Welcome to the December edition of our Health & Safety Questions

Please find below the five questions we thought were worth sharing from this months queries that have come into our office here at Seguro.

Why don’t I just go straight to CHAS?

We provide a service to help companies prepare their documentation to demonstrate their ability for carrying out their works safety.  Many companies have the skills but not the paperwork, we work with those companies providing a safety advisor service for the duration of their CHAS to ensure they implement the documents produced. (companies less than 5)

What does it mean that a company has a CHAS accreditation?

This means that a company has had their Health & Safety assessed by an SSIP umbrella body.

How do i get an SSIP certificate?

You can approach one of the many companies found on ssip or you can enquire with us how we can help you gain accreditation.

Do Constructionline carry out an onsite inspection?

No all assessments are carried out on the documentation you provide with your application.

How long does it take for Constructionline to do my assessment?

Constructionline can take up to two weeks to assess the documentation that you submit.

Share this post

Copy link

All your Health & Safety needs for 2024 in one place.

Here at Seguro we can be a one stop shop for your safety needs. We can help you with one off client requests or by being your competent person providing you with our full Safety package the choice is yours.

Competent Person

We provide a full Health & Safety Management System including a policy, employee handbook and an environmental policy. Expert advice is available for you 24/7.

Accreditation

We can help you to provide the paperwork needed to enable you to show you are capable of working safely. These vary depending on what accreditation you are looking to complete. We stay with you until the accreditation is achieved.

• CHAS All Levels available 
• Safe Contractor
• Constructionline All levels (Silver or Gold)

Risk Assessments & Method Statements

We have a full library of RAMS available for you to purchase from as little as £10. All of our documents are available in word format for you to be able to amend and use as you need in your business.

Safety Advisor

This is a support service for less than 5 employees, this comes with expert advice as well as access to our online documents and Risk assessments. This can be purchased separately or comes free with accreditation applications for less than 5 employees.

We offer many more services including PQQ preparation, Construction Phase Plan preparation. Why not visit our website and see if we can help you with any issues you have now and throughout 2025.

Share this post

Copy link

Health & Safety questions in May

At Seguro we often get asked questions that we think other people may be thinking about so we have decided to share some of them on a monthly basis.

If you have a question you would like answering please get in touch.

1. Is e-learning good enough or do i need to send all my staff on a course?

Sitting an E-Learning course that has been verified by CPD is just as good as being taught in a classroom. The benefits of e-learning is that you do not loose your staff for the whole day they can sit the course at a time and place that suits them and you.

2. What is the benefit of working with a consultant?

We are all experts within our own particular industry and trying to know everything your company needs can be a daunting task. If you decide to employ a consultant you can allow them to get on with the Health & Safety part of your business while you get on with running it. You should ensure your consultant has the appropriate qualifications before you agree to anything.

3. I’ve been asked if i am SSIP accredited am i?

If you already have a Health & Safety accreditation you may be SSIP accredited, we have more information available on SSIP and deeming to satisfy.

4. Do i need to sit an exam to be CHAS registered?

To become CHAS registered you need to submit documentation regarding your companies activities and Health & Safety, these are all reviewed remotely. The only “test” you may need to sit is an e-learning course if it is applicable to your work.

5. Why isn’t it cheaper to renew my CHAS?

Each year you application is considered as a new application by CHAS and all documentation reviewed and submitted in exactly the same way, so takes the same amount of time.

Share this post

Copy link

CHAS renewal every 12 months?

The CHAS accreditation process reviews your companies ability to carry out your activities complying with Health & Safety. Documentation is provided on recent jobs and processes you are working on at the time of application. As these could change within a 12 month period CHAS have a process where each application is seen as a new application and lasts for 12 months.

CHAS assess your Health & Safety and this is done remotely, you get access to an online portal once you have made payment. Once everything is uploaded to the portal you can submit it for the next assessor

The CHAS assessor will take up to 10 working days to get back to you with their findings to your submitted documentation.

If you are looking for any help to get your CHAS or to ensure you renew on time to get continued certification, contact us and we can support you.

Share this post

Copy link

Complimentary Safety Advisor Service

Here at Seguro we pride ourselves on adding value to our services. When we help our clients to achieve an accreditation we also provide them with a Safety Advisory service.

