Who pays for damage?

[bill]

Not that I have ever done it but have you seen how easy it is to disconnect - reconnect a BT phone line? Of course I wouldn't recommend anyone to tamper with BT hardware!

 

I didn't used to charge my guys for breakages but even a £10 fence pannel ends up a £100 bill once you time in the collection, replacement and disposal of broken one or lets put it another way, two days profit !

 

not if you make them buy,collect, replace.

[ArbjobsNick]

not if you make them buy,collect, replace.

 

Good point but my guys were pretty good and rarely broke anything, did manage to run over the blower once but hey S**t happens now and again.

[vduben]

I broke a BT cable the other day, totally my fault, I was taking down a very dead Ash that was unsafe to climb, should have waited and used a hoist, anyway we called BT and told them a dead branch had fallen whilst working on the tree, this is what we always did during my line clearance days if a BT line was brought down, never tell them you broke it or they will charge you around 150 quid.

 

I am sure somebody will whine at me for saying this.

i broke on the other day and took the blame!!!!!

100quid a hr bt charge!!!! luckly we was working for a very rich primary school and they payed!!

but like nick said!!!! the cables are far to easy to disconnect your self, also a tip to see which wires are in use if youve mixed/forgot what you took apart, spit in your hand and put the wires in the spit 1 by one, the ones in use with fizzel and bubble a little

[bob]

Not that I have ever done it but have you seen how easy it is to disconnect - reconnect a BT phone line? Of course I wouldn't recommend anyone to tamper with BT hardware!

 

if they catch you they give you a right bollocking and then you get a letter threatening court action been there done that got made to feel 2 inch tall

once found a cable with stump grinder dragged it down road more wire than ive ever seen cut off 360 homes i was about as popular as a pork sausage in a sinagog

[madmatt]

I don't have this problem to often, but on the days I do employ someone I tend to think about it! There has only been one nipped bar so far in 3 years but the vast majority of what i do is on the ground.

 

If someone comes to work for me for a day, week, month whatever, I look how they are treating my kit, if they sling it round and abuse it I would ask them to pay for any damage they cause. On the other hand the lass that nipped the guide bar was a very concientious saw operator who I'll employ when ever I have work for her. So I just shrugged me shoulders got another saw out fixed the other at my expense.

 

I accept mishaps happen and if they are genuine and not expensive I'll carry the bill. To be honest I'm far less happy if I damage summat myself!

[TimR]

if they catch you they give you a right bollocking and then you get a letter threatening court action been there done that got made to feel 2 inch tall

once found a cable with stump grinder dragged it down road more wire than ive ever seen cut off 360 homes i was about as popular as a pork sausage in a sinagog

 

hmmmmmmmmmm cough cough co cable tv ugh cough many a time in w london 6 inches below the surface my arse .

.... come across a hv think it was 33kv 11 inches below surface but thankfully i had the knowledge that there was a substation next to the tree so demanded that elec board dug around the stump ( hand dug through pavement ) before i even contemplated grinding it and lo behold there was a nasty awaiting me trapped in the roots 11 inches down ( was a tree that was next to the one in tree pics ( london plane) that i reduced) thankfully it was my last day in that company so i didnt have to do it lol

nearest i have come to a major survice was grinding a private job having a new driveway paved company not got cat scan so i asked the pavers if they come across anything when they had dug up the old drive no nothing so i proceeded to grind it out ( was only a 4 inch acer) and as i was grinding i saw a flash of yellow exposed as i swept the grinder over the last of the bowl so swung machine out of hole and stopped it examined the yellow and was the gas supply to the house and i had shaved about a millimetre off the pipe

anyway back to topic sorry

[bill]

our stump grinder guy went through a gas pipe. stump grinding is the worst thing for going through pipes/cables.

 

i dont understand why councils plant cherries under cables. ive work on some with 6+ cables running through them.

[Lee Winger]

Surely this is why there should be insurance to cover all eventualities.

 

Colin

 

Most firms have an excess, mine is the first £1500..

A new bloke of mine dropped a tree on a chainsaw of mine the other day, damage cost me £60, he got a good bollocking and I paid the damage..

 

The odd accident i'll deal with, constant equipment abuse or f-ups and the colprit will get the boot! ..

 

Accidents in this game are inevitable imo, i'm a rather tolerant boss, I know how hard this job can be having been on the tools myself for a good number of years, a lot of bosses forget how hard this work can be, some have never ever done a good days graft and haven't got a clue..

[Peter]

One firm that has now disappeared used to pay all its employees, from the owner to the groundies, a £10 bonus every week if nothing was damaged. If something did get damaged through abuse neglect or carelessness then the bonus was stopped until the item was paid for. Interesting idea, but time consuming to administrate.

I do think there should be a distinction made between breakage through carelessness, and the odd unavoidable incident.

Our team rarely damages anything, and when we do we always fix it on the spot if possible. I sometimes feel that I am saddled with the reputation of past employees who were not too consciencious.

Being made to pay for everything would not make for a satisfied workforce imo, imagine being sent to a tree with ten phone lines in it. Sorry, i cant afford to do this tree i'v got a big gas bill this month!

[Steve Bullman]

yep...if you're faced with all those potential bills and headaches then it kinda beats the whole point of being employed.....yet at the same time knowing you might have to pay for the dame should encourage you to be more consciensus...its a tough one and someones always going to end up the loser