I have a license but should we all have 1 or not

Hi . This post is for a friend.

most people have a license badge for window cleaning. But do we really need one or can we just ignore it ? Most cleaners don’t bother that I know of & for years never had a problem. 

I presume you're talking about the Scottish licence?

It's the law, so I would say that regardless of personal feelings on whether it's right or wrong, if you want to run a professional business you should have one.


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Living in England, I would be quite happy to pay to have a licensing system here to prove Public Liability insurance and CRB check etc, if only to set us apart from the cowboys.
HOWEVER..... it's only ever useful if it's enforced and not use to subsidise your local council.

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A window cleaning licence across the UK, really don't see the point at all, massive council cutbacks as it is they ain't going to police it properly,  the police can't catch the 1000's of car drivers without insurance or people using the mobile phones, bottom line some folks just pee all over authority and get away with it. 

I am sure the Chancellor mentioned something about window cleaners handing out receipts?

Don't worry, licences will become mandatory all over the UK. Take Friday, I was talking to a contractor and his boss drove up and came over to talk to us. I used to play golf with him so just started talking to him and he came over to me to read my name badge to see if he remembered me. So he knew my name without asking me. On Thursday I called NHS 24 regarding one of my customers who was clearly unwell. If I didn't have a licence I probably wouldn't have done either because I would feel a fraud. Two other window cleaners don't have a licence and avoid me, they realise that their game is up. The first thing I say to new customers, I have a licence (which they can see from my badge) and I am insured and it seems to instantly bring a smile to their face. I just need a T-shirt with my name on it or maybe a hi-vis wi my name on it. Any hi-visors out there? :1f603:

I think a licence to clean windows is the most stupid idea ive ever heard of.

A licence, to clean windows?

what were the scots thinking

adamangler said:

I think a licence to clean windows is the most stupid idea ive ever heard of.

A licence, to clean windows?

what were the scots thinking

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Have a like pal

Personally I think it’s a compleat waist of time who will enforce it ????? No one , if it were enforced and dole claimants and ones not paying taxes were dealt with harshly then yes Ime all for it as there isn’t a level playing field at the moment , however I feel that the house holders who have these dole claimed doing a cheap poor job are never going to be good customers anyway as all they are intrested in is a cheap job not a quality job , no one who is claiming benefits and working is going to invest in good equipment or offer a professional service they generaly don’t last or they get a bad name and fade away seen loads come and go over the last 20 years and they arnt a threat to a well established professional uniformed sighn written van out fit , Ime sure there will be loads crawl out of the wood work over the next few weeks and disappear by September as usual ?????

adamangler said:

I think a licence to clean windows is the most stupid idea ive ever heard of.

A licence, to clean windows?

what were the scots thinking

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It's not a licence to clean windows, it's a licence to say you have all the right insurance to clean windows 

scottish cleaning service said:

I am sure the Chancellor mentioned something about window cleaners handing out receipts?

Don't worry, licences will become mandatory all over the UK. Take Friday, I was talking to a contractor and his boss drove up and came over to talk to us. I used to play golf with him so just started talking to him and he came over to me to read my name badge to see if he remembered me. So he knew my name without asking me. On Thursday I called NHS 24 regarding one of my customers who was clearly unwell. If I didn't have a licence I probably wouldn't have done either because I would feel a fraud. Two other window cleaners don't have a licence and avoid me, they realise that their game is up. The first thing I say to new customers, I have a licence (which they can see from my badge) and I am insured and it seems to instantly bring a smile to their face. I just need a T-shirt with my name on it or maybe a hi-vis wi my name on it. Any hi-visors out there? :1f603:

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Unless you’re on a building site, hi vi jackets are for pikeys.

I hope they bring the license in and enforce it.

All those with a proper, professional set up will have nothing to worry about 

Taxi drivers need a licence what’s the difference.





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Where do you go about getting this 'license'? Having insurance isn't enough??

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Dumfries & Galloway Council (SW Scotland) require all window cleaners to have a licence which is valid for 3 years. Applications require proof of PLI and  a fee of £243. In return a criminal record check is carried out by Police Scotland and successful applicants are issued with an ID badge which can be asked for at anytime by the police or community wardens. 

Waste of time and tax payers money. It won’t be policeable. Things like public liability insurance aren’t a legal requirement anyway. Think of it this way, there are millions of legit drivers on our roads but it don’t mean they are not gonna drive like kn0bheads.


