Legal limitations of CS30+31

[tractorboy1]

Main problem with cs32 is finding the trees took 2 years to sort mine.

[duffs]

beautiful work. great. do you need another license? How far does my pl cover?

 

for a start, omg. cheap as chips. ye must be earning butter tokens. sort your PL out. do as yer mn says AT THE START, get wan pl and el insurance. 1 man employer 1 man self-employed subbie. Rockon cheaper. well, if you add two 600's = 1200, considering your on a wile cheap cover, your pl and el would or may be considerably cheaper. mine is a whopper on the same principle, however, i have 32 plus a ween more.

anyway, obviously if yer insurer is a industry recognised wan then they have requested, ticket copies, past employer ref. and proof of industry experience - if theyre nat then you're on a wing as yer cover is probable a bit dodgy anyway. personally, and i can remember one certain instructor saying wan time to go a fell a couple a hundred trees b4 applying ffor ticket. 31 that is. build oon expereince and progress.

 

So get yer 32 for progression not for yer insurance as i said, yer on a winger ther boy.

 

keep er lit.

[Rupe]

I suppose strictly speaking we are contractors, rather than sub contractors, as we answer straight to the forester. It's a cracking gig - I realise Rupe that you might not think so, but I get to work all day long on a beautiful estate where I live, being paid by the hour so that the work isn't rushed (with it being parkland, they are very concious of appearance and best practice), doing a hugely varied job and with complete flexibility to choose my own hours. If it's pissing it down and I've had enough, I just pack up for the day and go potter building something at the workshop. My PL insurance is fairly comprehensive and costs me £600 per annum, and my overheads are small.

 

The original point of the thread was to ascertain the value, both legally and practically of the CS32 certification. Legally speaking, it would appear it's down to the individual insurer, and practically it seems very worth while. My local arb trainer (Chris White of Treevolution) does CS32 for £370+vat though I think that excludes the assessment.

 

Jonathan

 

I think it sounds great. Good for you, its great to do the job you love, thats why are all in this industry and chatting about it all night on arbtalk.

 

Originally you said you were sub contractors........thats where I figured things did not sound right.

 

If you are contractors, and have the correct PL then you should be ok, but contractors need people to work with them. One of you should employ the other, do one risk assessment and have one insurance policy, otherwise the insurance company is getting £600 too much and won't pay out if they realise how you are working. If one of you injures the other then you are not covered by PL.

 

If one of you fells a tree when the other says its safe to do, which one is taking responsibilty? Who's insurance pays?

 

I agree the practical training of the CS32 will be very useful.

 

Say hi to Chris White from me and get some advice from him, he's a good chap.

 

For the record it sounds like a great set up and a good opportunity that you have. Its only insurance companies (and some employers) that I have issues with, never they guys doing the work that they choose to do.

 

Rupe.

[Rupe]

beautiful work. great. do you need another license? How far does my pl cover?

 

for a start, omg. cheap as chips. ye must be earning butter tokens. sort your PL out. do as yer mn says AT THE START, get wan pl and el insurance. 1 man employer 1 man self-employed subbie. Rockon cheaper. well, if you add two 600's = 1200, considering your on a wile cheap cover, your pl and el would or may be considerably cheaper. mine is a whopper on the same principle, however, i have 32 plus a ween more.

anyway, obviously if yer insurer is a industry recognised wan then they have requested, ticket copies, past employer ref. and proof of industry experience - if theyre nat then you're on a wing as yer cover is probable a bit dodgy anyway. personally, and i can remember one certain instructor saying wan time to go a fell a couple a hundred trees b4 applying ffor ticket. 31 that is. build oon expereince and progress.

 

So get yer 32 for progression not for yer insurance as i said, yer on a winger ther boy.

 

keep er lit.

 

Glad thats cleared it all up. Well said!

[Big J]

I apologise for the confusion regarding whether we are contractors or subbies. I've always been employed prior to commencing self employment earlier this year, so getting my head around some of the terminology is taking a while!

 

I do definitely see where you are coming from regarding combining the insurance policy. However, as we both still do separate stuff, we still have to be covered outside of the estate. I'm with the NFU and I have to say I have been very impressed with them. They were cheaper than all other quotes, covered much more, had lower excesses and don't charge for amendments to policies. Plus, I have the direct number of a charming lady in the Edinburgh office, should I ever have any issues.

 

The point you bring up regarding one of us injuring the other is a valid one though - I need to clarify that with the NFU. I originally thought that I might be employing from time to time, so I already have employer liability on my policy for one employee.

 

Regarding experience in preparation for the CS32, I'm up to about 2000 trees now I think. Chris White did our original training - top chap. I got a lot of the timber in my kiln from Cut Above too.

 

Jonathan

[wildwood-dwt]

worth doing the cs32 - if i can pass it then anyone can!

 

Definitely agree with this (in part), The difference between CS 31 and CS 32 is the difference between a professional and a layman in my eyes. Any one can fell a small tree, Its the bigger trees that separate the men from the boys!

[bigtrees.co.uk]

Another comment NFU are rubbish on arb insurance.. I have every other bit of insurance with them e.g. landy, tractor but their PL for felling work was over priced and they imposed a reidiculous height restricton of the trees I could fell!!! Trust Insurance are the best. If your with the NFU i bet Trust could beat their price by atleast half if not more.

Good luck with your felling. I wish I did as much as you do!