Loading …
What the law requires, and what evidence you must have to perform certain tasks
Many think all craft trades require a license. They do not. Roofer is not an authorised trade in the same way that electrical and plumbing work is where the law requires special approval to perform the work at all. So you are allowed to lay roofs once you have learned the trade. But it does not mean there are no rules — there are and some of them are very important to know.
The most important paper in the trade is the journeyman's certificate. It is not an authorization in the legal sense but it is the documentation that you are fully trained as a roofer. If you eventually want to start your own business or become a master it builds on this foundation. The journeyman's certificate is your ticket to skilled work and to further and continuing education.
Much of roof covering involves heat: torching, welding roofing felt and such, where open flame is used or sparks are produced on or near a roof. That is called hot work, and it carries a real fire risk. Therefore, most insurance companies have made it a requirement that anyone performing hot work in connection with roof covering has a certificate — typically from an approved course in fire precautions.
In Denmark, the hot work certificate is primarily an insurance requirement, not in itself a legal requirement. But in practice it amounts to the same thing: if you carry out hot work without the right certificate and agreed precautions, the insurance may lapse if fire occurs. Therefore the course is almost mandatory in the trade, and the certificate typically needs to be renewed at intervals of a few years.
Roofers work almost always at height. If you yourself set up, modify, or dismantle certain types of scaffolding, it requires special scaffolding training when the scaffold reaches a certain height. Here too, the rules are set to prevent accidents, and they apply regardless of how skilled you feel. Fall protection and proper roof access are not something you skip to save time.
The Labour Authority oversees the work environment on construction sites and can issue orders if things are not in order. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure the work environment is safe but you as an employee also have a shared responsibility to use protective equipment and follow instructions. The education content itself and the journeyman examination are developed and maintained by the professional committee that covers the concrete layer paving and roofing trades.
“The rules are not there to bother you – they are because a spark in the wrong place, or a fall from a roof, can cost both the house and your health.”