team can open. They are never shown to customers, and we delete them 30 days after the badge ends, is refused or refunded, or straight away if you delete your data.
When a tradesperson asks for a lead credit, we e-mail the customer once (with one reminder) to ask whether the tradesperson was in touch. Tradespeople can rate companies they worked for; ratings are shown to other tradespeople without the rater's name.
Free reminders and tools
If you sign up for free email reminders (document expiry or home maintenance), we keep your email address, what each reminder is for and its date, until you stop the reminders or they end. Sign-ups that are never confirmed are deleted after 30 days. The CIS invoice tool keeps what you type only in your own browser — it is not sent to us.
Phone app and notifications
If you add The Trades Guild to your phone's home screen, nothing extra is collected. If you turn on notifications, we keep the notification address your browser gives us (a technical link to your device, not your phone number) and your login e-mail, only to send you the job alerts and updates you asked for. You can turn them off at any time in your phone or browser settings; addresses that stop working are deleted automatically.
Logging in with fingerprint or Face ID
If you choose to log in with your fingerprint or Face ID (a passkey), your fingerprint or face never leaves your device and we never see it. We keep only a public key for your device, its name and the date you added it, linked to your login e-mail, so we can check it is really you. You can remove a device at any time when you are logged in.
Messages sent through the "Need help?" button
Your name, email address and message, the page you were on and your language. We also keep a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address, only to block spam and abuse.
Payments
Payments are processed by Stripe. We receive confirmation of payment, the amount and an order reference. We never see or store your full card details.
Technical data
Like any website, our hosting servers log technical data such as IP address and browser type. We also use a few cookies and similar technologies — see our Cookie Policy.
3. Why we use your data
4. Who sees your data
Candidates: employers can see your first name, your photo (if you add one), trade, location, rate, experience and the short text you write about yourself, but your surname, phone number and email are only released to an employer after they pay the contact fee for your profile, or use an active contact pack.
Homeowners: tradespeople whose trade and area match can see your project description, photos and budget, so they can say they're interested. Your name, phone number, email and address stay hidden until you have chosen a tradesperson and they have unlocked your contact details.
Tradespeople: your profile (shown under your first name only), photos of your work and declared insurance status are only shown to homeowners whose project you have responded to; they are not public. Your full name, business name, phone number and email are shared with a homeowner once they have chosen you.
Employers and contractors: when you post a project, tradespeople can see the project itself; your contact details go only to those you choose.
We also share data with service providers who help us run the site, only as needed: Stripe (payments), our web hosting and email delivery providers, and postcodes.io (we send a postcode to turn it into a map location — nothing else).
We do not sell personal data. We may disclose data if the law requires it, or to protect our rights, for example to deal with fraud or a dispute.
If a provider handles data outside the UK, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place.
5. How long we keep it
6. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask to see the data we hold about you, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to how we use it, receive a copy in a portable format, and withdraw consent at any time where we rely on it. Several of these you can do yourself from your profile or project page; for anything else, contact us as described in section 1.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk. We would like the chance to put things right first, but you do not have to contact us before complaining to the ICO.
7. Security
There are no passwords on this site: you sign in with a one-time code or a personal link sent to your email, so please keep your email account secure. We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, but no online service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Photos you upload are stored on our web server. Anyone who has a photo's direct web address can open it, so avoid uploading photos that show anything you would not want seen, such as documents, house numbers or other people's faces. A candidate profile photo is shown to employers on your profile card, so only add one you are happy for them to see.
8. Children
This site is for adults. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.
9. Cookies
We use only the cookies strictly necessary for the site to work. We do not use advertising or marketing cookies.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it last changed.
Terms & Conditions
Last updated: 30 October 2026
These Terms & Conditions govern your use of The Trades Guild, operated by:
33 Bold Hire Ltd
167-169 Great Portland Street, London, England, W1W 5PF
company no. 14009719
By using this website you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use it.
