Terms and conditions for an electrician

An electrician's terms have to do something most trades' terms do not: separate the diagnosis from the repair, the existing installation from the new work, and the emergency call-out from the planned job. Each of those is where the money is lost when the terms are silent. I draft terms that deal with all three for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Electrical contractors in England and Wales doing domestic, commercial and light industrial work, from a sole trader with a van to a small company with several engineers. The terms are written for consumers and business customers together, because most electricians serve both.

What matters in an electrician's terms

Call-out charges, diagnosis and the repair

The terms should state a call-out or first-hour charge, make clear that diagnosing a fault and fixing it are separate pieces of work, and say what happens if the fault cannot be found or the customer decides not to proceed. A customer who has been told the price of attendance before you set off has very little to argue about afterwards. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 a headline price shown to consumers must include any mandatory charges, so the call-out fee cannot be a surprise on the invoice.

The existing installation

You are being asked to work on a system somebody else installed. The terms should say that you take no responsibility for the condition of the existing installation, that pre-existing faults found during the work are reported and quoted as extras, and that testing may reveal problems the customer did not know about. That protects you from the phone call that says the lights in the other room stopped working after you left.

Certification and Building Regulations

Where work has to be certified or notified under the Building Regulations, the terms should say who is responsible for the notification, when the certificate is issued, and that it is issued for the work you did and not for the whole installation. Customers selling or letting a property will ask for paperwork you never agreed to provide unless the scope is written down.

Emergency work and the right to cancel

Work agreed at the customer's home or by phone is an off-premises or distance contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. There is an exception for urgent repairs the customer asked for, but it covers only the urgent work, not anything else you do while you are there. The terms and your job sheet should record the request, and any further work needs the customer's express request in writing if it starts within the 14-day cancellation period.

Liability, insurance and payment

Electrical faults cause fires and floods, so the liability clause matters more here than in most trades. You cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and against consumers you cannot cut down their statutory rights, but for business customers you can cap your liability at a sensible figure with consequential loss excluded, and the terms should state your public liability cover. Payment should be due on completion, with interest and fixed compensation on late payment by business customers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I charge for a call-out if the customer cancels after I have set off?

You can, if the terms say so and the charge is proportionate to your wasted time and travel. Against a consumer, a cancellation charge that looks like a penalty is unlikely to be enforceable, so it should reflect a genuine estimate of your loss.

Do the same terms work for a landlord's periodic inspections?

They can, with a section for business customers. Landlords and agents are usually acting in the course of a business, so consumer cancellation rights do not apply, and the terms can set out what an inspection report does and does not certify.

What if the customer supplies the fittings?

The terms should say that customer-supplied materials are fitted at the customer's risk, that you are not responsible for their quality or suitability, and that you may refuse to fit anything that does not comply with the regulations that apply to the work.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495, if a main contractor or business customer has sent you their terms to sign
• Terms and conditions for a plumbing and heating business, which deals with the same call-out and existing-installation issues

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.