In these terms and conditions, The Plumber Awards means a unique set of awards presented to installers in the plumbing sector, associated with the website www.plumberawards.co.uk.
- Entry into The Plumber Awards is free of charge
- All entries must be received by the deadline date specified on the awards website
- Entries into regional awards can only be accepted from plumbers aged 18 and over on the date of the entry submission
- Entry is via the website or phone call only. Applications cannot be submitted via post or any other means (e.g. Dropbox, social media messaging, word document) unless express permission is provided by the award organiser
- All entrants agree to co-operate with the judges and organisation team from The Plumber Awards
- Entrants can select one region to enter
- All entries must be domestic projects: no commercial projects are currently permitted
- Entrants into the Apprentice of the Year category may only enter that category
- All details submitted on the online form must be a true and accurate reflection of the job delivered
- Entrants agree that by submitting their details, the organiser has permission to share with awards sponsors and partners (details will never be shared with any other third parties) if required
- When entering the awards, all entrants agree that the organiser has permission to directly contact the customer/s for verification purposes
- All entrants into The Plumber Award agree to the following process:
- The Plumber Awards judges will select one regional winner from each of the following regions: North West, North East, South West, South East, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland
- Judges will shortlist entrants for the Apprentice of the Year category based on scoring criteria
- The Apprentice of the Year category is run in partnership with The Heating Installer Awards. Entrants can enter via either awards website. Only one shortlist, covering entries received via both websites will be announced, and one overall winner.
- The address of the business is the location that will be used to define which region an installer is eligible for. The business address will be checked at the verification stage prior to the awards being announced
- It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure they have selected the correct region on the entry form. Selecting an incorrect region may lead to disqualification
- If an entry has been written with the support of Chat GPT/equivalent, it the entrant’s responsibility to verify the full entry prior to submission. Entries that have been submitted using AI will be subject to additional scrutiny by the admin team to ensure all facts are a true and honest representation of the project
- The call for entries will run from until 22nd December 2026
- Those shortlisted will be notified by email and phone call soon after the judging day in February 2027 and must respond to the notification within one week
- Shortlisted plumbers will be asked to provide the customer’s contact details for the project detailed within their entry
- Regional winners and shortlisted installers will be invited to provide additional content for The Plumber Awards’ website. This content could include videos and additional images.
- The public will be invited to vote for their favourite plumbers between March 2027 and 31st May 2027
- Each regional winner will be invited to a finalist’s celebration event. This event will be run by The Plumber Awards team, and attended by the team and sponsors. It will offer opportunities for training, increasing product knowledge and team building ahead of the winner’s announcement in June 2027. All finalists will be expected to attend where possible
- The winners for the national award and the Apprentice of the Year award will be the entrants with the highest overall scores, which is decided via a split of:
- Judges scores carried over from the initial judging process (30%)
- Public vote (20%) via plumberawards.co.uk only. The same person cannot vote twice for the same plumber
- Scores for the technical challenge (50%), which is moderated by CIPHE
- In the event of a tie, the winner will be the installer who scored highest from the panel of judges
- In the event of a tie, the winner will be the plumber who scored highest from the panel of judges
- The National Plumber Awards winner and the Apprentice of the Year winner will be announced during InstallerSHOW 2027, which takes place in June 2027 at Birmingham NEC. In the event Installer2027 is cancelled, alternative arrangements for the announcement will be made and communicated to all finalists as soon as possible
- The judge’s decision is final
- All entrants agree to details of the entry being used for press and publicity purposes
- National winner cannot enter The Plumber Awards again
- By submitting an entry, each installer confirms the following:
- I provide full permission for The Plumber Awards to use all images within its marketing, advertising, publicity and promotional materials – both on and offline
- I am the owner of the photo, video and other content and am able to grant a licence to use it
- I am giving permission on behalf of myself and all others who are seen in the photo and I confirm that they agree to this licence
- This permission covers all forms of use including television, print, online (including websites owned by The Plumber Awards, The Heating Installer Awards and Refresh), newspapers, magazines, digital and social media and all other forms of media now and in the future anywhere in the world
- The licence is irrevocable and the period of usage is unlimited
- The Plumber Awards can adapt and alter the photo or video or take extracts from it and stills can be used
- Use of the photo or video will not infringe any rights (such as intellectual property, confidentiality or data protection) belonging to others
- The photo or video is original and is my own work, and is not a copy of anyone else’s work
- I agree that this licence is royalty-free
- If requested by The Plumber Awards, I will sign (and arrange for the others in the photo to sign) any documents to confirm the above
- You hereby agree to defend, indemnify and hold The Plumber Awards harmless from and against any and all losses, and all claims by third parties, resulting from your breach of any of these terms and conditions
- English law applies
Judging criteria
The panel of judges for The Plumber Awards will take the following criteria into account when analysing each entry.
NATIONAL PLUMBER OF THE YEAR
Essential criteria
- The entrant is a UK citizen and based in the United Kingdom
- The entrant is Gas Safe registered (where applicable) and can verify this via their registration number
- The entrant holds at least an NVQ 2 or 3 in England, Wales and NI, and an SNVQ3 only in Scotland
- Where the entrant has handled F-gases, they must hold an F-Gas qualification and be able to verify this by producing a copy of their certificate
Project criteria
- The entrant has provided a full overview of the work they conducted
- The entrant has proven that the quality of their work was exemplary
- The entrant provided great customer service and can prove this via their entry and a customer testimonial
- The entrant has provided contact details for the customer to allow judges to contact them directly and verify project details and feedback
- The entrant went over and above what could be expected of them and has proven this via their entry
- The entrant supplied images to visually support their entry
- The work described in the entry was conducted within the awards timeframes which are 1st February 2026 – 22nd December 2026
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
Essential criteria
- The entrant is a UK citizen and based in the United Kingdom
- The entrant is aged 16 years or older on the date of entry submission
- The entrant is enrolled in a college either in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland on an apprenticeship which leads to a recognised domestic plumbing and heating qualification. Entrants can enter at any level of their studies and be either a full-time student or enrolled on a course that includes on-the-job experience and off-the-job training
Additional criteria
- The entrant has provided full details of the qualification they are working towards (i.e. City & Guilds Plumbing & Domestic Heating NVQ Level 3)
- The entrant has provided contact details for their college and/or employer
- The entrant is able to verify the work completed for the project through the employer the project relates to.
- The entrant has provided at least one example of a problem that they have encountered on-the-job and how they worked with your employee to overcome it
- The entrant has proven they have gone the extra mile and/or shown outstanding commitment during their apprenticeship
- The entrant has demonstrated they understand the important qualities of a good plumber and demonstrated these qualities during the initial stages of their career