Is it illegal to use a chainsaw on someone else's land without doing cs30/31

[Gareth Dalzell]

Farmers have some strange excemptions, clearing branches, etc - have a look at this link and it may give some additional help. Perhaps farmers and those doing farm operations are borne with a higher level of inbuilt chainsaw competence?

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg317.pdf

[Gollum]

If you are using saws, strimmers, brushcutters on your own land no training is required,

As soon as you operate any machinery on some one else's land whether it's as a favour or getting paid you do need proof of adequate training and certification.

[Mesterh]

Well I'm not a fan of doing big tree jobs and not a fan of of felling trees altogether!! I just need to cut up fallen trees or bows and if someone asks me to cut some high up branches and I cant get the tractor near then Im not doing it!!

 

All I would say is are you skilled enough to carry out the task?

 

Not being funny but wind blown can be amongst the most dangerous stuff to work on.

 

your not going to get prosecuted for working without the right tickets but things could get very tricky if you injure/damage a third party.

[Ted_165]

 

All I would say is are you skilled enough to carry out the task?

 

Not being funny but wind blown can be amongst the most dangerous stuff to work on.

 

your not going to get prosecuted for working without the right tickets but things could get very tricky if you injure/damage a third party.

 

I don't think I will be working on wind blown trees leaning on other trees but ones lying on the ground, whether that reduces the risk in your eyes?

[WorcsWuss]

Those are windblown, you're referring to hung trees, which are an ENTIRELY different kettle of imminent death...!

 

A windblown tree will have branches under both tension and compression and where they differ from felled trees is you didn't put them there, the root plate [if attached] will want to go in one direction, the trunk in another, it's like one big rubber band cat's cradle...

[agg221]

With reference to the original question (legality), yes it's legal to operate.

 

You are usually insured if it's not for hire or reward, under your own domestic contents insurance, even on other people's land. It's in the public liability clause. Reward in this case means you're given something in exchange for doing the job for somebody else. If you're cutting up a tree which has become your property (bought it or been given it) then you are still covered. If you just cut up a tree for someone as a favour then again you're insured. I use this route myself, which is why I'm familiar with it - you can get a letter from your insurer to confirm this if someone needs to see it.

 

As soon as it's for hire or reward then you would need specific insurance if you felt it was necessary. In truth, a tree in the middle of nowhere, with no public footpaths/roads/buildings/livestock nearby is unlikely to do any damage to anything other than yourself and your tools, so insurance is not likely to be necessary (other than life insurance!)

 

Alec

[Mark Bolam]

Public Liability insurance being a legal requirement is a myth. Employers Liability is a legal requirement, however.

 

Having necessary tickets is not a LEGAL requirement. The police will not arrest you.

 

Good job really, or the prison system would collapse....

 

The closest I've heard is HSE kicking blokes of a site near here for not having saw or chipper tickets, but nothing was confiscated and noone was prosecuted.

[butler]

Public Liability insurance being a legal requirement is a myth. Employers Liability is a legal requirement, however.

 

Having necessary tickets is not a LEGAL requirement. The police will not arrest you.

 

Good job really, or the prison system would collapse....

 

The closest I've heard is HSE kicking blokes of a site near here for not having saw or chipper tickets, but nothing was confiscated and noone was prosecuted.

 

it is a arrest able offence, police are really clamping down on it. Ive heard they have been conducting dawn raids targeting the ringleaders. There spending millions on it....code name "operation take down"

[WorcsWuss]

Public Liability insurance being a legal requirement is a myth. Employers Liability is a legal requirement, however.

 

Having necessary tickets is not a LEGAL requirement. The police will not arrest you.

 

Good job really, or the prison system would collapse....

 

The closest I've heard is HSE kicking blokes of a site near here for not having saw or chipper tickets, but nothing was confiscated and noone was prosecuted.

 

That's right, I can get £5m of PLI & £10m of ELI for 500 quid [give or take] which will cover me for all tree surgery despite me not having 38, 39, 40, 41 tickets and using nothing more than my word as my bond of experience. Which is good because it means that I can insure against accidents rather than smashing and running.

But on the flipside it's bad because it means that technically ANYONE could get all the insurances necessary to operate professionally, without the skills to back it up.

Although, are those people REALLY going to bother getting insurance anyway...?

 

So no, the only time there becomes a real problem is if you make one of your employees do something they're not trained to do and something bad happens.

[ukminch]

Public Liability insurance being a legal requirement is a myth. Employers Liability is a legal requirement, however.

 

Having necessary tickets is not a LEGAL requirement. The police will not arrest you.

 

Good job really, or the prison system would collapse....

 

The closest I've heard is HSE kicking blokes of a site near here for not having saw or chipper tickets, but nothing was confiscated and noone was prosecuted.

 

If your not being paid for it your fine.

 

If your employed it's a different ball game, soon as we've gone off on a tangent:sneaky2: I though that a chainsaw ticket was the only ticket that was required under a hse act which is law. Although under supervision you can be 'training' If an employed person had a no ticket and wasn't being trained then the employer would be in trouble?

 

R