Whether you are renovating your property, or if you have tradespeople that come to your Sydney home on a regular basis to garden or do other jobs, it’s important that you follow a number of steps to ensure their safety, and yours.
Before even allowing someone to enter your home, you should conduct a number of checks:
1. The best way to hire a tradesperson is to get a referral from a friend or family member. If you know anyone who can give you the details of someone who may be suitable, ask them first before commencing your search.
2. Always check references. It’s important that a tradesman has customers who can vouch for their work, especially if you aren’t going to be able to be there every time they visit your home.
3. Always check that the tradie you are wanting to do the job is registered with an industry organisation like HIA.
Once you have hired a tradesperson, you want to make sure that they have a safe working environment.
1. Clear the space around where they are working as much as you can. If you have valuable items that cannot be replaced if broken, it’s best to keep them stored in another room of the house until the renovation is complete.
2. While tradesmen will have their own cleaning products on most occasions, you can also leave old towels, a broom and other cleaning items which will help them to leave your home in a pleasant state.
3. Many homes now have security systems installed as a prerequisite. If you don’t already have video surveillance in place you may want to speak to a surveillance specialist who can assist with having a number of video cameras placed at different locations around your residence. HD video footage captured on these security devices is not only useful in the case of theft or burglary, but also in the case of an OH&S issue experienced by a tradesperson in your home.
If you are unable to be at home when a tradesperson is working, you want to have some form of surveillance. In the case that something happens, it’s imperative to have video footage of the incident moving forward.
4. Always be accommodating to tradesmen when working in your home and encourage them to always use the safest option. It’s likely that there will be mess caused by tradies, but that’s part of the process. A woman in the UK is now facing the possibility of having to pay a tradesman a 6 figure payout after she refused to let him walk through her home with muddy boots. The tradie then fell off a ladder and was badly injured as a consequence and is now unable to work as a carpenter.
For complete peace of mind, speak to your tradesperson about the OH&S standards that they will be adhering to when working on your property. If there are multiple workers, you will want to speak to the individual who will be managing the project.
