Hiring a contractor for your home or office: what are your responsibilities?

Entrepreneurs may need to supervise building works either at home or in the office. If you want to set up your home office or are responsible for remodeling your workplace, you can engage a self-employed handyman in order to save costs.

While there is nothing to indicate that you should not hire an independent contractor for your construction needs, you need to be aware of your responsibility for health and safety. If you do not have a health and safety officer for advice about the building work you require, you may not know what you should do to avoid any liability for injury or illness.

Asbestos

It is illegal to use asbestos for new building work in the UK. This is because it is dangerous and exposure to asbestos can lead to various illnesses.  More and more people are engaging mesothelioma solicitors due to the cancer caused by exposure to the material. Although it isn’t used anymore, many older buildings still contain asbestos. If you do know that the building in question contains asbestos, you are lawfully obliged to declare this to whoever you employ to work on the building for you.

Equipment

If you provide tools or kit to your contractor (such as face masks or ladders) and the item fails, it is your responsibility – but that is if the person who was injured due to the failure can prove that they did not adapt or move the equipment provided. However, an independent contractor should bring their own equipment which would be their own responsibility. Any equipment failures would be their own negligence and you would have no liability.

If you were to have some form of liability, e.g. if you had provided pipe to your contractor, you would be protected if you had some form of public liability insurance. UK lawyers are reluctant to take legal action against people without insurance though; if you were only organizing work for your home, you may not need to take out insurance.