1. What The Trades Guild is
The Trades Guild is an online platform that introduces people who need work done, or want to hire, to the people who do it. It includes a directory of candidates looking for permanent work; projects posted by homeowners, employers and contractors, which tradespeople can respond to; and local leads for tradespeople.
We only make introductions. We are not an employment agency or employment business, we are not a party to any agreement between users, and we do not employ, engage, supervise or insure anyone who uses the platform.
2. Your account
You must be 18 or over and give accurate, up-to-date information. There are no passwords: you sign in with a one-time code or personal link sent to your email, so you are responsible for keeping your email account secure and for everything done through it.
3. Candidates
Listing a candidate profile is free. Profiles are reviewed before they go live and may be rejected, paused or removed if information appears false, incomplete or in breach of these terms. You can delete your personal details at any time from your profile page.
4. Homeowners posting projects
Posting a home project is free and carries no obligation. Tradespeople whose trade and area match can say they are interested; you decide whether to choose anyone, and how many (up to the limit shown on the form). Your contact details are only passed to tradespeople you choose, once they have unlocked them.
Interest you do not act on within the time shown on your project page is declined automatically, and a selected tradesperson who does not unlock your details in time is released, so that others can be matched.
You must describe your project honestly and only upload photos you have the right to share. You can close your project, or delete your personal data from it, at any time.
Home projects are only for work at a private home that you own, rent or manage for yourself. Work for a company, a client, a landlord or letting business, a site or a commercial property must be posted as a business job post (section 5). If a home project turns out to be business work, we may convert it to a business job post and ask for the posting fee, or close it; tradespeople who already received it then pay nothing for it.
5. Business job posts (companies and contractors)
Companies, contractors and anyone posting work for a business pay a one-off posting fee: a fixed price set by the kind of work and the team size (1 person, 2–5 or 6–10 people), for a post visible for 7, 14 or 30 days. The fee includes contact details for up to that number of people (1, 5 or 10); more tradespeople may respond, but no more than that number can be chosen from one post. A permanent job post is sent to candidates looking for a permanent job instead of tradespeople; it is priced per role by the kind of work, is visible for 30 days and includes the contact details of up to 3 candidates the company chooses. Candidates apply free of charge. The fee, the number of contacts included and the maximum number of tradespeople who can respond are shown in a summary before you pay. The post is published after payment and a check by our team. Tradespeople reply free of charge. The details of the post, including how long the work lasts, must be accurate; if they are clearly not, we may ask for the difference in price or remove the post without a refund. Jobs in central London (tube Zone 1) cost 30% more.
Please check your post carefully before paying: a paid post cannot be changed afterwards. If something is wrong, contact us through the "Need help?" button.
Your post stays open for 30 days, or until the maximum number of responses is reached. If no tradesperson replies within 14 days of payment, we close the post and you choose: re-post the same job once free of charge, or receive the full posting fee as account credit, which is used automatically on your next job post and does not expire. If you do not choose within 14 days, or the free re-post also gets no replies, we add the credit automatically. If you would rather have the money back to the card you paid with, tell us and we will refund it to that card instead, less the card processing fee charged on your payment (see section 9). If at least one tradesperson replies, the fee is not refundable. We do not guarantee how many tradespeople will reply.
You can add the Urgent option for an extra fee shown before you pay. An urgent post is published straight after payment and sent first to tradespeople who say they are free today or in the next 24 hours. If no tradesperson replies within 24 hours of payment, we automatically give the urgent fee back to you as account credit for your next post (it is not refunded to your card); the post stays live and the rest of the fee is covered by the 14-day guarantee above.
Business job posts are a service for businesses. We may refuse or remove a post that breaks these terms; if we do so before anyone has replied, we refund the fee.
