I agree but it's much easier to prove your competent by having some sort of certificate or belonging to a professional body. That said it has always been that it's the courts duty to provide evidence that your incompetent, rather than the trade / DIYER to prove competence.
I am the exact opposite, I have loads of qualifications including Fellowships from the governing bodies. However, I got a bang on the head a few years ago and with memory problems (among other things) can no longer consider myself as "competant" If I do even the simplest wiring jobs myself, I get them checked by an independent person
e.g. 1. A man may, say he installs a boiler and he is not Gas Safe registered and receives money for this. He does a highly competent job. He is reported and goes to court. He will be prosecuted for not being registered not for being incompetent. e.g. 2. A Gas Safe registered man fits a boiler. He receives money. He does a poor job (maybe a fire breaks out). He goes to court and is prosecuted for being incompetent. A certificate does not mean competence.
Read what I wrote. Competent is what you DO. The RESULT. Also working in safe manner. Get this nonsense out of your head that competence is a certificate. In electricity. Part P applies to domestic work not commercial. You do not need Part P when working in commercial. To you, an electrician who works in commercial is deemed incompetent when working in houses without Part P. Sure he is. Yep, sure.
Yeah sorry Seneca I do. The fines for working outside of your gas safe scope for example I far higher than someone with no registration with the scheme at all.
If the Gas Safe or Part P man is incompetent then he get it in the neck - and rightly so. A DIYer who receives no money will be treated not so harshly.
People have "dabbled" with electricity for years and years. 99% of the time, nothing happens. However, for that % where an incident has happened and someone or something has been hurt. The officialdom (Police/ HSE/Courts) will look to see if the person should have known better. A DIYer will get less of a penalty because he can plead that he read up on it on the internet and didn't realise you had to be qualified. The more experienced a builder is the harsher the penalties will be. Because they have should know better, have more experience, have better procedures and policies in places. A visit to the HSE website, looking at the news section will show you the kind of penalties for builders breaking Electrical and Gas regultions.
Many builders get guys to do the work and get it signed off by a certified man. Those doing it regularly know the rules and regs and do it right so as not to redo it. They need it to be signed off. Yes, HSE, Gas Safe and the likes have nothing to do with it, are hard on unregistered men peddling their skills for reward. That is a prime concern. Hunting out DIYers, who have no reward, are not on the radar.
The law has recently changed on this, whoever installs a gas appliance has to now commission it. How this will be enforced is anyone's guess.
The rules on boiler sales will soon be restricted as well. Our hosts, B&Q will soon be restricted on whom the can sell boilers to There will be several places to check - BCO , Other gas service engineers, House sales and Survey and sadly the enforcement by HSE, Courts etc. At the moment HSE are going for 5 figure signs and prison for serious offences Similarly electrical work in kitchens should be notified to BC the penalties for not doing this will be ramping up soon as it will be a nice revenue earner
I believe we have such a problem with Cowboys and dabblers in this country that we should have and extended licensed contractors and building permit system like Canada has. At the moment anybody can call themselves a General builder and go out and cause all sorts of mayhem with very little control. It is the same with Homeowners on this forum we have people ripping their house apart and then ask some questions which make you think - maybe you should not be doing this at all. At least with a permit there would be someone coming round to check it is safe and a reasonable standard.
A Part P spark is all you need to sign off, not go to Building control. What happens on many new build sites is that the pipes, boiler and all are put in by none certified men. They lay the gas pipe to the meter, cap it up and air test. A certified man checks, connects the gas pipes to meter, commissions and signs off. As long as the installation is to building regs and a proper job HSE are that interested. They are after serious offenders who do cowboy work that is dangerous. Competent men doing a job, gas or elec, and having it signed off is not a big thing for them, as safety is not compromised. SAFETY and HEALTH is their prime concern. Where safety and health is not a concern and just registration, that is way down the list and not worth too much of their time.
Nothing. An MP had a relative killed by a shock drilling into a kitchen wall. The cables were all over the place behind tiles. So kitchens were singled out. If all is on RCD then any risks are greatly minimised. That is not to say a cowboy job under the tiles should be done. I am just pointing out that kitchens now are not a high risk area when all the house is on RCD or all on RCBO's.
In Germany they do not have a BCO. The builder is certified and passes his own work. In the UK industry wants cheap labour costs, being powerful they get it, and much of that is via un-certified immigrant labour. As long as it is done properly, and not a risk to HEATH & SAFETY of people, if a certified man signs off then all is fine.
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