Rate of pay for a ground worker with basic tickets

[stoxs]

I have a shed??

 

very kind to offer the shed, if i can put it on the back burner for now and stick where i am much appreciated.

 

p.s is it a shed or a shub?

[likeitorlumpit]

I'm on a crusade for groundies tonight

 

The main problem I have with including holidays, training etc is that it can sometimes be used as a way to justify lower wages. Is an employer providing PPE not a legal requirement?

 

I'm of the opinion that if you employ a person, then it is your duty to provide them with the tools/equipment/skills necessary to do the job. It's about investing in your workforce which ultimately betters the company as a whole.

 

It's not justifying lower wages- it's a nice perk to have.

It's great being self employed but you have to spend a lot of time searching for work and often having days/weeks without work.

As an employee, all this aggro has been done for you. That's got to be worth something. Holidays adds 10% so £65 becomes £72

add time spent getting work= poss another 10%= £79

Add time off when things are slack = poss another 10%= £88 per day you would have to earn to make genuine self employment the same as earning £65 PAYE.

Thats without equipment costs/training + keeping up with industry best practice.

So shall we say £100 a day self employed= £65 PAYE as a groundie

[Andy Collins]

it's not all about using the system to keep the worker on low pay. But holidays and other perks have to be paid for by the employer, they are not an option, so of course this will be reflected in the final pay available to the staff.

This is a difficult economic climate, businesses need to remain competitive they cannot afford massive overheads. Having to suddenly put formerly S/E workers onto the books will obviously have and initial effect, and the business model will need looking at and revamping to suit the new needs.

I'm not against groundies getting the recognition they deserve, KOTR, a professional groundie is an asset to a business, and there is a world of difference between brash draggers and good groundies.

[alex_m]

I agree with andy on the £65 (i guess because we are from the same area - could be different oop north)

The sad thing is, I know a really good groundy that is on that wage, but has cs38,39, lantra stump grinder/chipper, chapter 8, towing licence, 5 years exp.

Chances are he might go up to 70/75 a day in the future, but deserves more.

[KingoftheRing]

I fully understand how hard the economic climate is for everyone (employers, workers wishing to gain employment, and self-employed contractors). I'm experiencing it first hand.

[Hodge]

Hodge are you paying him that for 5 days per week, 52 weeks per year???

 

Err, I'm not sure Dave, he may be on a guaranteed 16 hour contract but will be able to give him 5 days. I'm still trying to work it all out to what's fair to us both:)

[Gareth Dalzell]

£325 gross is £8.125 per hr, way over minimum wage, yet a reasonable amount when you consider the perks of employment.

I've just read through my lads Contract of Employment, he gets 32 days paid leave, 5 days paid sick leave, all training and ppe relevant to his position, 2 weeks paternity leave, min wage while on apprenticeship, with £3k payment upon completion of apprenticeship. He is 21. I think he is on a pretty good crack for 21 and being trained. The perks are certainly attractive.

 

I think that's a good and fair contract the guys on.

 

6.4 week hol paid and another sick week paid. Total paid time off = 7.4 week - leaving 44.6 week productive max. £325 x 52 = 16900 a year divided by 44.6 productive weeks give £378.92 a week divided by 40 hrs means £9.47 an hour cost or £75.76 a day gross and he's getting training and etc.

[chainsaw chrissy]

Check out this website it should help you

Agricultural wages order 2012 and guidance Defra publications

[Coletti]

I know a lot about the agricultural wages order/board due to past experiences but how does this apply to a tree surgeon?

[Andy Collins]

Agri wages may come into play if your employed by a farm to manage woodland, or working for a forestry based business, but tree surgery is not either of these, it is merely a service industry, so could be likened to horticulture or similar. Of course the guidelines are useful anyway to give an idea of employees entitlements re holidays etc.