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If we go down the route of a licence across the UK it will probably be for all self employed people. This is a system they run in the US. If they bring it in they will enforce it and charge us all an ever increasing licence fee just like they do with council tax or the Tv licence for example. At present we can choose to apply and pay to be trading standards approved, they check insurances etc and if you feel this would be worthwhile you do it, if not you don't.

In theory there are a lot of pro's to a licensing system. Everyone would be insured, customers know who is coming to their property etc etc etc.

The downside in my opinion would be much bigger. Some pen pusher sitting behind a desk decides if you have a job or not. If you p1ss one person off and their entire family goes to the council to complain... Your licence is gone and with it your business!

What about ex cons? I still work full time at present for a finance company. About 2 years ago we fired a kid for not disclosing he had been charged with assault, he had a genuine sob story and was a young dad who simply made a mistake defending his girlfriend. He was probably the hardest worker and most genuine guy I've ever met. Whats worse is his manager told him not to disclose it and sailed him down the river when the time came. He went on to run a successful mobile valeting service. If we ran on a licence system he wouldn't be able to do this. I know customers wouldn't want to think of an ex con working for them and i'm sure this will be a sensitive subject but if a lad (or lady) has genuinely turned their life around who are the government to stop them? 99% of PAYE jobs won't take them because of company policy.

Then you've got the water charge issue. I imagine all of this information would be provided to the water board who would then stick another tax on our heads. Even the guys without water meters may end up hit.

The list goes on. We live in a free country.... unless you want to live in a house, drive a car, build a house, go fishing, get married, leave the country... you need a licence (or specialist document) to do these things... Soon 'run a business' will be added to this list.

I made a couple of stupid mistakes over the years one was almost 20 years ago and the other 27 years ago, does that mean that I if a licence was brought in across the UK that I would have jack in my business of 18 years, if so wtf [emoji34] pure insanity

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Iron Giant said:

I made a couple of stupid mistakes over the years one was almost 20 years ago and the other 27 years ago, does that mean that I if a licence was brought in across the UK that I would have jack in my business of 18 years, if so wtf

pure insanity

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Probably not with immediate effect but what they have been banging on about is a business licence which would cover much more than just window cleaning, it would cover builders, plasterers, electricians etc etc etc. I imagine initially it would just be a soft licence system like the Scotts have but it’s like anything, more regulation always follows. Look at the driving test, when my old man passed his test he just needed to know the basics, now they’ve made it more difficult to pass and added extras... basically if we head down the route the Yanks have anyone with an unspent criminal record would potentially be denied a licence because they would be putting the public at risk.

God knows how long it would take to progress that far but you can guarantee if we were all licensed the first time some Windy knocks a customer out for speaking to him like dirt or nicks something from a customers house there will be calls for further regulations etc.

There are always loopholes though. I know a chap who went bankrupt, one of the conditions to a bankruptcy is you cannot run a business until you’re discharged. He simply put the business in his wife’s name.

Bottom line is nothing ever leads to anything good for the person or people being regulated and needs to be funded so it’s allways an extra expense!

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. ... The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c.53) of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period. Its purpose is that people do not have a lifelong blot on their records because of a relatively minor offence in their past.

We have to rehabilitate people or they would never get a job and just continue to commit crime.

The licence is a good idea if policed correctly. Most of you are looking at this all wrong. Would you like a paedophile to be cleaning your windows and working around your children?

The licence pays for itself overtime. ID is such a good investment. It gives customers a sense of relief or security. Although most don't know you need one.

Gazz said:

The licence is a good idea if policed correctly. Most of you are looking at this all wrong. Would you like a paedophile to be cleaning your windows and working around your children?

The licence pays for itself overtime. ID is such a good investment. It gives customers a sense of relief or security. Although most don't know you need one.

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No I would hope that the sex offenders register where they keep an eye on such people would ensure they cannot work in any role like this.

P4dstar said:

No I would hope that the sex offenders register where they keep an eye on such people would ensure they cannot work in any role like this.

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You HOPE? There's nothing stopping these people from picking up the tools and chapping doors. Is every customer going to do a background check on there unlicensed cleaner?

I used it as an example but it's easy to translate to other criminals. Licencing is a good idea like I said but needs to be policed and public knowledge.