Ian Flatters

That kind of sounds like a misuse of a valuation system in a sense (appreciate there is probably much more to the story than the brief insight here)
 
Does the "value" of a tree (however calculated) change the ability / validity / authority of a 3rd party to try and compel the owner of something to do something they might be disinclined to do?

After 8 years I am giving this thread a bump, I don't recall how it fizzled out but lots has happened since then and I would be keen to hear of anyones' tree valuation experiences or thoughts, good or bad.
I am hearing quite regularly of CAVAT being abused as an instrument of extortion. I am all for the arb industry having a means of expressing the worth of trees, but for it to be compatible with the valuation of everything else, from a sticking plaster to a hospital, form woodchip to forests of growing timber, it needs to be defined and needs to measure how much these things change hands for on the open market OR at least how much they cost to make OR how much they earn the owner OR how much they add to the value of land they are fixed to. Otherwise they are not valuations, they are estimates of worth or are fantasies. CAVAT doesn't do any of those.
Anyway I have submitted an article to the Arb Mag for publication soon, on this general subject, but meantime (and probably till the day I die) I am open to discussion and anecdotes, the more the better. It's not as dry a subject as you might think.

One from last week when I actually climbed [emoji23] we were following tasks set by the councils consultant to open up space around a pretty cool and ganrly old oak. Coronet cuts used for when it dies off. Cedar was carried out a few weeks back by the lads.

Lovely kit [emoji748]️( infinite envy emoji)  k

Finally got this one ticked of my list of things I'd like to try. I wasn't the best but not the worst he's ever seen have a go. So I'll take that as a small victory. Then got the truck with road tyre well stuck 🤦‍♂️ removing said small victory into defeat. Couldn't upload the videos but they are on my Instagram feed for the next 20 something hours. Also second skid steer turned up today.

Some bits and bobs. Working a site which is getting ready to be redeveloped after taking nearly 300t in sweet chestnut and oak stems. Mostly large butt's too. A Saturday reducing 2 oaks sympathetically, planting some trees at a former hospital and basically what I spend most my days doing currently walking around locating trees a third party have surveyed for 2 large councils. Pss live is a terrible system to have to use and one I'd strongly suggest avoiding.

You still climbing Ian or just machinery these days?

Unusual spec on that hedge, reduce to 4 mètres.  
 
Is that pop? (Or hornbeam)

A couple of recent sites. Been all go lately with surveys so it was nice to spend a couple of days on with the lads.

Hi all,

 

Wondering if anyone can help with advice or their own experiences of employing someone on the books please?

 

I've been using freelance for a good few years but thinking about changing things around a bit.

 

Bit nervous of going down this route tbh..... 

 

This would be the main employee in a 2 man team and use freelance for bigger jobs

 

My concerns are :

 

Holidays, what do you do when holidays conflict? or If im away and worker isnt etc? What happens at xmas? Do they use their holidays for the time off them?

 

What about absolutely shite weather? torrential rain and or full on snow? Any clauses in contract about these?

 

Do people start folk off on a 6 mth contract probation period?

 

Anything to consider when taking on someone with no experience and training them up? Clause about paying back part training funds if leave within x amount of time? cs30-31 and woodchipper be near on 1300 quidish.... 

 

I realise by having a contract drawn up other bits and bobs like ppe etc its near on a grand before they've started the first day!

 

 

28 days holiday inc bank holidays ok. Provide ppe ok. 

 

Sorry its a bit long winded but its whats spinning around my mind at the moment. Thanks 

You'll need to get your head around net and gross wages and the additional expenses that comes with paye.

Holiday wise unfortunately you can't overly control when they take it. They are entitled to take it or request to take it. You do have the right to refuse asked dates and we have refused from time to time, although these are mainly when someone asks for a week off with a weeks notice. If your off on holiday I'd advise getting a subby in for the week to cover your role as you'll get an income whilst off as such.

Weather is all about the clothing you provide. You have to provide suitable ppe, workwear for your working environment. So buy rain jackets, etc for them. It is after all about being prepared for the weather.

Always a 6 month probation period.

Training clauses are absolutely fine and common these days. We use signed training agreements with a 12 month period. We have used this in the past and even at court level to reclaim monies owed from doing the training, passing the courses then leaving and setting up a week later. Your a business not a charity.

Contracts are key, get signatures on date of issue. If they turn up to work for 14 days after without signing it. It basically means that they were happy to come to work and the contract is valid.

Contracts, even ours have a zero hour clause if work runs out or dries up. Again you need to cover yourself.

Ideally you'll need to get an employee handbook drawn up too. This basically levels the playing field as employees have way more rights that the employer. This with the contract is how you build in your rights.

However..... In the grand schemes of things its much better imo. Especially with the lack of climbers about, either freelance or employed. We have literally spent the last couple of years training 4 greenhorns up from scratch.

Hi everyone,

After seeing a couple of threads on specific hobbies I had a thought.

Start a thread and see what others do, you never know something you may have been thinking about, turns out someone on here's doing it so you can ask questions.

For me it's been paddle boarding, every Sunday we go out on the quiet river and just enjoy it. Its been a fantastic stress relief and something out of work or work related stuff. I'm by no means anything more than a beginner but enjoying the time paddling, falling in, seeing the landscape a way you rarely do and lots of wildlife.

