Reduction in electrical work

[5544]

I presently do domestic gas, plumbing and electrical work.
I have worked out that 85% of my work is not electrical any more, and what I have been doing is not required to be registered.
I only seem to get called out in my area to be asked to certify other non registered electricians work or builders work, give quotes which others then undercut, or make good any bodged jobs that others have done. My area in Hampshire is saturated for trades, especially electrical trades.
Even though I have done electrical work for over 20yrs I am seriously thinking of just dropping it now due to:
1. too much competition
2. Elecsa costs
3. constant purchase of new books,
4, constant amendments
5. The yearly 4hr inspection where I have to struggle each time to find work for him to see.
6. The added cost of the test equipment and upkeep.
7. My mate who helped with re wires is retiring and i am not prepared to do a full re wire on my own anymore.

As sad as I am at getting to this point my question is,

My gas insurance does cover electrical works, which is currently how I am insured presently.
If I decided NOT to renew my Elecsa registration, and just did minor electrical work that did not need certification, and was still current with regulations, is that still allowed.

Please do not swear in any replies. I am genuinely asking!

 

[sinewove]

I presently do domestic gas, plumbing and electrical work.
I have worked out that 85% of my work is not electrical any more, and what I have been doing is not required to be registered.
I only seem to get called out in my area to be asked to certify other non registered electricians work or builders work, give quotes which others then undercut, or make good any bodged jobs that others have done. My area in Hampshire is saturated for trades, especially electrical trades.
Even though I have done electrical work for over 20yrs I am seriously thinking of just dropping it now due to:
1. too much competition
2. Elecsa costs
3. constant purchase of new books,
4, constant amendments
5. The yearly 4hr inspection where I have to struggle each time to find work for him to see.
6. The added cost of the test equipment and upkeep.
7. My mate who helped with re wires is retiring and i am not prepared to do a full re wire on my own anymore.

As sad as I am at getting to this point my question is,

My gas insurance does cover electrical works, which is currently how I am insured presently.
If I decided NOT to renew my Elecsa registration, and just did minor electrical work that did not need certification, and was still current with regulations, is that still allowed.

Please do not swear in any replies. I am genuinely asking!

5544,
I agree with you entirely about the ongoing costs of scheme membership,etc
been excessive if not much notifiable work is been done.You can do minor works,with some exceptions in bathrooms afaik and ind/commercial work.
Regards,Hz

 

[Midwest]

I made the decision to jack it in early 2018, I was just doing domestic electrical work. I had a disagreement with my main provider of work, so it wasn't going to be financially viable.

To carry out a professional business, still doing minor electrical works you'll still need insurance, calibrated test equipment and IMO still have the latest BS7671 qualification to your company.

Therefore, if it fits with your business model, get the electrical work done by someone else. I think in your line of work, you'll come across more notifiable work, than not.

PS; you should not be doing the third party certification, its not ratified by Elecsa, and therefore you could be breaking regulations under Part P.

 

[peterhyper]

I am not surprised by your comments with regards electrical work. I get more people turn my quotes and hourly rate down than in the past (I've not increased them for ages). There are also lots more sparks in my area than ever before, and I was reading their reviews, and one customer wrote how the electrician did a full electrical check of their house 'free of charge.'

Even some regular customers are going with cheaper quotes from newbie sparks trying to get their foot in the door, but I absolutely refuse to match other sparks low quotes or their low hourly rates because I charge a fair rate and I would frankly rather watch TV than under sell myself.

I also get asked quite frequently to sign off other peoples work, and I refuse to do it (I know some sparks will though).

I am fortunate not to have a mortgage or kids to feed, so I can afford to turn the rubbish jobs and timewasting people down, but it's the decent self employed sparks with families to feed and a mortgage/rent to pay that I feel sorry for.

 

[5544]

My electrical work has really slowed. A few years ago I was fitting at least one consumer unit a month, and got asked to do at least 5 rewires a year around my gas work. Last year i did not do any re wires, and only two consumer units. Next year I have £550 for Elecsa fees, possibly new books again, the 18th edition training which I have been putting off at £400.00, which If we are honest has very little domestic changes in it for me apart from again re listing things in different places and introducing Arc and surge protection rules.
so in reality i will be again £1000 out of pocket to allow other builders to undercut me and get a mate to sign off their work. It just does not seem worth it. The heating side of work is still good, but i am lucky to have another source of income, i would never afford my mortgage just being self employed. Was always shocked by that.

