Direct employment
Direct employment (sometimes called direct labour) is a situation in which an organisation employs operatives directly rather than relying on sub-contractors or self-employed operatives. For example, a contractor may employ bricklayers themselves, rather than subcontracting out bricklaying to another organisation. It is quite common for local authorities to have their own direct labour department to undertake building work and to pay their wages.
Civil Engineering Procedure, 7th edition, published by the Institution of Civil Engineers, defines the term ‘direct labour’ as: ‘A promoter’s (client’s) own employees employed on construction, sometimes under the internal equivalent of a contract, otherwise as a service department.’
Britain emerged from the Second World War with a construction industry dominated by very large contractors that had grown from war time work and were rebuilding a country ravaged by the Blitz. Wimpey were the biggest of these contractors, directly employing most of the labour necessary to execute its projects. Taylor Woodrow, even with half the annual turnover of Wimpey, employed 40,000 people.
Today however, as buildings have become more complex, it is less and less likely that any one contractor will have the required skills to carry out all of the works necessary to construct them, and it does not make good commercial sense to take on new employees for one project that would then have to be laid off for the next. Increasingly therefore, contractors use sub-contractors to carry out particular elements of the works.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
The context, schemes, standards, roles and relevance of the Building Safety Act.
Retrofit 25 – What's Stopping Us?
Exhibition Opens at The Building Centre.
Types of work to existing buildings
A simple circular economy wiki breakdown with further links.
A threat to the creativity that makes London special.
How can digital twins boost profitability within construction?
The smart construction dashboard, as-built data and site changes forming an accurate digital twin.
Unlocking surplus public defence land and more to speed up the delivery of housing.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill
An outline of the bill with a mix of reactions on potential impacts from IHBC, CIEEM, CIC, ACE and EIC.
Farnborough College Unveils its Half-house for Sustainable Construction Training.
Spring Statement 2025 with reactions from industry
Confirming previously announced funding, and welfare changes amid adjusted growth forecast.
Scottish Government responds to Grenfell report
As fund for unsafe cladding assessments is launched.
CLC and BSR process map for HRB approvals
One of the initial outputs of their weekly BSR meetings.
Architects Academy at an insulation manufacturing facility
Programme of technical engagement for aspiring designers.
Building Safety Levy technical consultation response
Details of the planned levy now due in 2026.
Great British Energy install solar on school and NHS sites
200 schools and 200 NHS sites to get solar systems, as first project of the newly formed government initiative.
600 million for 60,000 more skilled construction workers
Announced by Treasury ahead of the Spring Statement.
The restoration of the novelist’s birthplace in Eastwood.
Life Critical Fire Safety External Wall System LCFS EWS
Breaking down what is meant by this now often used term.
PAC report on the Remediation of Dangerous Cladding
Recommendations on workforce, transparency, support, insurance, funding, fraud and mismanagement.
New towns, expanded settlements and housing delivery
Modular inquiry asks if new towns and expanded settlements are an effective means of delivering housing.