Jondav Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Hello to all in 29.Can anybody offer advice on above subject.We use the services of a local couple to carry out gardening tasks on our property .If the unforseen accident arises ie they smash a window whilst strimming or crack the CH oil tank or some other catastrophe do they claim on their liability insurance or do we claim on our insurance? Do they need to have cover?They seem to be pretty busy around the area and it seems to be a business venture there running,advice please.ThanksJon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Anyone working in France providing a service and being paid for it must have public liability insurance (Résponsabilité Civile),without this I believe they could be breaking the law and you would be held responsble for employing them and may end up paying for all their claims too in case of an accident. If this couple are not properly registered as a business you will also be liable to pay all their social charges as well if they caught by the authorities such as URSSAF or l'Inspecteur de Travail in case of an accident investigation. Hopsitals will also enquire about insurance etc if they have an accident on your property too. In France all properly registered workers are covered by the government if they have a work-related accident and charges are taken care of - non-registered = you pay! You should also have some sort of contract drawn up as well because you could be sued for upto six months money in the case of an unfair dismissal although black workers probably wouldn't pursue it. If these people refuse to show you any insurance or are not registered, get shot of them you could lose everything and it has happened - all that trouble down in the South of France remember? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 Val has pretty much summed it up Jon. If the couple are not properly set up and registered and you are not paying them under one of the government schemes such as the "cheque emploi" service then you are jointly liable if they are injured, or cause damage. They would probably throw the book at you and I now beleive they have the right to ban you from France for three years, as well as confiscating tools, vehicle(s) and equipment.However, we have assumed they are not registered, and you do not mention if they are or not, so you need to find this out first, and if they are you need to see a copy of their responsibilité civile insurance. Peace of mind comes to mindPaul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted May 5, 2005 Share Posted May 5, 2005 If you want to e.mail or message me direct with the names of these people I can tell you if I know anything about them, I do have 16 years of being in 29 and know a lot of people here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jondav Posted May 5, 2005 Author Share Posted May 5, 2005 Thanks to all who replied and gave info,very interesting!Punch I assume myself they are not registered as they always request cash or I post a cheque.They offered to do our garden as they were doing the garden adjacent to ours and at the time we jumped at the offer as we did not have anyone else or did we know of anyone as we had not long purchased the house.Now armed with a bit more knowledge I am getting a bit more weary.If we give up these people could anyone recommend another gardener.We are located just north of Huelgoat. Thanks again 1 and all. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battypuss Posted May 5, 2005 Share Posted May 5, 2005 Check quickly! "Better safe than sorry" is another phtase that springs to mind. I everything is above board thay will have no qualms about showing you the papers..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hereford Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 If they do not have a siret number - therefore are not registered you could offer to pay them by the "cheque d'emploi" system. It will cost more but gets over the problem.The thread does not say if these gardeners are English or French. To be paid by cheques d'emploi means you need either a CPAM number from them or (we think) you just put a date of birth on the form and the authorities try to find them! You would probably be asked for an address in this case.H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jondav Posted May 10, 2005 Author Share Posted May 10, 2005 Hi Hereford,The couple are English.Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 These english people can still have cheque emploi for such work. They just pay the cheque into their french bank account.If they aren't properly registered, remember you, as well as they, can be arrested for allowing such work to be done illegally. Which should be an incentive to get this sorted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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