Child Policy

[sburnet]

Hi all-

I'm re-writing some of our client policies and trying to tighten up a few things.

Do any of you have a child policy that also outlines not working in a home with unsupervised tweens/teens that you could share. I know I read an old thread on this before, but can't find it now. Someone had posted a good example.

Much thanks!

[Jeremy]

Re: Child Policy

I don't have what you are looking for, but am also in the process of updating some of my client paperwork also. Like pets not being contained, children wandering the work area, neighbors holding up work, ect.

Glad to see you posting Sue. Hope you & Greg recovered from JLC.

[Otis P. Driftwood]

Re: Child Policy

On the issue of pets, I put this clause in my contracts. It came in handy a while back when a client's 6' iguana escaped from it's pen and attacked me, wonderful experience....

(21) PET SAFETY "The CONTRACTOR and SUBCONTRACTORS will absolutely not be held responsible for the safety of HOMEOWNERS domesticated animals, left unattended in or around any areas under construction. By signing this document, the HOMEOWNERS absolve the CONTRACTOR and SUBCONTRACTORS of all liability concerning their pets. All pets must be isolated in rooms behind closed doors, or if outdoors, they must be safely restrained in a fashion which does not expose them to any dangerous hazards, and not be allowed to impede the progress of the construction project."


JF

[Andrew R.]

Re: Child Policy

Sue, If you're remodeling
Besides children…...Don't forget gates, gates and pools, unrestricted access to electric panel, use of water, use of electricity, power loss during work (think computer), yard signs, etc.

[David Meiland]

Re: Child Policy

I think you're well advised to state that there are to be no minor children alone in the house during working hours. You want to be able to send employees or subs there without thinking about it.

[Tom Bainbridge]

Re: Child Policy

I haven't caught your drift very well. But what I think you mean is...... what happens if "kids" get onto your worksite

In the UK the answer is legal trouble................

Reguardless of how much effort you put into stopping them getting onto the (work)site YOU ARE FULLY and TOTALLY responsible for any injury they might suffer

............. reguardless that their access was TOTALLY and UTTERLY illgal.

[SpecBid]

Re: Child Policy

This is a good post. This was a huge issue for a lot of my contractors, especially w some of the higher end work they did. Full time nannies, no parents present, kids running rough shot throughout the job site. Many of them would walk off the job and bill the client for lost days. And refuse to come back unless they had in writing that there would be no children present while work was going on. I would hear stories like this almost daily when I was on the supply end of the biz.

[Dancing Dan]

Re: Child Policy

I wonder if Sue is more concerned about the potential for accusations of inappropriate behavior against company personnel?

[LIHR50]

Re: Child Policy

I don't have anything in my agreement concerning pets, children, the deaf, dumb and or the blind.

Your contract will be a phone book thick covering every conceivable scenario. I believe it's common knowledge and understood by all parties that you are not being hired to baby sit, pet sit, or care for grandma in the back room.

Let's face the facts, it's your project site and you must keep it safe regardless of the wording in your contract.

[David Meiland]

Re: Child Policy

My contract has a clause regarding interference with Contractor's work, and it does mention kids and pets. I have had issues with both over the years, and if I want to tell the owner to keep kids and pets away, it won't come as a surprise because it's referenced in the contract. This is a fairly common problem and one worth including IMO.

[J.Buesking]

Re: Child Policy

I'll never forget this one time I went to go measure some windows.

It was a friend of a friend's house. He was a single guy and left the back door unlocked for me to go in and measure everything while he was at work.

Well I walk in. Head down the hallway into the kitchen and I'm greated by a dog that comes up to my waist. It starts barking something crazy. I look for the nearest thing and it's a bag of lays. I start tossing chips at him as I back track down the hallway.

Didn't get the windows measured and nearly soiled my pants.

He apologized. He hadn't thought about the dog being home.

[David Meiland]

Re: Child Policy

Long ago had a large remodel where a family member needed to take a nap each afternoon. No noise for 90 minutes. My boss at the time, who was also the sales person, agreed to it, and left it to me to figure out how to make it work. No way would I ever agree to that again.

[archmolding]

Re: Child Policy

Im interested in these Client policies. I have never had any issues...but I think its a great idea to include a separate page of policies especially for larger more intrusive projects.
Can any one point me to an example of such policies for review to determine what would fit our operations?

[dgbldr]

Re: Child Policy

Absolutely do have it covered. All the usual stuff and don't forget the one about propping doors and gates open so you can haul materials. Not responsible for pets running away.

[davenorthup]

Re: Child Policy

Mine has that the owner keeps a free and clear work area (including humans and pets), snow removal, I use their power and water....