Contractors working on Domestic premises

If you are a domestic customer employing a contractor to do work within your home there are a number of helpful resources you might need when looking for the right contractor.

Domestic clients:

People who have construction work carried out on their own home or the home of a family member, that is not done in furtherance of a business, whether for profit or not. Domestic clients are in scope of CDM 2015, but their duties as a client are normally transferred to:

• the contractor, on a single contractor project, or
• the principal contractor, on a project involving more than one contractor.

However, the domestic client can choose to have a written agreement with the principal designer to carry out the client duties.

www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/2015/domestic-clients.htm

Health & Safety

Are they accredited by a reputable safety Scheme e.g. CHAS or other SSIP Scheme?

If you wanted to verify that a company is

CHAS registered:www.chas.co.uk/ContactCHAS.aspx

SSIP:www.ssip.org.uk

It is abit of minefield knowing exactly what you need to do and what you should expect from the contractor you are using, CHAS have arranged everything in one convenient place if you would like more details.

2015 / 2016 HSE workplace stats 

The HSE has released provisional figures indicating that 144 people were killed while at work in 2015/2016 – up from 142 in 2014/5.

The figures have been broken down to key sectors:

• 43 workers deaths in construction
• 27 deaths in agriculture
• 27 deaths in manufacturing
• 6 deaths in waste and recycling
• 41 in various other sectors

There was a further 103 deaths for members of the public connected to work in 2015/16.

Although these may seem high compared with other statistics available for the rest of Europe the UK to be one of the safest places to work.

Mesothelioma, one of the few work related diseases where deaths can be counted directly, contracted through past exposure to asbestos killed 2,515 in Great Britain in 2014 compared to 2,556 in 2013.

A more detailed assessment of the data will be provided as part of the annual Health and Safety Statistics release in early November.

Further information on these statistics can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm

 

CHAS new E form Process

In 2016 CHAS have introduced a new system where you can apply for your CHAS direct on their online portal. Previously you were only able to pay online and had to submit your documents separately.

The online E form Process is not available for groups or for other members of the SSIP umbrella group they need to contact chas.admin@chas.co.uk. You will also need to use the old way of applying if you a Designers or Principal Designer.

The new  process is different as you will need to pay for your CHAS on submission. Before you start your application you need to make sure you have everything you need to hand in electronic format:

• Examples of Risk assessments and Method Statements in situ on previous jobs
• COSHH Assessments specific to your business
• Evidence of Health & Safety Training specific to your business and employees
• Evidence of Contractor Management & Competence Assessment
• plus other necessary documents
• valid payment method

Once you have everything in place start the process by clicking here:

CHAS

Once you have made payment your application will  be assigned to an assessor and they will login and commence the assessment. The assessment can take up to 10 working days and this can result in a pass or feedback requiring more information. All updates will be sent to you via the E Forms system.

The assessment process remains the same whereby, if more information is needed you will need to provide this to get your certificate.

Using the E Forms system means that once you have been passed by the assessor a confirmation letter and an electronic copy of your certificate will be uploaded to your account.  You will then receive a hard copy of the certificate & accreditation pack post within 10 working days.

If you are unsure if you have the right information or would like some support to complete the accreditation please get in touch.

Applying and renewing your SafeContractor accreditation has never been easier. SafeContractor have introduced a new fast track service to help to speed up the assessment of your application:

• Standard turnaround – 4-6 weeks
• Fast Track – 3-5 working days
• Fast Track Premium – 2 working days

There are additional benefits to the new service as well as the response time, these are:

• Dedicated support officer
• Advice and Assistance
• Priority audit and certificate
• Partial Completion

There are associated costs involved, to find out the latest fees get in touch and we will give you all the insights you need to make a decision.

If you are unsure if Safe Contractor is what you need and would like some advice on which accreditation would be best for your company please get in touch and we will be happy to help.

Safecontractor Scheme

Safecontractor is part of the Alcumus Group. The Safecontractor scheme is a web based portal where suppliers can complete an online version of an Health & Safety PQQ. This is then assessed and measured to ensure that your company complies with the guidelines set out.

As Safecontractor is a set of guidelines clients can use this to measure companies without having to get individual PQQ’s filed in for each occasion. There are over 24,000 members currently in the scheme.

The process for safe contractor takes on average 8 weeks once you have submitted your documentation to them for review. Safecontractor is a good way to show you have demonstrated your Health & Safety competence and both new and existing clients will recognise that.

Safecontractor is part of the SSIP umbrella organisation of accreditations so gaining Safecontractor can also deem you to satisfy for other accreditations should your clients require them such as CHAS of exor.

To find out more about deeming to satisfy please read our blog

If you are looking for help in completing your Safecontractor application get in touch with us today.

