Tree work words: business and pay
Insurance, self-employment, contractor tax and minimum wage words as the TCI magazine, GOV.UK, business.gov.au, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the US SBA, Employment New Zealand, Ontario and the Fair Work Ombudsman define them.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. Running a tree business means dealing with insurance, tax and pay words that differ from country to country. This page gives each word as the named source uses it, with the place shown, and does not say which cover or pay rule applies to any person or firm.
Every meaning is written in our own words from the page named in its row. A word that none of those pages defines is not listed. The wider A to Z list is the tree work glossary.
Words and meanings
| Term | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of insurance | The article calls it an abstract showing only a few basic terms of the insured company's policies, a snapshot of the day it is issued, and says it is not an insurance policy. | Tree Care Industry Magazine article, certificates of insurance |
| Certificate holder | The client named on a certificate of insurance. The article says the holder has no rights under the policies listed on it and that the certificate creates no contract between the holder and the insured or the insurer. | Tree Care Industry Magazine article, certificates of insurance |
| Additional insured | A status a certificate holder may ask to see noted on a certificate. The article says it usually follows the terms of a separate written contract between holder and insured, and is governed separately under that contract. | Tree Care Industry Magazine article, certificates of insurance |
| General liability insurance | The US SBA lists it as cover for money lost to injury, property damage, medical costs, libel, slander, legal defence and judgments or settlements. The Insurance Bureau of Canada also calls the commercial form CGL. | US SBA guide to business insurance; Insurance Bureau of Canada page on business coverage |
| Professional liability insurance | The US SBA lists it as cover for money lost through malpractice, mistakes and negligence. The Insurance Bureau of Canada also calls it Errors and Omissions, or E&O. | US SBA guide to business insurance; Insurance Bureau of Canada page on business coverage |
| Public liability insurance (Australia) | One of the common insurances the Australian business site lists as required by law in some cases. The page says some states and territories need it for certain occupations. | Australian Government page on types of business insurance |
| Workers compensation (Australia) | The Australian business site says employers must get it from an authorised insurer, that it covers an employer and employees against financial hardship if they are injured or sick because of work, and that the laws vary by state and territory. It adds that a sole trader is not covered by it. | Australian Government page on types of business insurance |
| Employers' liability insurance (UK) | GOV.UK says it helps pay out if an employee is injured or becomes ill because of work for the employer. The page lists exceptions, including a business that only employs a family member. | GOV.UK page on employers' liability insurance |
| Named perils policy | In the Insurance Bureau of Canada's property insurance basics, a policy that pays only for damage from the chance events it lists by name, subject to exclusions. | Insurance Bureau of Canada page on business coverage |
| All risk policy | On the same Insurance Bureau of Canada page, a policy that pays for damage from any cause except those it excludes by name. | Insurance Bureau of Canada page on business coverage |
| Deductible | The share of a loss the business bears itself when it claims, on the Insurance Bureau of Canada's page. It says a higher deductible means a lower premium. | Insurance Bureau of Canada page on business coverage |
| Business owner's policy | The US SBA describes it as a package that bundles the usual coverages into one policy. | US SBA guide to business insurance |
| Self-employed (UK) | GOV.UK says a person is self-employed if they run their business for themselves and carry the success or failure of it themselves. It adds that they are not paid through PAYE and do not have an employee's rights and duties. | GOV.UK page on self-employed and contractor status |
| Sole trader (UK) | A type of business, which GOV.UK calls the simplest structure to set up. The page says a sole trader works for themselves, is classed as self-employed and makes all business decisions. | GOV.UK page on sole traders |
| Unlimited liability | GOV.UK says sole trader businesses have it, which means the owner is personally responsible for all debts of the business. | GOV.UK page on sole traders |
| Australian Business Number (ABN) | A unique number of 11 digits that identifies a business to the government, other businesses and the public. The Australian business site says it does not replace a tax file number. | Australian Government page on an Australian Business Number |
| Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) | A UK scheme under which contractors deduct money from a sub-contractor's payments and pass it to HM Revenue and Customs. GOV.UK says the deductions count as advance payments towards the sub-contractor's tax and National Insurance. | GOV.UK page on the Construction Industry Scheme |
| Contractor and sub-contractor (CIS) | In the scheme, a contractor pays sub-contractors for construction work, and a sub-contractor does construction work for a contractor. GOV.UK says contractors must register and that sub-contractors do not have to, though deductions are taken at a higher rate if they are unregistered. | GOV.UK page on the Construction Industry Scheme |
| Minimum wage (New Zealand) | Employment New Zealand describes the least an employee may be paid for an hour of work, and names three types: adult, starting-out and training. | New Zealand Employment page on minimum wage rates and types |
| Minimum wage (Ontario) | The least an employer may pay an employee. The guide says most employees are covered, whether full-time, part-time or casual, and whether paid hourly, by commission, piece rate, flat rate or salary. | Ontario guide to minimum wage |
| Student minimum wage (Ontario) | A separate rate. The guide says it covers students under 18 who work up to 28 hours a week while school is in session, or who work during a school break. | Ontario guide to minimum wage |
| National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (UK) | GOV.UK says the hourly rate depends on age and on whether the worker is an apprentice. The National Living Wage is for workers aged 21 and over, and the National Minimum Wage applies to younger workers above school leaving age. | GOV.UK page on minimum wage rates |
| Apprentice rate (UK) | The rate GOV.UK says applies to apprentices who are under 19, or aged 19 or over and in their first year as an apprentice. | GOV.UK page on minimum wage rates |
| Adult apprentice (Australia) | In the Timber Industry Award, a person who was 21 or older when the indenture or training agreement began. | Fair Work award text, Timber Industry Award 2020 |
| Head faller (Australia) | In the Timber Industry Award, an employee who chooses the timber to be felled, supervises at least two other fallers, or sharpens fallers' saws used in bush operations. | Fair Work award text, Timber Industry Award 2020 |
Reading these sources
The insurance entries mix a trade magazine, two government pages and two insurance information pages, so they describe general product types and not any policy wording. Cover rules and names vary by country, state and province. The wider picture is on insurance cover for tree businesses and cover when subcontracting, and the start-up side is on starting a tree business.
Pay words are given without rates, because rates change each year. Each named government page holds the current figures. Rates and rules by country are on minimum pay rules and pay by country.
Words about credentials are on tree work words: credentials and training, and words about the law of tree work are on tree work words: law and permits.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The wording above is ours.
Sources
- Tree Care Industry Magazine, Certificates of Insurance: The Myth and the Reality, May 1, 2022, read October 8, 2026
- US Small Business Administration, Get business insurance, read October 8, 2026
- Insurance Bureau of Canada, Types of business insurance coverage, read October 8, 2026
- business.gov.au, Types of business insurance, read October 8, 2026
- GOV.UK, Employers' liability insurance, read October 8, 2026
- GOV.UK, Employment status: self-employed and contractor, read October 8, 2026
- GOV.UK, Set up as a sole trader, read October 8, 2026
- business.gov.au, Register for an Australian Business Number, read October 8, 2026
- GOV.UK, Construction Industry Scheme, read October 8, 2026
- New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Minimum wage rates and types, read October 8, 2026
- Government of Ontario, Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: minimum wage, read October 8, 2026
- GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, read October 8, 2026
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Timber Industry Award 2020 [MA000071], definitions, read October 8, 2026