Gardener caused damage.....

lexington013

Returned home tonight to find my gardener has been, however patio door window is smashed with a small hole at the bottom, glass has shattered in the frame. To me, it looks like his high powered strimmer has picked up one of my ornamental stone chippings which border the lawn and its fired into the window!
Rang gardener who has no knowledge about it and when i ask doesnt have any form of insurance (i guess i should have checked before taking him on). I do believe as he is running a business he should have some form of public liability insurance.
The damage will cost around £200+
Any thoughts on next steps? I have just found out my insurance doesnt cover accidental damage....:(

Hintza

lexington013 wrote: »

Any thoughts on next steps? (

Probably pay for it yourself since he is denying it and will continue to do so I imagine, and I guess you have no proof, so your probably stuffed.

moaninggit

Sack him and claim on the house insurance and do tell your neighbours.Opps did not read the bit about your insurance.

Takeaway_Addict

Unless you can prove it was him you're screwed....sack him and get someone else. The only things you can do to make him pay.

dalesrider

lexington013 wrote: »

Any thoughts on next steps? I have just found out my insurance doesnt cover accidental damage....:(

Cough, cough....

Opps, wife just knocked the iron off the board while ironing at the patio window.....

Not that I would say its a good idea to lie...

Slowhand

dalesrider wrote: »

Cough, cough....

Opps, wife just knocked the iron off the board while ironing at the patio window.....

Not that I would say its a good idea to lie...

As the OP is not covered for accidental damage lying would be a waste of time.

visidigi

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Unless you can prove it was him you're screwed....sack him and get someone else. The only things you can do to make him pay.

Sack him for an accident that's full of 'it looks'?

Its an accident, accidents happen, really wouldn't fire/sack someone over it.

Especially someone you trusted enough to be present and working etc with out the OP there.

£200+ for a new pane of glass? I just paid that for a whole new window and frame...

dacouch

It would be fairly unusual for a "Standard" building policy to exclude accidental damage cover for glass.

Sally_A

Even if you don't have Accidental Damage on your buildings Insurance, AD to fixed glass is often automatic - please re-read your policy. Probably a £50 - £100 excess though. This is intended to cover windows, hobs, oven doors etc.

If your gardener did have PL insurance, you would have to prove negligence on his part, and your family trampling chippings into the lawn, would that really make it his fault? - even then he would probably have a Third Party Property Damage Excess of around £250.

Strikes me a bit funny that you refer to him as "my gardener" a luxury in this day and age, but only have "budget insurance" on your property. Whilst you have the policy booklet out, may I suggest you double check you have liability cover for domestic staff on your premises.

arcon5

visidigi wrote: »

Sack him for an accident that's full of 'it looks'?

Its an accident, accidents happen, really wouldn't fire/sack someone over it.

Especially someone you trusted enough to be present and working etc with out the OP there.

£200+ for a new pane of glass? I just paid that for a whole new window and frame...

It's not necessarily about the damage, it's about the dishonesty after the event. We all accept accidents happen, in which case he should have owned up and sorted it out, but he didn't.

Although there is of course the possibility he didn't actually cause the damage.

OlliesDad

arcon5 wrote: »

It's not necessarily about the damage, it's about the dishonesty after the event. We all accept accidents happen, in which case he should have owned up and sorted it out, but he didn't.

Although there is of course the possibility he didn't actually cause the damage.

To be fair to him he probably didn't even realise it happened. I know when i have my strimmer on I cannot hear anything around me.