Designating or relating to a form of contracting in which the contractor supplies only the labour for a particular piece of work; (also) designating or relating to a contractor, company, etc., operating in this way.
Origin
1950s; earliest use found in The Times.
Definition of labour-only in US English:
labour-only
(USlabor-only)
adjective
Designating or relating to a form of contracting in which the contractor supplies only the labour for a particular piece of work; (also) designating or relating to a contractor, company, etc., operating in this way.