Martin Daly looks like a government success story on paper. He runs a growing building firm, trains apprentices, wins national awards and contributes to the local economy. And yet, he’s leaving.
The 30-year-old founder of Motherwell-based MD Builders, recently named Screwfix Top Tradesperson for 2025, says Labour’s Budget didn’t just make things harder — it made them unworkable.
After five years of building his business from the tools up, Daly is preparing to relocate to Switzerland, citing higher employer National Insurance, rising wages without matching support, and an apprenticeship system that no longer works for small operators.
“I want to grow my business and bring young people through,” he says. “But I can’t afford to take them on anymore. The numbers just don’t add up.”
From April, employers will pay 15 per cent National Insurance on salaries above £5,000, while the National Living Wage rises to £12.21 an hour. For large corporates, those are absorbed as line items. For small, hands-on businesses, they hit cashflow immediately.
And that’s before regulation, insurance, tools, vehicles, compliance and the reality of delayed payments are factored in.
Daly says work has slowed as clients cut costs, while overheads continue to rise. “It’s death by a thousand cuts,” he says. “You’re constantly firefighting, never planning.”
He’s already received job offers in Switzerland, and interest from Australia and the Middle East, countries actively courting UK trades with visas, relocation packages and funded apprenticeships.
“Australia helps fund apprentices,” he says. “Here, we talk about skills shortages while making it harder to train people.”
The timing couldn’t be worse. Construction employment has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years, more than a third of workers are over 50, and the industry needs tens of thousands of new entrants every year just to stand still.
Yet the message Daly hears is clear: train less, hire less, risk more.
He stresses this isn’t just about tax or politics. It’s about sustainability. “I want to wake up knowing my business is viable and my kids would want to grow up here. That’s no longer obvious.”
Before leaving, Daly plans to expand school outreach and short-term work experience placements, trying to help the next generation even as he prepares to go.
Unless policy starts reflecting the lived reality of self-employed builders, electricians and contractors, he warns, more will follow.
