Labourer invoice template: weekly hours, overtime and CIS

Should you be invoicing at all?

An invoice is for a self-employed person. If you turn up when told, use the firm's tools, follow their instructions all week and cannot send someone else in your place, you may really be an employee. HMRC's guidance for contractors says they must check whether they should employ a person instead of treating them as a subcontractor, and can be penalised if they get it wrong. HMRC has a Check employment status for tax service you can use yourself. This guide is for labourers who are genuinely self-employed, usually as CIS subcontractors.

If an agency pays you through an umbrella company, there is no invoice from you at all. See umbrella vs self-employed invoicing.

A weekly invoice for labouring work

Most labourers are paid by the hour or the day, weekly, so the best layout is one line per type of time: normal hours, overtime and weekend hours, each with its rate. The numbers below are illustrations, not market rates.

The overtime rate is £16.00 × 1.25 = £20.00 an hour. Use the overtime calculator if your multiplier is different, and say on the invoice what multiplier was agreed.

How CIS comes off a labourer's invoice

A labourer working for a contractor on construction work is normally covered by CIS. Labourers rarely supply materials, so the whole invoice is usually labour. The contractor takes the deduction from the labour: 20% if you are registered, 30% if not, 0% with gross payment status.

The gap of £74 in one week is the cost of not being registered. See how to register. The deduction counts towards your tax and National Insurance, and the contractor should give you a payment and deduction statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month, which you keep for your tax return. See CIS payment and deduction statements.

Your own tools, PPE and travel

Basic hand tools and PPE you buy for yourself are normally business costs you claim on your own tax return, not lines on the invoice. Do not add them to the invoice unless the contractor agreed to pay for them. If you bought something for the job and the contractor agreed to repay it, put it on a separate line at cost with the receipt, so that it is clearly not labour. GOV.UK says contractors take away what a subcontractor has paid for materials from the deduction base, but you may be asked for evidence.

Working through a labour agency

Under HMRC's CIS rules, a labour agency counts as a contractor. If you are paid as a subcontractor, you may get CIS deductions from the agency and may be asked to invoice weekly against an approved timesheet. Check what your agreement says about who raises the invoice. Some agencies use self-billing, where they produce it for you. See self-billing explained.

If the invoice is paid late

Chase early and politely. For late payment of business invoices, statutory interest may apply. The late payment interest calculator works out the amount, and the guide to chasing an unpaid invoice has wording you can use.

Labourer invoice checklist

• Your full name, address and a unique invoice number.
• The firm's name and address, and the site.
• The week covered, invoice date and due date.
• Hours at each rate, with the multiplier for overtime or weekends.
• Anything you bought that was agreed to be repaid, as a separate line.
• CIS summary and amount payable.
• Bank details.

The free CIS invoice template has a layout you can download and fill in.

More trade invoice guides

Other trades invoice differently. See the guides for bricklayer, plumber, joiner and carpenter, painter and decorator, groundworker, electrician and plasterer, or browse all trade invoicing guides. For the rules that apply to every trade, read the invoice requirements for sole traders, and use the day rate calculator to turn a day rate into an hourly rate.