Most contractor incidents do not start with bad luck. They start at the gate: nobody checked, nobody briefed them, and nobody was in charge. Using a contractor does not hand them your legal duties. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 you still owe a duty to people who are not your employees. Where several employers share a workplace, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require them to cooperate and coordinate.
Before anyone starts work, ask these five questions.
1. Can they prove they are competent?
Accreditation schemes such as SSIP help, but they are not the whole answer. Ask for evidence that relates to the job: tickets for the plant they will use, qualifications for the task, and references from similar work. A scaffolding firm with a perfect office audit can still send an untrained lad up a tower.
2. Are they insured for this work?
Check that employers' liability and public liability cover are in date and adequate for the job. File a copy. If the certificate expires halfway through the contract, put a reminder in the diary.
3. Is the RAMS about this job, on this site?
A generic method statement copied from the last job is a warning sign. The risk assessment and method statement should name your site, your hazards and your rules: traffic routes, permits, isolations, working hours and emergency arrangements. Read it before you sign it.
4. Who is in charge, and who checks?
Name one person on each side. Agree how the work will be supervised, how often you will check it, and what happens when something changes. Most incidents happen when the job changes and nobody stops to review it.
5. Have they been inducted, and do they need a permit?
Every contractor should get a site induction before starting: hazards, rules, welfare, first aid and emergency procedures. High-risk work, such as hot work, confined spaces, work at height or electrical isolation, needs a permit to work that is issued, monitored and signed off.
Construction is different
If the work is construction work, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply. That brings specific duties for clients, designers and contractors, and on larger projects a principal designer and a principal contractor. Many organisations become a CDM client without realising it.
Where PMSCS helps
PMSCS sets up contractor approval, induction and permit systems that people actually use. It also reviews RAMS and supports SSIP and PQQ submissions for contractors who need to show their own competence.
This article is general guidance, not legal advice.