Site safety induction requirements when using contractors and subcontractors

The business (client) and contractor relationship is one of the most important aspects to any business model. Whilst this type of business relationship is very efficient, it also raises a number of potential pitfalls which if not recognised and controlled can lead to problems. Both parties (the business and the contractor) have a duty of care under the health and safety act. Similarly, if the contractor uses subcontractors to carry out some or all of the work, all parties will have some health and safety responsibilities. By delivering subcontractor online inductions and health & safety induction training, you can ensure everyone working on your site undergoes a site safety induction or hse induction training and is fully compliant. Let's run through some of the site induction requirements which will help.

Potential issues when using subcontractors/ contractors safety inductions can include:

Businesses may not be adequately resourced to effectively manage contractor activities.
Contractors may use subcontractors which may not be apparent to the client; these subcontractors may not be under the effective supervision of the contractor.
It is often difficult for clients to accurately assess the extent of contractor control over their subcontractors.
It is often difficult for clients to accurately assess contractor relationships with their suppliers, especially when the supplier provides safety critical components which may require specialist training and/or instruction.
Contractors may not have the same level of safety commitment or safety culture as the client.
Contractors may change experienced personnel without notifying the client.
Regular oversight of contractor operations can be problematic - this is why health & safety induction training is important.
Low bid contracts may be used which could impact overall safety performance.
Issues with contractors (such as lack of resources, poor safety performance etc.) may not be identified before a contract is signed.

It is critical that businesses understand how to manage these types of arrangements with hse induction training. Every client should have a defined procedure within their site safety induction that fulfils the minimum site induction requirements for contracted services. Workplace health and safety induction training is one of the best ways to ensure no stone is left unturned.

To ensure contractors' or subcontractors' health and safety, each party must:

identify the contractor safety induction requirements of the job and assess the risks involved
decide what information and HSE induction training is required
select an appropriate contractor and ascertain their workplace health and safety induction policies and procedures
as the contractor, find out about subcontractors' competence - a subcontractor online induction may be beneficial
review the way work is carried out and the risk assessment

To ensure that there is cooperation and coordination between you/your staff and the contractors/subcontractors, you should have a contractor safety induction (hse induction training) in place, as well as:

provide all parties with information, instruction and training on anything that may affect their safety - a health & safety induction training programme would be beneficial
make the contractors/subcontractors aware of your health and safety procedures and policies via contractor inductions
provide management and supervision to ensure the safety of contractors/subcontractors

Penalties for health & safety induction training failures

There are recent cases where clients, contractors and subcontractors have all been fined for failing in their workplace health and safety training duties. Failure to ensure the following, will result in a costly penalty. This is why it is so important to have contractor inductions & safety inductions in place to prevent these issues from arising.

ensure a contractor's/subcontractor's competence
supervise a contractor/subcontractor
take steps to prevent contact with live equipment
provide information about the existence of asbestos
ensure safe operation of vehicles with a clear contractor safety induction
ensure safe loading to or unloading from delivery vehicles
assess risks to health from regular exposure to high vibration levels
exercise a duty of care towards a contractor/subcontractor
provide a formal site safety induction, workplace health and safety induction training, risk assessment or method statement

See Types of enforcement.

With all the risks involved, are there any advantages to using contractors? Do you need a site safety induction?

Whilst there are a number of potential risks in using contractors/subcontractors, there are also many significant advantages.The best thing you can do to reduce the risks are to have a sturdy workplace health and safety induction training programme in place. Advantages of using contractors who have completed hse induction training include:

Specialist skill sets can be brought into an organisation without any long-term commitments.
Contractors can be effectively integrated into a client’s safety management processes via contractor safety inductions & site safety inductions.
Effective for one-off jobs, jobs requiring specialist expertise, fast turnaround or when you need more flexibility with a specific job.
Additionally contracting work out enables your permanent staff to concentrate on the core business.
Contractors can start a project at short notice, even when large numbers of workers are required.
You can specify the type and duration of contract you need for the contracted job.
You have no PAYE or National Insurance contributions administration for contractors.
Also contracting allows you to obtain temporary cover for a permanent staff job.

An organisations workplace health and safety induction training system must be geared to manage any potential risks. It is vital that clients understand that contractor activities nearly always increase the risk profile of an organisation. Especially for those activities that are outside the normal scope of a businesses day to day operations, such as safety critical or non-standard works. Regardless of contractor experience and safety performance, everyone who works for you needs to know how to work safely and without risks to health. You must provide clear instructions via a site safety induction, information, adequate health & safety induction training, quality contractor inductions and subcontractor online inductions.

Read Our Guide To Health and Safety Induction Systems. We explain everything you need to know and what you need to avoid in order to make your workplace health and safety induction training a success, in our helpful site safety induction training guide. Get in touch if you are looking at subcontractor online inductions.