6. Tradespeople
Registering and responding to projects is free. For home projects, you pay a fixed fee, shown before you pay, only when the homeowner has chosen you and you decide to unlock their contact details. Business job posts are free for you: the company pays for the post. Volume discounts and referral credits apply where we offer them and are shown before you pay. Leads for jobs in central London (tube Zone 1) cost 30% more than the same job elsewhere.
You are an independent business, responsible for your own insurance, qualifications, permits, tax and compliance. Insurance, Gas Safe and DBS status are shown to homeowners as declared by you ("self-declared"); false claims may lead to removal.
Verified badge: you can ask us to check your documents (insurance, CSCS, Gas Safe, DBS or qualifications) for a yearly fee shown before you pay. If we accept them, your profile shows a ✓ Verified badge for 12 months. We check that documents look genuine, are in your name and are in date when we check them; we are not your insurer and do not guarantee your work. We may remove the badge, without a refund, if a document turns out to be false, expires or is cancelled. If we cannot verify you, you can send new documents free of charge, or receive the fee back as lead credit (or to your card if you ask).
Prepaid lead credit: you can top up your account by card (the price includes VAT) and receive credit worth the amount shown at purchase, which may include a bonus. The credit pays for homeowner leads you unlock, automatically, until it is used up. It does not expire. The bonus part is not refundable; the part you actually paid for and have not used can be refunded on request. If a lead was paid from credit and you could not reach the customer, the lead credit rule below applies as normal.
Lead credit: if you paid for a homeowner lead and could not reach the customer, you can ask for a credit between 2 and 14 days after unlocking. We ask the customer first; if they say you were not in touch, or do not answer within 3 days, a credit of the same value is added and covers a later lead up to that value. Up to 2 requests in 30 days and one per lead; we may refuse requests that look misused. Credits have no cash value.
Ratings: customers can rate tradespeople, and tradespeople can rate companies they worked for (paid on time, clear job, would work for them again). Ratings must be honest and based on a real job; we may hide ratings that are unfair, abusive or include personal details.
Homeowners may leave a rating and comment about you. We may moderate reviews, and you can reply to any review about you.
7. Employers searching for staff
Employers may request a candidate's contact details for a one-off fee, shown before any payment is made. Candidate contact details are released only after payment has been confirmed.
"Guild Recruit" is an optional recruitment service on request: you tell us who you need, and we reply with a written quote. Its price and terms are agreed with you in that quote before any work starts, and nothing is payable unless you accept it. Requests paid for under the earlier "We choose workers for you" service keep the terms that applied when they were paid.
Contact packs are no longer sold. A pack bought earlier keeps working on the terms that applied when it was bought, until it is cancelled; you can cancel at any time from your account page, with no cancellation fee.
If a candidate has not replied within 72 hours of your payment, you can ask for a credit towards your next contact using the link in your confirmation email, within 30 days of payment. We first check with the candidate: if they do not confirm within 3 days that they replied, the credit is added to your account and can be used for 60 days. You can ask for up to 2 credits in 30 days, and only once per candidate; a repeat request is reviewed by our team. Credits have no cash value. If the contact was unlocked with a contact pack, the same check applies and the contact is put back in your pack instead (or, if the pack period has ended, you get a credit for one contact).
8. Fees and payment
Fees are shown as net prices, with VAT added where applicable. Payments are processed securely by Stripe, and an invoice is issued once payment is confirmed. The fee you see before you pay is the fee you are charged.
9. Refunds
Because contact details are released as soon as payment is confirmed, contact fees and lead fees cannot be refunded once the details have been released; employers may instead ask for a credit as described in section 7. Business job posts are covered by the no-reply guarantee in section 5. Where we give money back under a guarantee, we do it as account credit by default; if you would rather have it back to your card, tell us and we will refund it to that card instead, less the card processing fee our payment provider charged on your payment (for UK cards usually 1.5% + 20p; we tell you the exact amount). Nothing is deducted when the refund is because of a mistake on our side. If something goes wrong on our side — a duplicate charge, a technical error or incorrect contact details — contact us and we will investigate and put it right where the fault is ours. This does not affect your statutory rights.
