Starting a Job as a Builder this week, Do you really need any licence at all?
There are no specific licences that you need to work as a general builder, so if your business activities are going to fall within the usual range of services offered by this type of business you may not need to do anything further.
Building waste licence
If you are going to transport building waste (which is classified as a controlled waste), you will need a certificate of registration as an upper tier waste carrier (just ‘waste carrier’ in Scotland).
This is issued by the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in Scotland. It currently costs about £155 for the initial registration fee and a further renewal fee of about £105 every three years. Note that a single licence is issued to your business covering all of your waste transporting vehicles.
Note that any business which produces 500kg or more of hazardous waste at a premises in England or Wales within a 12 month period must register with the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales as a hazardous waste producer. If you produce 500kg or more of hazardous waste at a single customer’s site (or at any other site which you do not own or occupy) then it is up to the owner of that site to register. If you remove the hazardous waste from your clients’ sites, and this amounts to 500kg or more in total for a 12 month period, then your own premises or depot must be registered as a ‘service premises’. You can find out more about hazardous waste producer registration on the Gov.uk website.
Asbestos
If you intend to do any work involving asbestos (this might include removing old roofing sheets, for example) you may need a licence from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Asbestos Licensing Unit – or from the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI). An alternative to undertaking licensable work yourself is to contact a licensed asbestos specialist – this is a more realistic option for many construction businesses which only occasionally need to deal with asbestos.
Further details are available on the HSE and HSENI websites.
Voluntary certification
Many would-be customers and particularly main contractors will want to satisfy themselves that your business does good quality work using suitable materials. One way of demonstrating your commitment to quality is to gain certification for your workmanship. Various different certification schemes exist, including the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), the Quality Mark scheme, British Standards Institution (BSI) ‘Kitemark’ licences and the ISO 9000 quality standard.
Although it’s not mandatory for operators of plant machinery to hold a skills registration card, it’s a good way of showing that your business complies with the requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act for plant operators to be suitably trained. More and more contractors, clients and sites only permit plant operatives who hold a valid skills registration card or ‘ticket’. There is a small charge for each card issued, plus of course the cost of the training itself. Training costs vary depending on the individual’s experience, the nature of the particular qualification and the provider.
The Sector Skills Council CITB offers one of the best known card schemes, the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS). You can find out more about the CPCS on the CITB website.
Other licences and registrations
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) sets out tax rules for builders who pay sub-contractors to do construction work that falls within the scheme.
The rules require these contractors to register with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Sub-contractors don’t have to register, but if they do they can avoid having the higher rate of tax deducted from their payments from contractors.
If you need to speak to a CIS Advisor about registration as a Sub Contractor, Contractor or Operate a PAYE Scheme, please contact us on 0208 679 4690 please Visit our website.
Categories: Construction Industry Scheme, Self Employed, Taxes
Asbestos survey should be done on every older house and flats that was built before 1999.