SafeContractor application help
SafeContractor assess you against the SSIP core criteria, which means a specific set of documents that have to exist and say the right thing. We write them for your trade and complete the application for you.
What SafeContractor asks for
The assessment follows the SSIP core criteria, so it looks for the same twelve or so themes every SSIP scheme does. The difference is in how the evidence is presented, and that is where applications get sent back.
A current health and safety policy
Signed, dated within twelve months, with a named responsible person and arrangements that describe your work rather than generic construction.
Trade specific risk assessments
The hazards you actually meet, with your controls, your assessor named and a review date that has not passed.
Competence and training
A matrix naming your people and their cards and certificates, plus how you satisfy yourself that a subcontractor is competent before they start work.
Accident reporting and RIDDOR
Your reporting system, plus any reportable incidents in the last three years and what changed as a result.
Insurance in the right name
Employers liability and public liability, in date, in the correct company name, at limits that match what your client is asking for.
Worker consultation
How safety information gets to the people doing the work, evidenced with inductions, toolbox talks and briefing records rather than described in principle.
SafeContractor and the rest of SSIP
SafeContractor is one of several SSIP member schemes. They are mutually recognised under Deemed to Satisfy, so which one you hold matters less than whether your client has named a specific scheme.
If your client said SafeContractor
Some main contractors name a scheme in their supply chain rules and will not take an alternative. If yours has, this is the one to buy.
If your client said SSIP
SafeContractor, CHAS, SMAS and Constructionline Silver all satisfy an SSIP requirement. Tell us who the client is and we will pick the cheapest route that clears it.
If your client said Common Assessment Standard
The Common Assessment Standard sits above the SSIP core criteria and adds quality, environment, equality and modern slavery. CHAS Advanced or Constructionline Gold covers it.
What it costs with us
£749 for the full done for you service: every document written for your trade, the application completed on your behalf, the evidence uploaded, assessor queries answered by us, up to two rounds, and anything rejected fixed and resubmitted free until you pass. £395 if you would rather have the documents and submit it yourself. £249 a year after that to keep it renewed. Add a second scheme at the same time for £249. The scheme's own membership fee is paid by you directly to them and we tell you what it is before you commit.
What we do, and what we do not
We are a documentation and submission service. We are not health and safety consultants and we are not Alcumus. Here is the line, drawn before you pay.
- We are not a health and safety consultancy and we do not carry out site inspections or act as your competent person
- We are not Alcumus or SafeContractor. They assess and they decide. We prepare and submit
- We do not sell CSCS cards, IPAF, PASMA, SMSTS or NEBOSH qualifications
- We do not invent evidence. Insurance, certificates and accident records have to actually exist
- We do not give legal advice, and nothing on this page is legal advice
- We cannot guarantee an outcome where your business does not meet the scheme minimum, but we will tell you before you spend money
Questions we get asked
How long does a SafeContractor application take?
We usually have a full submission ready within five to seven working days of you returning our questionnaire. SafeContractor then assess it and come back with any queries, which we handle rather than you.
What does SafeContractor itself cost?
SafeContractor charge their own annual membership fee based on your headcount, paid by you directly to them. Our £749 covers the documents, the submission and the assessor queries. We will tell you what their fee will be before you commit.
What happens if it is rejected?
We fix it and resubmit at no extra cost, as many times as it takes, as long as the information you gave us was accurate. That is included rather than charged as an extra.
Can I use SafeContractor to satisfy a client who asked for CHAS?
Often yes. SSIP member schemes are mutually recognised through Deemed to Satisfy, so a client asking for SSIP will usually accept any of them. A client who has specifically named CHAS may not. Send us the wording and we will tell you.
We already have policies from a previous application. Can you reuse them?
Send them over. We will tell you what is still current, what needs rewriting for the SSIP core criteria and what is missing, then quote for the gap rather than the whole job.
Are you part of SafeContractor or Alcumus?
No. We are independent. We are not an assessment body, not an SSIP member scheme and we have no arrangement with Alcumus.
Do you handle the renewal?
Yes, £249 a year. We diary it, refresh the documents and records, and resubmit before it lapses so you are never off a client approved list mid contract.
Tell us who is asking for it
Send us your trade, roughly how many people you have and who is asking for it. We come back with a fixed price, usually the same working day.