Insurance

[Hodge]

To be fair mate insurance companys would say that, As they sell insurance

 

I looked into it mozza, the tax man looks at it the same way, a bona fide sub contractor has their own PL insurance, tools, transport etc and you can instruct them to carry out a job on your behalf. Thats just what i found ont net, to be honest its done my head in. i now have employed ma groundie. i use a contract climber with his own PL.

 

hope you get sorted. its better to have insurance just in case.

[Rupe]

To be fair mate insurance companys would say that, As they sell insurance

 

Correct!

 

It doesn't mean you HAVE to have it, or any genuine subcontractor has to have it.

[Rupe]

I looked into it mozza, the tax man looks at it the same way, a bona fide sub contractor has their own PL insurance, tools, transport etc and you can instruct them to carry out a job on your behalf. Thats just what i found ont net, to be honest its done my head in. i now have employed ma groundie. i use a contract climber with his own PL.

 

hope you get sorted. its better to have insurance just in case.

 

Another misunderstanding!

 

The tax man says a bonafide subcontractor (BSC) has there own insurance.

 

Now thats only true if the BSC wants to be insured. Whether or not he's a BSC is not determined by his insurance, and therefore havign insurance does not make you a BSC.

 

Having climber work for you for the day with there own insurance does not make then a bona fide subcontractor. They are working for you, no amount of insurance can change that. And if they screw up then you screwed up and your insurance will have to cover it.

[Hodge]

at the end of the day insurance is needed in this day and age, i have had to make a claim, the insurance company paid up no problem if i had not had PL then i would have got sued as it was against the national park. if some one is doing jobs they should have PL, it doint matter if its a dentist or a builder, gardener, tiler or whatever, you should have insurance.

[Hodge]

Another misunderstanding!

 

Having climber work for you for the day with there own insurance does not make then a bona fide subcontractor. They are working for you, no amount of insurance can change that. And if they screw up then you screwed up and your insurance will have to cover it.

 

I was lead to believe off my insurance company that if a contractor makes an error and destroys a green house and the customer comes at me then my insurance company would persue my contractors insurance. the contractors i use are in agreement with this so im going of what i have been told.

[Rupe]

Absolutly agree with you! Companies/sole traders carrying out tree work contracts should have insurance. Its not law but of course they should have it.

 

Self employed climbers/groundies workign for those companies/soletrader on those work contractors should be included in the same insurance policy, and if not included then the policy needs to be changed to include them.

 

They do not need their own unless there is an additional work contract (otherwise known as a sub contract) in which case they are bonafide sub contractors, and will need there own groundies etc. and an insurance policy to cover employees and public liability.

[Rupe]

I was lead to believe off my insurance company that if a contractor makes an error and destroys a green house and the customer comes at me then my insurance company would persue my contractors insurance. the contractors i use are in agreement with this so im going of what i have been told.

 

Sure if they are sub contractors. But they are not if they are working with you.

[Hodge]

i see what you saying Rupe, another point that my insurance company made was that if i have a sub contractor who says he has his own insurance and he dosent then they will pay out as i have a contractors clause....?? therefore it dont matter if they have insurance or not then there covered anyway. its too much, i just wanna cut wood.

[Rupe]

I'm not trying to be argumantal in any way. I hope I don't come over as such. I would like to help everyone resolve this issue.

 

I have some gripes. Mostly with insurance companies, its best not to listen to them! They will tell you all sorts of things and what they say has been carefully worked out word for word, they are not having a conversation with you (us).

 

Thats great that your insurance includes covering sub contractors in the event of them not having any. Remember this is sub contractors your insurance company are talkign about, not climbers/groundies like what we are talking about.

 

In that case, if you used a subcontractor who said he had insurance (and showed you a certificate) and then turned out not to, you could sue him seperately for damage to your business name etc but this would be a civil case, and you'd struggle to get anything! But at least the origianl cliam would be paid.

 

Anyway thats by the by as we are talking abotu employeers here. What we all call subbies who are not subcontractors in the real sense.

[Rupe]

Can I make an example, based on sawdust situation but not directly aimed at anyone really........

 

 

 

If you look at a job, and quote for it and get it then that is your job. You work out a method for that job and decide to get in climber A to do the climbing aspect, while you and your other groundie do the groundwork, any lowering, chipping etc.

 

By law you are resonsible for the health and safetey of that site. (management of health and safety at work act etc) so you should idealy draw up a risk assessment etc. By law you don't have to have PL insurance but for arguments sake you have it. By law you DO have to have employers and for this example you have that too.

 

Climber A turns up on the day and gets on with it. He does not take over the management of health and safety on that site as its not his job and cannot be expected to if he has not ever seen the job before.

 

During the day the greenhouse gets wrecked. YOU and your team (groundie and climber A) have wrecked the greenhouse durign YOUR work. Your insurance pays!!!

 

 

If the climber was drunk YOU were responsible for lettign him climb.

 

If the climber couldn't be arsed to lower something YOU are resonsible for that.

 

 

You cannot pass the buck on responsiblity on your jobs!!!

 

 

Getting a subcontractor in is a differnent thing and we are not talking about that.

 

Does that make any sense?