This is where we remain as their contact throughout the year of their accreditation to help them to:

• Implement the new documentation into their business
• Provide support ongoing should they need it.
• Provide off the shelf risk assessments and method statements should they be needed (bespoke ones are chargeable)
• Enable our clients to name us should they need to on PQQ documentation

The following accreditations are eligible (less than 5 employees)

• CHAS
• Safe Contractor
• Constructionline
• Exor
• Altius
• Avetta
• Builders Profile

If you are looking for any help in acquiring an accreditation and would like to take advantage of our complimentary service please get in touch on 0800 031 5404 or contact us

Share this post

Copy link

Having trouble with your RE-CHAS?

Each application for CHAS is treated as a new application, this is so that your paperwork can be assessed on a yearly basis to ensure that you comply with the latest Health & Safety Legislation. We often get calls from companies saying that the paperwork they have submitted last year has not been accepted this time around.

If you submit documentation that CHAS do not think is up to the standard they need to pass, they will provide you with a list of actions. This will be sent out to you by your appointed CHAS assessor.

The documentation will go into detail to let you know what you need to provide as additional information, there are a number of actions you can then choose:

• Compile the documentation yourself
• Purchase the documents needed and complete it independently
• Contact a Competent Health & Safety Consultant who can provide you with the information needed as well as advice

We can do your CHAS with you starting at £300 + vat for less than 5 employees.

As a Health and Safety Consultant we are happy to look at your documentation and bespoke the responses based on your business please get in touch if you would like our help on 0800 031 5404.

Share this post

Copy link

Risk Assessments & Method Statements

Here at Seguro we know that Risk Assessments & Method Statements can seem a daunting task when you have to start them from scratch. We have developed a library of RAMS that can be used within your business on a day to day basis.

We constantly update our RAMS with the latest activity based ones we have created. Our RAMS can be purchased individually or in a pack depending on what you need. If you are unsure if we have the RAMS you need please visit our SHOP and see what you can find. There are some examples listed below:

Risk Assessment & Method Statement For Screeding
Plumbing Works Risk Assessment & Method Statement
External Painting Risk Assessment & Method Statement
Risk assessment & method statement for commercial electrical installation

We also offer a Health & Safety Risk Assessments Pack which contains 65 templates covering a range of subjects.

If you cant find what your looking for please get in touch and we can see if we can help.

Share this post

Copy link

Covering your Heath & Safety needs for 2023

If your looking to outsource you Health & Safety Competent Advice in 2023 there are a number of reasons why you should pick Seguro:

• We provide a full Health & Safety Management System including a policy, employee handbook and an environmental policy.
• Access to telephone advice on an unlimited number of occasions
• We provide monthly newsletters detailing latest legislation, HSE news and any updates we need to share
• We post blogs on a weekly basis of informative information for your business
• Access to our vast library of Risk Assessments and Method Statements
• Help filling out PQQ’s (Health & Safety advice)
• Advice and support reporting any RIDDOR  accidents or incidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• Ability to gain expert reliable advice instantly

If you think we may be able to help you on a monthly basis please get in touch.

Share this post

Copy link

Seguro Christmas Operating Hours

We wanted to give you plenty of notice to our operating hours over the Christmas period:

Close – 23rd December 12pm

Open – 5th January 9am

All services are still available via the website, including risk assessments and making enquiries. All E-learning purchased will run as normal as the system is automated.

We will be monitoring emails on an adhoc basis so send any enquiries to: info@seguro-safety.co.uk

Share this post

Copy link

The different between a small and a large CHAS application

We often get companies asking us what is the difference between having 4 employees or 5 when applying for CHAS. CHAS define an employee as someone who you pay through your PAYE system, there are different assessment fees due depending on the number of employees you declare.

In particular to CHAS there is an increased number of documents you need to provide as well as evidence of your safety arrangements including Health & Safety policy.

Once you have 5 employees or more you have legal requirements under the Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1974, you need to have formal arrangements in place for competent Safety advice as well as a full Heath & Safety Management system.

If you are not sure which bracket you fall under, or if you have enough documentation to satisfy the assessment get in touch and we will be able to provide you with advice.

Share this post

Copy link