Supervisor's, qualifications and business management

[brownie1964]

Just wondering if anyone can give me some advice on this one. I work for a large company who is a registered social landlord providing rented homes. A year ago we took over the grounds maintenance of our own trees and landscaped areas from the local council. The local council as we all know have the right people with the right skills and knowledge to run such services.

 

Ok so here is where I need the advice, no one in our company has any tree related qualifications apart from me and my colleague, we have been told we are going to be supervised off an operative who holds no qualifications in arboriculture. Our supervisor’s job description says, " to monitor the use of grounds maintenance equipment such as, mowers, chainsaws and climbing equipment, including their safe use, repair and servicing" we have just found out that our climbing equipment LOLER certificate is out of date by 4 months, no one other than me and my colleague can identify bad / safe working practices. They are not competent, as they hold no qualifications?

 

As a company what needs to be in place to satisfy our insurance in relation to arboriculture? E.g. method statements, Risk assessments, correct insurance?

 

What is the current best working practice for the hierarchy structure within a company who offers arboriculture as a service to their tenants?

 

If we had had an accident of any kind within the last 4 months due to no LOLER certificate would our insurance have been void?

 

Can I request to see if my employers have the correct insurance that covers me in relation to arboriculture practices?

 

Thanks

 

Andy

[Mesterh]

If we had had an accident of any kind within the last 4 months due to no LOLER certificate would our insurance have been void?

 

Can I request to see if my employers have the correct insurance that covers me in relation to arboriculture practices?

 

Thanks

 

Andy

 

As a quick reply to the last 1

 

By law they should have a certificate of Employers liability in view in the work place ie stuck to the wall in the brew room/office etc.

[Andy Collins]

supervisors, in general, are responsible for the over-seeing of day-to-day tasks. As such, I should have thought it necessary for them to at least have a basic knowledge of the tasks that they supervise.

"You main duties as a supervisor would include:

 

planning and organising staff shift rotas and tasks

reporting plant or machinery breakdowns to maintenance technicians

organising external contracts, like cleaning or supplies

stock control

motivating their team

producing management reports on performance

monitoring quality control

updating paperwork, such as annual leave requests and sick leave

identifying and organising training needs.

Depending on your level of responsibility, you may also be involved in the recruitment process, health and safety monitoring and industrial relations."

(copied from the LearnDirect website)

As far as the Loler records are concerned, this is a management responsibility, and they should ensure these records are kept updated, and IMO if a claim were to be made, they would be deemed negligent.

In a nutshell I would expect an immediate superior to have knowledge and skills related to the job. If you think you may be better qualified for the position, why not seek promotion?

[Andy Collins]

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1998/19982573.htm for employers liability rules.