Just to muddy the water, I went to a talk by the guy who covers diving for the HSE in the north of England as part of a BSAC sceminar. He was quite distinctive about the difference between proffesional and amateur instructors, and made it very clear the HSE did differentiate between the two, but also that if there was an incident they would seek to clarify the status of the instructor and the training.
I took that as meaning: If your getting any kind of payment it's professional, so don't try it on. Equally he made it clear he wanted to help us stay safe, and that some of the cases he had been involved in were so far off the mark that common scence was just not present at any level.
There is a link to the diving section on the HSE web page for full details, any gray areas can be sorted by giving the guy a call, he was very forward about it - and he's a diver and instructor himself.
James
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Diving is not for the faint harted - you won't pass the medical. |