Paul Jenks

Neatly trimmed and bare on one side, untrimmed, outgrown and overhanging on the other. Interesting image.

If you're registered as a contractor, you're supposed to do monthly returns, even for sub-contractors who've not worked for that month. I.e. Nil payment/deductions The reason for this is so they can track sub-contractors and see they pay the appropriate amount of tax. I know the challenges of paying folk in cash and the tax issues if you get caught. My question would be, 'Do blowjobs count as benefit in kind, as I can't seem to locate it on the P11 form?'

Pay deductions | advice and guidance | Acas

If your supply of wood is nice clean rings, then any old axe will do. The snottier they get, the better the axe/maul you'll need. You can get half and half as well. Gransfors Bruk do a lovely range. They come razor sharp, literally. You can even shave with the maul. The beauty of having a really nice axe, that'll hold it's edge really well, is that it cuts as much as it splits. So you're not always relying on brute force. Between us all here, I guess we have most of the range, including a couple of double headed throwing axes. https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/product-cat/splitting-axes/ For the range https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/product/gransfors-small-splitting-axe/ My favourite all rounder.

The load rating is pretty important. Whilst the rating might be 670kg and most average chippers are a similar weight to a small car. A car has four wheels and it has far superior suspension and shock absorbing abilities in comparison to an indispension unit. The way some drivers drag chippers over bumpy roads and speed humps I'm surprised we don't hear of more blow outs

Whenever considering taking someone into the business, some thought should be given to why. Clearly, I'm not going to cover all or even most of the reasons here. If someone is employed just to do some work to earn the business owner a bit above the persons wages and overheads, there's likely to be little long term commitment from the employee or the employer. If the purpose is to build a long term and sustainable economy that all the stakeholders have the opportunity to be part of and benefit from, this has the potential to engage and develop the employee so that they actually take on responsibilities and deliver. The former has all the toxicity and lack of authentic relationship typical in many businesses, not just tree surgery. It leads to the type of disenfranchisement experienced by employer and employee alike, written across the pages of forums everywhere. The latter has the potential to build a working community where the legacy for the people involved is sustained through authentic communication and purpose. As a by product it also delivers healthier and less stressed lifestyles, nicer clients, great working relationships, sustainable economy and better working conditions and pay. How cool is that?

Tpo data is a matter of public interest and therefore should be accessible via a freedom of information request. They do have 20 days to get it to you. It's free. At least, I've never had to pay. Be careful how you word the request and make sure you ask for all the supporting evidence for the application/serving of the tpo in the first instance

One of my guys has a degree in fitness training and sports physiology or some such. Perhaps higher education would be a cleaner route

No I wasn't. To clarify, and I see your well made points above, I just looked up to whether a 17 year old could be self-employed, which I don't think he/she can. I wasn't making a connection between apprenticeship and self-employment. I feel your comments admirably covered that:001_smile:

http://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/2fglz-minimum-age-one-become-self-employed-sole.html#

Is the apprenticeship in the arb industry?

If the potential employer doesn't want to 'get embroiled' in PAYE etc, I'd be concerned that other systems, such as safety and insurance, which are more onerous, were not being 'embroiled' in either. A 17 year old, no matter how capable and mature, still requires a good deal of care and attention, especially in our industry. He is still growing physically and mentally and this requires a fair amount of both energy and rest. The difficulty we face as parents is the balance between guiding/advising and allowing our children to learn by their own mistakes. Always a tricky balance.

I feel it's just as important for those who climb daily. Getting up a tree is pretty straightforward for anyone who has done it a few times before. When your oppo is bleeding out it's a totally different thing. Managing a casualty situation is much more than climbing a tree. Practising stuff like this has the benefit of raising H&S awareness in all involved. It also lowers the adrenalin in a real situation as training kicks in. Embedded knowledge is a powerful thing.

The 'normal' business cycle paradigm has been to start, grow, sell, retire, die. As has been discussed previously, the value of a business is usually measured by it's assets and ability to deliver measurable profits annually. Typically, when the owner is removed from the equation, there is little or no resilience in the business to continue trading. I.e. It doesn't run for long or at all without the owner in the mix. A business of this sort has little value beyond the assets and perhaps a telephone number and/or website that has some branding and customer loyalty. Difficult to measure and therefore even more difficult to agree upon a value. A business begins to accrue real value as the owner dis-entangles him/herself from the day to day running and delegates responsibility to his/her team. True value develops when the team act entrepreneurially and grow the strategy of the business without the owner. Dis-entanglement is a difficult process for most, given the amount of blood, sweat and tears invested into an operation. By the time many are ready to let go, they just want shot of it, so it can result in a less than graceful process. If a business owner can grow the people in the team, and him/herself, as part of the business process, there should be no need to sell the business to realise long-term financial security for all involved. Having a mentoring role beyond the day to day operations and administration is key to the process of growth as we have more to look forward to without becoming fed up and disenfranchised with the whole 'business owner' role.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAFcZo8dTcU[/ame]

I was robbed going over the Severn Bridge

The current pension provision is unsustainable. Because of the growing population and the longevity of the pension drawing population, todays taxes pay their pensions not a pension pot saved up and hoarded by any government. The stakeholder system didn't work, so legislation has become a little more draconian. Everyone has to do it so it's still a level playing field for business. (Broadly)

I think I get the gist of that.

A good show Paul. Well done to everyone organising.

I thought, with the wife sitting next to you, that would be a good enough SatNag:001_tt2: I've got a TomTom 600 or 6000 or something and it has live traffic with all of Europe. Not sure I'd use the live traffic over there without first checking I'm not going to get caned for data use abroad.

The allowance is pretty poor and Mike and Gary have to beg the airline for extra weight. £70/kilo is a bit steep for anyone, let alone a little charity like DART. Luckily, they managed to do this. All the kit comes off as soon as seated on the plane, (pasty tree surgeons in shorts, singlet and boots, nice). Clearly, travelling in ballistics is not travel wear of choice.

Most subsidence is caused by substandard foundations. As you say, smacking trees back is the easy short term option for most assessors. Of course, when the regen comes back with vengeance they'll be back to square one.

You can get blue ones too. Could be handy:sneaky2: