He earns 50 per cent more than the Prime Minister, owns property in one of London’s most exclusive enclaves and enjoys luxury holidays in the Maldives and Canary Islands every year.
And all from unblocking toilets and fixing leaky taps.
Plumber Stephen Fry is proof of just how lucrative the trade can be – as any homeowner who has faced a bill for an emergency call-out may well suspect.
Plumber Stephen Fry is proof of just how lucrative the trade can be – as any homeowner who has faced a bill for an emergency call-out may well suspect. And although, at 34, he earns £210,000 a year, he doesn’t even work weekends
And although, at 34, he earns £210,000 a year, he doesn’t even work weekends. Not bad for someone who started life on a council estate, the son of a builder and a supermarket shelf-stacker, and who was out of work at 17.
Now, as a self-employed tradesman for London-based Pimlico Plumbers, Mr Fry certainly puts in the hours. He works from 8am to 6pm on weekdays but is also on call overnight on Monday and Tuesday – meaning he is on duty for 58 consecutive, caffeine-fuelled hours at the start of the working week.
‘It can drain you,’ he said, not intending any pun. ‘I am one of Pimlico’s best paid plumbers, but also one of the most tired.’
Mr Fry occasionally manages to steal a couple of hours’ sleep in between jobs on the night shift, but otherwise he survives on coffee and Red Bull.
Mr Fry became a plumber when his local Jobcentre suggested an apprenticeship when he was aged 17. ‘I just thought I’d give it a go,’ he told The Mail on Sunday. ‘I’m glad I went to the Jobcentre that day.’
After completing a four-year apprenticeship, making do on £100 a week, Mr Fry set up his own business when he was in his early 20s.
But he really hit the jackpot five years ago when he started working for Pimlico Plumbers, a company set up by rags-to-riches entrepreneur Charlie Mullins, himself thought to be worth £75 million.
Mr Fry certainly puts in the hours. He works from 8am to 6pm on weekdays but is also on call overnight on Monday and Tuesday – meaning he is on duty for 58 consecutive, caffeine-fuelled hours
Mr Mullins estimates that about a dozen of his 225 tradesmen earn £200,000 or more a year, and around half earn £100,000 or more. He describes Mr Fry as ‘one of the best in the business’.
Mr Fry earns more than seven times the average UK salary of £27,271 – which is also close to the average plumber’s pay.
And despite the long hours, and sometimes unpleasant callouts, Mr Fry says: ‘Every day is fun. You can go to a place where some woman has water gushing through the ceilings and is crying, so it’s a nice feeling when you stop the water and make her happy.
‘I can’t really see myself stopping any time soon, to be honest. I enjoy my work. I’m a worker. I’ll be working till I drop, I think. On a Friday night, when people ask if I want to go for a beer, I am shattered. So it’s straight home to the family.’
The family are wife Grace, 33, and son Oliver, 13, and they own a flat in Kensington – a far cry from the estate in Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, where Mr Fry grew up.
Despite not being on the staff of Pimlico Plumbers, he still wears its blue uniform and drives a company van.
The employment status of tradesmen working at the company is currently at the centre of a legal battle, after another plumber claimed he should be given the same legal rights as an employee.
Pimlico Plumbers has been given the right to appeal a previous ruling against it, in a case which will have ramifications for workers across the so-called ‘gig economy’.
Mr Mullins, 65, set up his company in the basement of an estate agent in Pimlico nearly 40 years ago, and recently announced plans to run for London Mayor in 2020. He told The Mail on Sunday he has increased wages by about 25 per cent over the past five years, driven by a shortage of plumbers.
He added: ‘The reason we pay so well is we need to attract the top tradesmen in the industry. I believe that you get what you pay for.’
Mr Mullins admitted that Pimlico Plumbers charges more per hour than many of its rivals – between £100 during working hours and £200 overnight – but he also claimed that his workers tend to work quicker than rivals.