Clearview North October 2013 - Issue 143 | Page 25

industrynews

HOMEOWNERS
‘LOSING
CONFIDENCE’ IN
BRITISH TRADESMEN
Homeowners are losing
confidence in British tradesmen,
according to TrustMark, the
government endorsed quality
mark for firms in the home
repair, maintenance and
improvement sector.
At first glance, new research
into public perceptions of
tradesmen commissioned by
TrustMark, indicates that most
people have a good impression
– 71% of respondents felt their
overall experience of using a
tradesman was more positive
than negative. When given a
list of good and bad adjectives
to describe tradesmen, the five
most frequently used words
were ‘skilled’, ‘hardworking’,
‘professional’, ‘helpful’ and
‘trustworthy’.

‘Overall experience
of using a
tradesman was
more positive
than negative’
But almost quarter say they
have had an overall negative
experience with tradesmen, and
more than half of all respondents
(52.5%) felt their perception
of tradesmen had become more
negative because of the ‘cowboy
builder’ TV programmes, which
pursue the worst rogue traders
and criminals masquerading
as tradesmen in the domestic
sector.
Liz Male, chairman of
TrustMark, said: “The appalling
activities of rogue traders are
tarnishing the reputation of
British tradesmen, and this
must stop. The government has

committed to help us extend the
TrustMark scheme so that far
more good local firms can get
the TrustMark badge. We will
be working with these firms, as
well as government and industry
and consumer advice groups, to
boost customers’ confidence in
the many excellent tradesmen in
the sector.”
Key findings from TrustMark’s
poll reveal:
• One in five people would
encourage friends or family
to get a job in the sector only
if there was more recognition
of good quality and skilled
tradesmen.
• 43% of people agreed with the
statement “Many tradesmen
do a good job – there are some
great firms out there”, but 50%
of people also said they were
not confident about the level of
consumer protection available
to them when they employ a
tradesman to work on their
homes.
• Almost 94% of people would
have more confidence and
trust in tradesmen if they had
undergone a full vetting and
inspection process to ensure
their work met an industry
standard.

www.trustmark.org.uk

To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com

NUMBERS ARE
FALLING IN FATAL
INJURIES TO WORKERS
The latest HSE statistics have
revealed a fall in the number of
workers killed in Britain last year.
Provisional data shows that
148 workers were fatally
injured between April 2012
and March 2013, compared to
172 in the previous year.
The overall rate of fatal injury
has dropped to 0.5 per 100 000
workers, below the five-year
average of 0.6.
Britain has had one of the
lowest rates of fatal injuries to
workers in leading industrial
nations in Europe consistently for
the last eight years.
There were 20 fatal injuries to
workers in manufacturing, lower

than the five-year average of 28.
There were 39 fatal injuries to
workers in construction, 26%
lower than the average figure of
53. There were 423 members
of the public fatally injured in
accidents connected to work. Of
these deaths, 310 (73%) related
to incidents occurring on railways
(including acts of suicide or
trespass).

Find out more at: http://www.
hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm

HEALTH AND SAFETY
MYTH BUSTING
Case 209 - Double glazing company
says ‘no’ to use of super glue for repairs.
Issue

Panel decision

The enquirer recently made a
complaint to a double glazing
company regarding the
installation of double glazing
to his home. He was informed
that the window sill could not
be repaired using super glue
because of health and safety
rules.

This is a clear case of “health
and safety” being used as a
convenient excuse to hide poor
customer service. Superglue is
readily available for purchase
by the public and only requires
users to follow the directions
and simple precautions for its
use provided by the supplier.
If the company has some other
reason for not using glue to fix
what appears to be a simple
problem it should say so, not
use health and safety as an
excuse.

‘a convenient
excuse to hide
poor customer
service.’

www.hse.gov.uk

OCT 2013

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