A bill of labour is a list of the labour required to construct a project or part of a project, which may include the quantity of each trade or grade of operative needed, usually expressed in hours or days.
Contractors and estimators use bills of labour to build up labour costs, to plan resourcing against the programme and to compare the labour content of different methods of working. On cost reimbursable work, or when assessing changes, a bill of labour helps show how the labour element of a price has been calculated. It sits alongside a bill of materials and a plant schedule to give a full picture of the resources needed.
- Typically lists trades or grades, durations and all in hourly or daily rates.
- Differs from a bill of quantities, which measures finished work rather than resources.
Related terms: bill of materials, all in labour rate, resource schedule, bill of quantities.
