Steve Bullman

Yep rapalaman pretty much covered it all (thanks). It’s not an on-demand service, you’ll get them when you get them

I'll be there the Friday and Saturday, will be sure to pop over and say hi

30's no age for thinking about getting off the tools, unless you're inherently lazy, bored, or more of a those who can't, teach kinda guy (or gal).

It is however the ideal time to starting thinking about and planning your long term exit strategy.

37 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Can we have a list of ‘the issues we face as an industry’ please?

That’s actually a really good idea. Perhaps then we could look at targeting them effectively one at a time rather than just constantly mentioning ‘issues’

1 hour ago, Dan Maynard said:

Also per the other thread, if you are bringing own tools and PPE and working for a range of firms then you won't be a disguised employee. There is a simple HMRC form on the website to give you a definite answer, go through it and print the result page, keep it on file.

I just did this out of interest, the results were as expected. I dont really see what the whole issue is. You'd have to literally be doing all your work for a single company for it to flag you as an employee as far as I can tell.

3) Be open to employment. By this we don’t mean working, we mean PAYE. Changes in how HMRC treats self-employment mean that a lot of subbie jobs are not above board. Could you be seen as a disguised employee? There may be fines to pay if you are. A day rate might sound amazing, but you could be skating on this ice and, apart from that, many of the benefits of employment (like the ability to get a mortgage, have holiday pay, sick pay, insurance, PPE... the list goes on) outweigh the risks of subbing.

Theres actually an interesting thread going on about this at the moment right here... 

Personally I don't see why anyone should be 'open to employment'. If they have what it takes to be self employed then it is a far better way of life in my opinion. And by what it takes, I mean being reliable, hard working, and motivated.

Yes a day rate does sound amazing, specially when its job and knock, but as for all the things you mentioned ie holiday pay, insurance, ppe etc, this should all be accounted for in your day rate, so as long as you're not underselling yourself those reasons are null and void. I'll just dissect those a little further though..

Ability to get a mortgage

Never affected me. As long as you are keeping your books then I don't see why it should be a problem for anyone. One of the reasons for being freelance is to earn better money, so unless you are doing something very wrong then there should be no reason why you can't get a mortgage.

Holiday pay

Accounted for in your day rate

Sick pay

Ok you got me with that one. Just dont get sick is my only answer. 

Insurance

Freelancers DO NOT need insurance unless they are acting as a bona-fide contractor, and theres not a single freelance climber in the country that will be working as a bona-fide contractor. The only insurance you may want to consider is personal accident cover, and whilst thats sensible its certainly not a requirement. If you are a freelancer and one of your customers is telling you that you have to have your own insurance they are simply wrong or mis-informed by their own insurance company, in which case please direct them to this article:

What is a bona-fide sub-contractor? | Tree Surgeon Insurance

TREESURGEONINSURANCE.CO.UK

---

What is a bona-fide sub-contractor and do I need Employers' Liability Insurance? We discuss these questions for Tree Surgeons.

PPE

Covered in your day rate, and as an added bonus you can buy whatever PPE you choose! No getting stuck with a pair of trousers that aren't a good fit for you just because they are the only type your employer keeps in the store room. And I dont just mean size, but every brand has a different fit to them and some just dont work with certain body types.
Likewise with harnesses, climbing devices, ropes etc, you get to pick exactly what you want rather than whats in the stores. Theres barely a tree climber in the business that isn't a bit of a gear junky, especially in their first few years, so being self employed and being able to buy whatever you want whenever you want is a big attraction.

Have you checked the tip site directory?

Give Justin a try at Kingwell holdings. They might be interested for biomass 

Can’t help you with artic loads but you might want to consider adding a tip site to our directory 

https://arbtalk.co.uk/recycling 

I think they are great trees but view them probably a bit different to you, ie as an arborist and someone who potentially has to climb them. Not the most pleasant trees to work on by any means!

Regarding the accountant, I’d get a second opinion on that one!

This whole gdpr thing basically came to nothing in the end. Never heard of a single person prosecuted yet 

Thanks.  Reading up a lot on this lately as i'm going to do a PTI course soon

Elder?

a better buy for sure

Consider one of these sharpening kits.  They make it practically impossible to do it wrong.

You wont go wrong with Stihl chain, worth the extra

Thats absolutely horrendous.  Go and ask for your money back.

You'll be as well off just replacing the chain at this point i'm afraid.

You can see the depth gauge in this image, which controls how deep the main cutting teeth go into the wood.

Can you post some close ups of the chain?  It sounds like they have probably taken the depth gauges down too far.  In which case the only option is to re-sharpen the teeth and leave the depth gauges alone.  This time take it to someone who knows what they're doing.

You've obviously researched this, would be nice to hear more of your views as you already educated me on it somewhat.

got a link?

Some great photos David.  Love the sanded discs showing the growth rings.

They're missing a trick then obviously.  

Great images both of you