10. Acceptable use
You agree not to: give false or misleading information; try to avoid paying fees due under these terms; copy or scrape the site; send spam; harass or discriminate against anyone; or use contact details from the platform for anything other than the hiring or project they were released for.
Once you receive someone's contact details you are responsible for handling them lawfully under UK data protection law.
11. Content you provide
You keep ownership of what you post (profiles, project descriptions, photos, reviews). You give us a non-exclusive licence to store and display it on the platform as described in our Privacy Policy, and you confirm you have the right to share it. We may remove content that breaks these terms.
12. No guarantee, and dealings between users
We do not guarantee that anyone will respond, be available, be qualified or insured, or that any job or hire will go well. Profiles and declared details come from the people who post them and are not checked against documents unless we say so. Any agreement is strictly between the people involved: please agree prices, scope and timing in writing, and check insurance, qualifications and references yourself before work starts.
13. Our liability
Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud. Otherwise, we are not liable for loss arising from dealings between users, missed opportunities, loss of profit, or reliance on information in a profile. Our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the fees you paid us in the 12 months before it arose.
14. Suspension and ending
We may suspend or remove any profile, project, review or account that breaks these terms. You can stop using the site, or delete your personal data, at any time.
15. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows the latest version, and continuing to use the site after changes are posted means you accept them.
16. Language
These terms are written in English. Translations are provided for convenience; if there is any difference, the English version applies.
17. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute — except that, if you are a consumer living elsewhere in the UK, you keep any right to bring a claim in your local courts.
18. Contact
Questions about these terms? Use the "Need help?" button on this website, or reply to any email we have sent you.
Cookie Policy
Last updated: 30 October 2026
This Cookie Policy explains which cookies and similar technologies The Trades Guild uses on this website, and why. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy.
1. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. Similar technologies, such as your browser's local storage, work in much the same way. They can make a site work, remember your choices, or track activity across sites.
2. What we use
| Cookie or storage item | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| wl_auth | Keeps you signed in after you enter your login code | Up to 30 days |
| wl_employer_auth | Keeps an employer signed in after email verification | Up to 30 days |
| wlh_cookie_consent | Remembers that you have seen the cookie notice | 6 months |
| wl_lang | Remembers the language you chose, so messages and pages appear in it | 1 year |
| wl_lang (local storage) | Remembers the language you chose | Until you clear your browser data |
| wlho_draft_home, wlho_draft_biz, wl_draft_cand, wl_draft_tp (local storage) | Keeps the answers of a form you started but did not finish (never photos, e-mail or phone), so you can continue later | 7 days, or until you send the form or press Start again |
| wl_resume_hide, wlchat_nudged (session storage) | Remembers that you closed the "finish your form" reminder, or that the help bubble was already shown | Until you close the browser tab |
| wlt_cis_invoice_v1 (local storage) | Keeps the days and invoice details you type into the CIS invoice tool on your own device | Until you clear your browser data |
| wl_employer_details, wl_shortlist (local storage) | Keeps details you typed into a contact request, and candidates you shortlisted, on your own device so you do not have to enter them again | Until you clear your browser data |
| wlchat_t (local storage) | Lets the "Need help?" button recognise your conversation | Until you clear your browser data |
| Stripe checkout cookies | Set by Stripe when you pay, to process your payment securely | Set and controlled by Stripe |
3. Cookies we do not use
We do not use advertising or marketing cookies, or cookies that build a profile of you for marketing purposes.
4. Fonts and images
Fonts are served from this website, not from Google.
5. Managing cookies
The cookies that make sign-in and checkout work are strictly necessary, so there is no on/off switch for them here. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time, but sign-in and checkout may stop working if you do.
6. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy if the cookies we use change. The "Last updated" date at the top shows the most recent revision.
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