Customers Checklist Before Engaging A Contractor
Insurances
All homeowners are responsible for the well-being, health and safety for any person entering the property, and are advised to take out suitable Household insurance cover. This is usually known as Home Cover Policy.
Homeowners who decide to employ contractors, especially those involved in working with machinery or equipment or any element of risk e.g. window cleaning, landscaping, fencing etc should ensure that their Home policy covers them in the event of a claim by a Third Party.
Public Liability
There is no legal obligation on a business to hold Public Liability insurance. However, if a customer requires or wishes to be protected by a Tradesperson’s insurance cover to be in place before a contract is agreed, they should request sight of the company’s insurance details to ensure that adequate cover is in place. A contractor would be in breach of contract if they did not afford adequate cover for the works subject to any contract if insurance was required by the customer.
Cheap Public Liability insurance may not be sufficient to insure a project, and attention should be given to assuring that adequate cover, in both monetary terms, but also site work circumstances are clearly established and agreed within the contract specification.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Any Tradesperson who designs, specifies or makes decisions on working methods should hold Professional Indemnity insurance (PII) which covers all legal costs to the holder, as well as compensation monies that may be payable to a customer or Third Party. The terms of the PII policy will include any costs for mistakes or errors made when providing professional services, advice or design. All specifying contractors and designers should hold PII. Specifying includes decision-making by an installer of all elements of a project.
Employers Liability Insurance
Employers Liability insurance is a legal requirement for any business that employs or engages any person, either formally employed, self-employed, full time or part-time, including volunteers. It safeguards a business from compensation claims made by an employee, if they are injured or become ill as a result of their work. All employers are responsible for the welfare, health and safety of their employees whilst at work. (This may also include travelling to and from a work site or depot.)
Products Insurance
Products insurance may be taken out by a contractor as additional cover against the failure of a range of products and materials, especially those that have been used to build or construct features such as a wooden deck or pergola, or walls and paving, where various techniques and specification may fail and compensation is sought by a customer.
Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015
Every project requiring construction, using machinery or equipment of any kind that may be considered dangerous, potentially hazardous or likely to cause injury must be carried out under the protection of the Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015, (known as the CDM Regs)
Every homeowner is responsible for the well-being and health and safety of any person entering the property. Under CDM, once a designer or specifier has been appointed in writing by a customer, that individual becomes the Principal Designer who takes over the responsibility from the homeowner (customer) who will open a CDM File. This may be a very simple document, setting out the scope and nature of the works, and will (eventually) include a copy of all and any documents relating to the project, setting out the names, responsibilities and contact details of all persons involved in running a project, (including insurance details and meritorious certificates/licences) beginning with the designer/specifier.
Once a contractor has been appointed (it may be a design & build package) that individual is recorded in the file as being the Principal Contractor who becomes liable for all matters of health and safety for the duration of the works.
Various subjects germane to the project are recorded, including any Planning consents, plans and drawings, specification, technical information, warranty documents, site plans showing the location of drains, electrical cables, conduits, soak-aways etc, which may be added as the works progress. Any variations from the contract documents should be recorded and shown as Variation Orders, dated and signed by both Parties.
At the end of the contract, a copy of the CDM file remains with the customer, as it clearly shows how a project was constructed. This document remains with the property, and should be passed on to a new owner in the event of a sale for the information of the new owner (and for future generations).
If a project is very large – taking more than five hundred working days – The Health and Safety Executive must be informed. They will visit the site and ensure that all protocols are in place, and all safety measures are being recorded. The HSE will continue to monitor the scheme throughout the duration of the works, and sign off the CDM file on completion.
Contracts
A contract may be formed as a written agreement between two (or more) Parties, setting out the process of the development of a project, including any specification and parameters of responsibility. In general terms, when related to landscaping projects, this will involve a series of offers, and should include quantities and quality of materials and levels of required skills.
It should include working method statements, risk assessments and a schedule of materials and construction techniques.
There are two distinct types of contract. A Quotation is a written statement of offer to provide a finite amount of work for an agreed sum of money. An Estimate is an estimated amount of work for an agreed sum of money at specified rates that may vary as works proceed, usually varying by the amount of work actually undertaken. An Estimate should show how much/many works are included in the elected sum of money, subject to variation as the works proceed, with the final invoice established at the end of the project.
All contracts should have a comprehensive set of Terms and Conditions included, which are designed to protect both Parties and enable them to understand their obligations to each other. These Terms and Conditions should include a Cooling Off Period, which is a means of ensuring the customer has the opportunity to change their mind and cancel the contract within a given time. (This time limit depends on where the contract is signed).
Verbal Agreements remain legal within the Courts system, although they are difficult to uphold without certain conditions being met, including evidence of payment and provision of services. They are not recommended due to the (often impossible) task of establishing what was actually agreed, both in quality and quantity, and are best avoided.
Products and Materials
When selecting materials, it is recommended that you choose from actual products, handling and inspecting them physically, as images in a magazine may not match your requirements on delivery. It is important to select items such as decking, paving or walling, seeing them first-hand both wet and dry, as colour variations between the two may be extreme.
We do not recommend customers supplying their own materials for several reasons, including having a working knowledge of the materials and their technical requirements, correct fixing methods and products, strength and durability.
Colour matching certain products such as paving and brick are available in batches, with slight variations in different packs, even with the same product code, and any shortfall in an order may be impossible to match with further orders. The contractor will have no control over the safe delivery of a product, and no contract with the supplier in the event of a dispute, leaving the customer to cope with any problems and attendant costs.
Trade Associations
There are three types of ‘Trade Association’ offering the services of their members. There are those that physically inspect and conduct a full vetting procedure into the background, status and suitability of their members, both before admission, and on a regular ongoing basis to ensure they are complying with their regulatory standards.
There are only two such Trade Organisations that have general landscaping companies in their ranks – The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) and The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI). They have high entry standards, and offer customers and contractors a Dispute Resolution system, which aims to settle any problems between Parties.
Claiming membership and displaying their logos without holding that office is fraudulent, and if in any doubt, a call to their offices will confirm their status.
Several paving manufacturers and suppliers maintain a list of Selected or Approved Members, who similarly inspect and approve members working practices and skills levels before receiving them into membership. Any contractor advertising their status as an approved member, and a call to the supplier will confirm if you are any doubt. These firms include Brett, Talasey, Marshalls and Bradstone. Other suppliers may recommend a local contractor, although they do not maintain lists of formally approved firms.
There are many other ‘Trade’ businesses who claim to have lists of approved members, who are permitted admission/inclusion based on unchecked/unvetted tests and the ability to pay the membership fees. They do not offer any recourse in the event of a complaint.
There are also many excellent installers and landscapers who are not members of any kind of association of affiliation out of choice. If you utilise the checklist above, and find they meet the various criteria, they may offer to introduce you to some recent clients, to reassure you of their abilities and business practices.
