OnTheRota
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Live now · UK construction

Hire trades direct.
No middleman.

OnTheRota is the direct-hire pool for UK construction. Browse subcontractors with their accreditations on view, see who's available this week, contact them direct. No commission on placements. No middleman in your hires.

Trades: £0 to list. Always. No subscription, no commission on your day rate, no card needed. Sign up free →
Accreditations on view Live availability Founding-member pricing
The problem

The agency takes a cut. You pay it.

A recruitment consultancy charges 15–30% on top of every day rate, sits between you and the trade you actually want, and keeps the relationship for next time. There's a faster way.

📞

Stop ringing round

Stop emailing four agencies and waiting two days. Search the pool yourself. See who's free this week.

Accreditations on every profile

Every trade uploads their cards and certs when they sign up — CSCS, NICEIC, Gas Safe, JIB, 18th Edition. You see exactly what they've uploaded, then verify it against the public register in seconds. The hire decision is yours.

Direct contact, not a middleman

Message through the platform, agree your terms, get them on site. No commission. No mark-up.

How it works

Three steps. No phone tag.

Search by trade and region

Filter by trade type, location, day rate, accreditations. See live availability — who's free this week, this month, every Saturday night.

See what they hold

Every profile shows the cards and certs the trade has uploaded. Click straight through to the public register — NICEIC, NAPIT, ECA, Gas Safe, CSCS — to verify it yourself in seconds. No "I'll send it over later."

Contact direct

Message through the platform. Agree day rate, dates, scope. They show up. You pay them direct, no commission to anyone.

Two sides, one platform

Built for both sides of the call.

For contractors hiring
£0 to start · 1 free contact unlock · pay only for volume

Stop emailing four agencies for one shift.

Get straight to trades who are free now, in the region you need — with their cards and certs on view before you make a call. One subscription, unlimited hires.

  • Search by trade, region, day rate, accreditation
  • Live availability — see who's free this week
  • Accreditations uploaded by every trade — check against the public register in one click
  • Direct messaging with the trade — no middleman in between
  • Save shortlists, message history, scheduling notes
  • One subscription, unlimited hires — no commission per placement
Sign up free — start browsing →
For trades · Always free
£0 forever — no card, no commission, no subscription

Get on the rota. Get the call.

List once, set your availability, take the work that fits your week. No agency taking a cut of your day rate.

  • Free to list — always. No card needed, no trial, no catch.
  • Upload your cards and certs once — they're on every profile view
  • Set your availability — only get contacted when you're actually free
  • Set your own day rate — OnTheRota takes no cut
  • Direct contact from people who actually want to hire you — and you choose whether recruiters can reach you too
  • Region, distance, day rate filters keep timewasters out
Sign up free — list me →
Pricing

Free to start. Pay only when you need volume.

Trades are always free. Hirers can browse the entire pool and try one contact for nothing — pay only when you scale up.

Free forever
£0

No card. No subscription. Sign up in 30 seconds.

  • Unlimited search and browsing
  • 1 free contact unlock to try us out
  • Your unlocked contact stays yours forever
  • Filter by trade, region, day rate, accreditation, day or night shift
Sign up free →
For volume · £149/month

25 unlocks every month

When 1 isn't enough. £149/mo or £1,490/yr (2 months free). Top up with extra packs of 5 for £19.99. Cancel anytime.

Founding members · first 25 only

£149/month rate locked for life. When the public price rises (and it will, once we cross the VAT threshold), founding members keep the launch rate forever.

Sign up — first 25 lock the rate →

🔒 UK Direct Debit via GoCardless

Common questions

What people ask first.

Who's responsible for checking that an accreditation is genuine?

The hirer is. Trades upload their cards and certs when they sign up — what you see on a profile is what they've uploaded. OnTheRota displays this information; we don't validate, endorse, or guarantee any document. Every profile links straight through to the relevant public register (NICEIC, NAPIT, ECA, Gas Safe, CSCS) so you can check credentials at the source in seconds — same responsibility you have today, whether you find a worker through us, an agency, or word of mouth. The difference is you can see what you're checking up front, not after a long phone call with a middleman.

How is this different from a recruitment agency?

You search the pool yourself, contact the trade direct, agree your own day rate, contract direct with them. We don't take a percentage of the placement and we don't sit between you and the relationship. One flat subscription gives you unlimited access for as long as you need it.

Won't people just use it once and go direct?

The product isn't a list of phone numbers — it's a live availability pool. Last week's contact list goes stale fast: phone numbers change, accreditations expire, people get booked up. The value is knowing who's available this week, in the region you need, with their cards on view — and that's what the subscription buys.

How does billing work?

It's free to sign up. No card, no subscription. Browse the whole pool and use your one free contact unlock — that's yours forever once you've used it.

Need volume? Subscribe at £149/month for 25 unlocks every month, with £19.99 top-up packs of 5 if you go over. Annual is £1,490 (2 months free). UK Direct Debit via GoCardless — sort code and account number, set up in two minutes. Cancel any time.

Founding-member rate (first 25 paid customers): the £149/mo rate locked for life — when the public price rises later, you keep the launch price forever.

Are the trades employees of OnTheRota?

No. OnTheRota is an introduction service. Hirers contract directly with the trade, just as they would if they'd called the trade themselves. We're not the employer, we don't process payments between you, and we don't handle IR35.

Which trades will be on the platform?

Electrical first, with the existing network behind the platform giving us a strong starting pool. Expanding to plumbing, carpentry, bricklaying, plastering, groundworks and HVAC over the first year. If you're a trade in any of these, sign up — it's free and takes about a minute.

Is it live? Can I sign up now?

Yes — both sides are live. Hirers can sign up free, browse the entire pool, and use one free contact unlock to try us. Trades can list themselves for free, set availability, and start receiving enquiries straight away. Founding-member rate (£149/mo locked for life) is open to the first 25 paid subscribers.

Built for UK construction

Less ringing round. More work done.

OnTheRota is live. Sign up free, browse the pool, and decide later if you want volume access. First 25 paid customers lock the £149 rate for life.