Going self employed

[TM91]

hi all, think of going self employed I was wondering before becoming elecsa registered what's the best way to work:

1. just do non-notifiable work (will this be enough for my elecsa inspection

2. do notifiable work and pay for it to be signed off by building control

3. apply to elecsa straight away do notifiable work but not sign it off till after my inspection.

cheers T

 

[17thman]

I went self employed 6 years ago. I rewired a house which i was developing for myself. I had applied to elecsa whilst doing it and then they visited about 10 weeks after i had finished. I had tested and inspected the installation but left the garage supply install until they visited and whilst that part of the installation was being erected. I could then certify the whole installation after they approved my certification.

A hint for going self employed if you are struggling for cash flow whilst starting is to contact the busiest letting agents in your area to do maintenace on their properties.

 

[streetlighter]

For my first assesment i did a consumer unit change and i notified this after i had passed my ELECSA assesment they where fine with this

 

[flameport]

1. just do non-notifiable work (will this be enough for my elecsa inspection

Originally you were required to show notifiable work, i.e. that which you wanted to be assessed for.
However as virtually nothing is notifiable now, only showing notifiable work will be rather difficult.

2. do notifiable work and pay for it to be signed off by building control

That is the proper way. It's also time consuming and expensive.

3. apply to elecsa straight away do notifiable work but not sign it off till after my inspection

Not really supposed to do that.
However worth remembering that work is only notified once it it completed.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

deleted

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I was wondering before becoming elecsa registered what's the best way to work:

1. just do non-notifiable work (will this be enough for my elecsa inspection)

No they will require to inspect and access you on something, such as installation of new circuits or consumer unit swap. Which are both notifiable.

2. do notifiable work and pay for it to be signed off by building control

Most likely the best option

3. apply to elecsa straight away do notifiable work but not sign it off till after my inspection.

As the period between registering with ELECSA and your first assessment could well be at least 8 weeks, and notifiable work must be applied for prior to you starting the work (as you cannot self cert, until you have been given thumbs up) I don't think that is the way to go, as you have straight away performed an illegal installation. There is no-guarantee that you will actually pass your assessment anyway, and where would that leave your client?
If you are considering to take this path. I advise strongly against it!

Remember the assessment will not just be about the on-site inspection of your work.

 

[flameport]

There is no-guarantee that you will actually pass your assessment anyway

Does anyone know of someone who has not passed an assessment with any of the scheme providers?

By not passed, I mean someone who was totally and permanently rejected, not just had the 'pass' slightly delayed because they didn't have the correct document X available or some other minor thing.