A few recentish bits and bobs, works been manic with new staff coming on board and others moving onto grasses greener in other counties. I rolled the stump grinder through forgetting I was working on a 17 degree slope without putting the dual wheels on (being lazy and paid for my laziness), then smashed a lot of teeth and pockets off on a large piece of metal. Clearing windblown over the highway, Norwich Cathedral site and asbestos covered roofs and oil tanks. Enjoyed having a play in my mates 2.6t arb digger was nice, just showed how underpowered our little 1.8t is.

There’s no excuse for it with the accuracy of mapping, gps etc these days. I’m constantly amazed at people’s lax attitudes towards it. One of my ideas for making money is offering a combined surveying and property litigation service. I could go round country pubs, stirring up trouble for people stealing field boundaries from each other etc.

Big plane tree, shame it had to come out.
 
 

A few recent bits and bobs

Doesn’t any driver know in any language that if you come across a set of traffic lights which are red, you do not go until they are green.  What difference does it make if they are temporary, three way , ten way, railway crossing or the one next to your wife’s pillow!

Posh as you like Ian !

Good thread. I think lots of people think as above, and I also think it’s easy to blur the lines between stress and mental illness.
 
I used to stress over everything when I was younger to the point that it made me feel depressed at times, the reality of it was that I was just too highly strung. That’s completely changed now to the point I don’t stress enough!
 
good thread Ian. I did just take the liberty of running your post through my knobometer and I’m pleased to say you scored a low 7 out of 10 which is a huge improvement for you, keep up the yoga I say!

If anyone's interested it's called heath assured who were with, through peninsula who do our HR and legal stuff. My wifes just told me health assured is the one the NHS use for their own staff so I guess that says it's quite good.

One random thing, I called up about struggling with sleep. I was getting about 1 hour solid then awake for an hour, back to sleep for an hour. I genuinely was convinced it was stress or anxiety that comes with the daily grind of business. Turned out the first thing they told me to do was cut sugar. So I cut sugar down massively (also realising how much sugar I was actually eating and drinking in a day), now I have fantastic sleep compared to before. I get 4 hours straight regularly and I'm edging close to 5 hours, so I hope I'll be onto solid sleep in a few months.

Ps Joe, I know kind of what your going through. My wife struggles horrendously with aniexty after having a major wobble mental a few years back after having to have a full hip replacement and being told that she could never have children naturally or be pregnant as it would put her in a wheel chair for the remainder of her life (it's a pretty hard pill to swallow that one so I can appreciate how she felt as I felt awful too, but life is what it is and we can always adopt I guess). She's much better and off pills, for her yoga in the morning really helped her and counciling with someone better at it than me was worth it too as I'm pretty rubbish at that thing.

How much is it Ian?
 
I think it's a great idea. We've all been affected by mental health somewhere or other, whether it's personally or someone you might know. 

Sorry if I'm being thick, but what is it you "have in place"?

As the world becomes ever more aware about mental health and employee wellbeing is it becoming more standard to have these in place?

Our story...

We've had this in place for around 4 years now after one of our youngest lads father sadly took his own life and until covid it was barely used by any of the lads.

My thoughts about it have also changed, before I saw it as another expense sadly and wrongly so. With having access to 24hr 7 days a week it not only covers employed staff but their spouse and children. It covers most things including alcohol, drugs, loss of a loved one, loneliness, anxiety, stress, sleep and a whole lot more. I'm now fully behind it and believe that it's a great cost to spend.

But I guess my question is more of because men do find it hard to talk and most of us have had bad days, weeks, months. Do you think this would help you as a business owner or an employee?

I mean it's helped me as well, my early to mid twenties I was, well a arrogant dickhead to be fair and honest, losing some arb friends who just walked away but then it wasn't something you talked about so much back then and I don't blame them or hold and grudges. I'm sure there's a few posts on here that would back that up my knobbishness from years gone by. Sadly I didn't have access to this stuff and had a long road to recovery over the years but I was lucky that I have wonderful support from my wife and real friends that helped me hopefully become a better person with me feeling better in myself over the last few years from using it. But whilst sitting in the truck waiting for the rain to pass I was wondering if I'd had access to it back then how much better I could have been sooner.

I fully accept some might read this and think it's a load of tosh but wondered if it may lead to some positive conversation with tips of how others got better. So I'll start off with a couple of things that have seriously helped me.

* understanding that somethings are out of your control.

* breathing techniques and yoga (yoga with kassandra helps me most mornings on YouTube [emoji6]).

* openly talking to friends and family about your struggles and stresses.

I have loads more but its stopped raining so I'm about to jump out of the truck and crack on surveying but please post your advice or even maybe take that step and voices your worries, you never know a member on here may have been through what your currently starting to experience.

Apologies for the waffled post I'm writing it on my phone and the gramme police haven't turned up to correct me yet. [emoji30]

One from our lads yesterday. I'm spending everyday currently banging out gps surveys and taking a rapid covid test each night [emoji30]. Really enjoying seeing a great team of lads getting stuff done.

It's not big enough for a crane, that's for sure and it's about a 80 yard walk back and forth. Not sure on the crane boom distance?
 

Have you thought about a wee chipper and chip into a wheelie bin? See it a few times on Instagram. Might make shifting it easier. Or crane and just lift it out.