Have you Emploted a part time groom?

doonrocket

doonrocket

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Looking to get 6 - 8 hours a week help with my boys, This is not an advert - I have a couple of people in mind. Have a few questions for anyone who does this.

Thinking of £8 - £10 per hour as reasonable for 3 x 2 hr sessions of poo picking field / Mucking out hay nets. Not really riding as I would be paying them so I will have more time to ride.

Would I have to have the place risk assessed, what liability would I have? what insurance should I get? Anyone aware of pitfalls in employment law there are? Is it better to go for a free lance person that classifies themselves as self employed?
 
also interested in a reply to this - tho iirc if you hire a self employed groom they should have all their insurances etc. but the price is more i think?
 
you can do your own risk assessment and it only needs to be registered if you employ 5 or more people. As for insurance etc, I don't know :)
 
I employed someone while I was pregnant, she had her own insurance and was £8 an hour, not quite as quick as I'd assumed / well as quick as I am when I do them to keep that in mind. No need to do anything else if they are self employed
 
If I were you, I would go for a freelance groom, they'll have their own insurance in place and generally will be less hassle - no sick pay, no holiday pay, no employer's liability insurance, no notice period etc.
 
£8-£10 an hour yes please, Ive worked with horses nearly all my life and I dont think I've ever got passed min wage, maybe thats just because Im a mug though, good luck, wish you lived near me I'd bite your hand off :)
 
I've found it sooo difficult to find someone to help out. Rang up loads of freelancer's adverts and arranged for them to come and see the set up etc etc.
Only one actually turned up. None of them let me know they weren't coming.
I just needed someone to get 2 horses in weekdays, preferably groom, change rugs, feed, and poss poo pick if time.
I've got a lovely lady who comes now but literally just gets in and changes rugs so I still have to go out and groom/feed after work. And it's earlier than ideal. And I pay £10 a session for that. It's only about 15 mins work! But at least my horses like her and she's super reliable so it's worth it.
So basically good luck!
 
God I wish you people where near to me!! I advertized for freelance work last year, as I wanted to have a break from full time horses, I'd just left a stud where I was also juggling my son, pub job and 45 hour week min and wanted a slower pace, I had one reply for a lady that wanted me to do her horses between crimbo and new year, she too had been let down by everyone that they had been in contact with, I did it but mainly because I felt bad for her and her horses, she was desp to get away and see family, I had to drive an hour each way to get there to do two horses and she was very fussy about how they where done, which I dont mind but I only got £10 per morning which just about covered my fuel lol.....as I said before Im prob a mug but its love of the job and being a soft touch lol!! Im looking to go back into freelance work once
Ive had my baby in a 7 weeks, I hope I find some lovely people like u lot :)
 
We have used freelance grooms, our latest has just given notice to take a full-time position depiste assurances they would be staying freelance when they started in September :(
Desperate to find someone else but have had virtually no response from our adverts.
 
Worried1 said:
We have used freelance grooms, our latest has just given notice to take a full-time position depiste assurances they would be staying freelance when they started in September :(
Desperate to find someone else but have had virtually no response from our adverts.
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Move to staffordshire..Ill do it :)
 
You need to check that you have insurance in place I had it through the NFU on the household part of my policy ( horses are at home) , it is the part of my cover that covers cleaners , window claeaners that sort of thing but you need to check because not all insurers consider a self employed groom in this category NFU did because of the type of house, own land buildings that sort of thing , you need to check for your area but £ 10 per hour would be a bit tight round here for an eight hour job it it was spread over a few days I think I would have to pay more.
I have two girls now spilt over seven days both self employed and more hours and I pay £ 10 plus travel for one of them.
It's just finding the right person for short hour jobs that counts you need offer as much flexibility as possible to open it to as wide range of people as possible.
 
As others have said, getting a freelancer is less hassle all round than employing a part-timer. However as Goldenstar says, you do need to make sure you have insurance cover in place just in case. It's not enough to say that a freelancer will have their own insurance - they may or may not, but it will not cover them if anything happens that is deemed to be your "fault".

Be careful to agree between you what duties you expect to be covered in the time allowed. I've known some that are so slow it takes them an hour to muck out two ;) On the other hand, I've worked for people who expect a full day's work to be done in a couple of hours :)
 
The groom should have their own insurance really. I have helped out with horses before for holiday cover/illness etc. I used to charge for the job rather than per hour. So if u think the jobs will take 2 hrs pay £20 and so on.
 
I do freelance and for short jobs that £'s is about right. However, I prefer to charge per job - in other words I agree a price and if what is required takes longer if I'm having a bad day, or need to make/receive phone calls - well that's down to me and I don't feel guilty! Conversely, if I have a supercharged day then that's to my benefit!
 
Chestnut mare said:
The groom should have their own insurance really. I have helped out with horses before for holiday cover/illness etc. I used to charge for the job rather than per hour. So if u think the jobs will take 2 hrs pay £20 and so on.
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They should have their own insurance but if say a gutter falls off your stable and hits them on the head YOU need to be covered and because you are paying them you need to check your cover is apporiate.
 
That is interesting I havent really done much of the freelance work as the cost of the insurance wasnt covered by the work I had coming in. So the grooms insurance would cover if the horse was injured whilst in your care/escaped on way to the field? Or would that be covered under the horses/ owners insurance
 
Third party sues owner and groom
Owner sues groom
Groom sues owner it all needs cover .
The top senario is the most difficult who knows would be liable but IMO any owner who pays someone to do anything with their horse and does not make sure that they the owner has cover for this might get a very nasty shock.
 
I did this in the UK.

Advertising: advertise in your local newspaper as the key issue is finding someone who is close enough. This way you will attract the groom from the local stables who wants a bit more money, the experienced private owner who wants a bit more money, etc. I advertised twice with a salary as decent as the one you are suggesting and got around 50 responses each time. Not all were serious but I got 5-6 good candidates from each advert. The key is a decent salary because the person has to cover petrol expenses.

Insurance: your house insurance should cover you for employer liability insurance for someone working few hours, e.g. cleaner, gardener and this usually includes groom - call them up to confirm. Your standard third party liability insurance should cover anyone who rides your horse again call them up to confirm. The groom should have their own personal accident insurance if they wish, but that is up to them.

Social contributions and taxes: with so few hours employment you can easily claim the person is self-employed, so it's up to them to sort out their NI and tax contributions from all their jobs.
 
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