Just curious to know what tradesman charge per hour for work in Mallorca/spain. so if you were getting a new kitchen or bathroom or flooring done etc what would say a joiner or plumber painter etc charge per hour for their labour ??

I've just refurbished our whole kitchen. I'm not in Mallorca but I can tell you some rough figures

First of all, painters are at the bottom of the pay scale. You can pay someone 30-50 euros per day to paint your house. Plumbers and joiners will be about double that, or around triple that if you hire them through a big company or agency

If billing by the hour, a plumber could probably put 25 euros per hour down as labour costs, but bigger jobs will be costed as per job at a much lower rate. As a comparison, my plumber in London used to charge £100 per hour

There is loads of competition since the construction sector collapsed so builders etc. are earning much less than even 10 years ago

30-50 euros per day? Show me one good painter who will work for that money. Just driving to the location and back can cost more.

I've had several painters charge that much. The painters of the outside of our building in Benalmadena quoted us 80 euros for a days work, with two lads working including materials!

In Oviedo it was more expensive for the inside of the flat - 50 euros per person per day plus materials

Both times they did a good job

Isn't it better to get a quote for the whole job?
Paying by the hour or day will ensure the job lasts as long as possible!

Yes of course. When you ask for a quote for a job often they give you an invoice with a breakdown of the charges - with and without IVA of course

Just by way of an example, around here electricians and plumbers charge about the same per hour - 18€ plus IVA

In my experience tradesmen usually want payment in cash, so a quote for the whole job is best. Vat? not usually mentioned for cash payment and I always use locals.

I don't know how big your house is, but alone the paint would cost 80€, if you're doing 2 coats and it's a decent standard.

what is IVA ?

VAT

£100 ph.You was ripped off! Rates are nowhere near that. Painter c£80, Carpenter c£120, Plumber c£130. That's per day.

... and people wonder why Spain is in such a mess when (almost) everyone is trying to break the system and either do work illegally or are trying not to pay tax!

For main work like electricity and plumbing, I would insist paying IVA so that I could get a PROPER and VALID invoice which means I have a guarantee and know the work has been done to a good standard.

In principle I agree

However, when paying out 15k for building work for a new kitchen, the temptation to save over 3k in taxes is great. And we used a builder that has done lots of building work for the extended family in the past anyway

...and this does not happen in the UK? I think you will find it does more often than you imagine