 

[Devonchris]

I think the problem is more the fact that cowboys are attracted to electrical work because 95% of the end product is covered up. So the customer is not really sure what they have got, and most have no idea about certification. So, as long as it works, it's ok. With plastering, tiling or joinery, say, the bodge job is more obvious, and the cowboys get found out.

Electrical work is an artisan skill which only comes with repetition but a lot of people fail to acknowledge this, hence the trainee who is questioning the quality of his side cutters because he can't do terminations like the other guys on site. It's take time and hundreds of repetitions to develop the muscle memory and skill (Just like plastering) It's an unfortunate situation for professional electricians but until the general public are made more aware, something that the schemes should be jointly funding, its likely to continue.

 

[peterhyper]

Sorry error in post

 

[Dustydazzler]

I'm struggling to justify scam membership , been doing more office stuff these days and less domestics.
Domestic was my bread and butter for decades but so much competition coupled with scam fees and slow paying customers are putting me off.
The money is less on the current site but I rock up at 8.30 and leave at 3.30.
I can live with that and no stressing about keeping the customers house clean or moving 30 pieces of furniture before I can even start.

 

[Leesparkykent]

No disrespect but maybe it’s because you’re business model of being a plumber, gas fitter and electrician...maybe to some people you would come across as a bit of a jack of all trades.

 

[Midwest]

No disrespect but maybe it’s because you’re business model of being a plumber, gas fitter and electrician...maybe to some people you would come across as a bit of a jack of all trades.

There's some customers that like that all in the one box approach. Having been involved in a lot of kitchen & bathrooms refurbishments, until I jacked all in, I do think its best to use each trade on its own. Takes some organising, mind.

 

[Dave OCD]

From another perspective me and my son are busier than ever, beyond what we can realistically keep up with to be honest and I have to turn some down, it's surprising how many people will wait though if you've been recommended.
The main problem for me is jobs where other trades are also involved - they always seem to be in the way and seem to not care less about working in mess and rarely cleaning up, if you don't keep an eye out your kit gets covered in crap from them, the days of trying to help each other out seem long gone sadly.

 

[Anthony S]

I ain't been on for a while, but it as been said many times in the past that it was always a race to the bottom in the domestic sector.

Domestic work is the least involved and anyone can have ago at it (forget all the legal stuff, like part p etc authorities like building control, they enforce nothing) its a cut throat game and saturated with wanna be Sparks who do silly short courses not worth anything in the wide scheme of the game.

Hazard a guess Price is king 90% of the time from my past experience unless you had a genuine book of customers. But even then they start to think your over charging.

Give it up and get into a skill sector where the unskilled, semi skilled won't get entertained. IE: Commercial, Industry, BMS etc

 

[peterhyper]

No disrespect but maybe it’s because you’re business model of being a plumber, gas fitter and electrician...maybe to some people you would come across as a bit of a jack of all trades.

I agree that some customers don't want the hassle of getting all the trades in. But the point 5544 is making is that it's been fine for 20 years, but has noticeably declined. I can certainly relate to what 5544 says and I only do electrical work. I am also considering given up being registered, and that will happen if not next year, then in the next 2 or 3 years at most.

I don't even bother to quote for rewires anymore due to the wasted hours quoting, when often the customer has a screwfix or toolstation book handy and wants to buy all the parts, and 'only wants a quote for the labour' (often their expression like it shouldn't cost much for the labour). Too many people trying to undercut one another (and often cutting corners in the process), and I would rather talk to a Jehovah Witness at my door than get into that nonsense.

 

[Dave OCD]

I wouldn't go that far !

 

[Vortigern]

When you say "allowed" I hazard that you mean is it lawful? Bear in mind there is no legal requirement to be CPS registered. If you are doing any electrical work that is not notifiable then it is perfectly legal and "allowed" Also given that you would meet the requirement for electrical work undertaken to be done by a skilled person, I would think you are on very safe ground. You clearly have the "Education and experience" that denotes the elements of a skilled person. So in your position given that electrical work does not make much business sense in your model as you present it, it sounds like an eminently sensible decision.