How to make sure you are compliant in 2016 – Health & Safety Legislation

Throughout the year the HSE release various updates to existing legislation in order to ensure that the legislation stay current and suitable for the changing workplaces we all work in.

There are various ways for you find this information out:

• Periodically visit the HSE website to see if there are any changes posted.
• Search online to see if you can find anything.
• Become a member of a professional body
• Sign up to various magazines.
• Outsource your Competent Safety Advisor resource.

As part of our Competent Safety Advisor service we ensure that on a monthly basis you are provided with all changes should they affect you or not. That way you are fully informed and up to date on all changes and can make the business decision yourselves if you need to be aware.

There are additional benefits to our service that can ensure that going into 2016 Health & Safety isnt something yo need to worry about you can concentrate on your business.

• A comprehensive Health and Safety Management System – complete with policies, procedures, forms, checklists, etc to ensure compliance with legislation
• Development of your company Health and Safety Policy
• Development of a company employee handbook
• Development of an Environmental Policy
• Assistance in Accident Reporting to Enforcing Authorities/Accident Investigation
• Liaison with Enforcing Authorities on your behalf
• Access to telephone advice on an unlimited number of occasions
• Updates on any changes in Health and Safety legislation

Below is a copy of our latest legislation updates, if you think we may be able to help you on a monthly basis please get in touch.

Legislation/Consultation	In Force/ Closes	Need to Know	Applies In	Resource
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015	23rd Dec 15	Transitional period for projects started before April 2015 ends. Works with more than one contractor must have appointed a principal designer.	GB	hse.gov.uk
Transportation of Directive 2013/35/EU on exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs)	3rd Dec 15	Proposed Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations will require duty holders to assess exposure to EMFs	GB	hse.gov.uk
Deregulation Act 2015	3rd Dec 15	Turban wearing Sikhs do not have to wear head protection in any industries.	GB	hse.gov.uk
The Health and safety at Work ect. Act 1974 (General Duties of Self-Employed Persons ) (Prescribed Undertakings) Regulations 2015	Oct-15	Changes the law to exempt self-employed people whose work activity poses no potential risk to other workers or the public.	GB	hse.gov.uk
Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case ect) Regulations 2015	Jul- 15	Applies to offshore oil and gas operators, interoperating additional requirements of directive 2013/30/EU	GB External Waters	hse.gov.uk
Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH) 2015	Jun-15	Main Duties unchanged from 1999 regs; lower tier operators must provide public information about their site and its hazards for the first time; both upper tier and lower tier operators must provide public information electronically.	GB	hse.gov.uk
Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012	May-15	Workers undertaking non-licensed work for the first time must have a medical examination before they start.	England and Wales	legislation.gov.uk
Construction (Design and Management) regulations 2015	Apr-15	CDM coordinator replaced with principal designer, prescriptive requirements for duty holders to check contractors’ competence removed, CDM duties extended to domestic clients.	GB	hse.gov.uk
Road Traffic Act 1988	Mar-15	Section 5 amended to include an offence of driving under the influence of a controlled drug – including some prescription medications.	England and Wales	lexisurl.com

The fee may seem daunting if you have a large turnover at the time you apply but the additional work that you can get from being a member far outweighs the initial costs. Constructionline not only saves money but can save time as well as being a member can mean you only have to fill out one PQQ.

If you are unsure what the costs would be please see the chart below:

Yearly Turnover	Fee (ex. VAT)	Cost payable
£0 to £99,999	£90	£108.00
£100,000 to £249,999	£95	£114.00
£250,000 to £999,999	£250	£300.00
£1,000,000 to £1,999,999	£435	£522.00
£2,000,000 to £4,999,999	£490	£588.00
£5,000,000 to £19,999,999	£735	£882.00
£20,000,000 to £49,999,999	£1,075	£1,290.00
£50,000,000 and above	£1,565	£1,878.00

Above chart is from www.constructionline.co.uk

Part of the membership benefits include being able to see the opportunities board which alerts you with the latest projects that are relevant to your companies experience.

Constructionline was established in July 1998 when CMIS and ConReg were merged. It is well established qualification and has proven to be beneficial to companies for many years.

If you are struggling with an application or would like us to complete one for you get in touch.

Reasons to join the Safecontractor scheme

Have you been asked to get the Safecontractor accreditation by one of your clients? Do you know what it is? Safe Contractor is one of the largest expanding health and safety accreditation schemes in the UK, it currently has more than 270 clients and over 24,000 contractor members.

Fully Qualified Assessor

Safecontractor has a unique level of specialist knowledge unrivaled by competitors, built on 10 years’ experience of delivering market leading accreditation services. This is further reinforced by engaging only directly employed, experienced and qualified assessors to carry out audits.

Health & Safety Compliance

Members of SSIP

• Altius
• Acclaim
• CHAS
• SMAS