Managing Sub-contractors

Why are Sub-Contractors engaged

to carry out work ?

16th October 2008 Ayrshire Occupational Health & Safety Group 1

 Work undertaken for a client by a
contractor is usually covered by a civil
contract. It is good practice for health and
safety requirements to be written in to such
a contract.
However, health and safety responsibilities
are defined by the criminal law and cannot
be passed on from one party to another by a
contract.

16th October 2008 Ayrshire Occupational Health & Safety Group 2

 In any client/contractor relationship,
both parties will have duties under health
and safety law.
Similarly, if the contractor employs sub-
contractors to carry out some or all of the
work, all parties will have some health
and safety responsibilities.

16th October 2008 Ayrshire Occupational Health & Safety Group 3

 WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
Identify the job
Clients need to clearly identify all aspects of
the work they want the contractor to do,
including work falling within the
preparation and completion phases.
The level of risk will depend on the nature
of the job. Whatever the risk, clients need to
consider the health and safety implications
of the job they want done.
16th October 2008 Ayrshire Occupational Health & Safety Group 4
 Small firm fined £32 000
for dangerous site
Firm pleaded guilty to Subcontractors allowed to work:
two contravention's of • in an unsupported trench
Section 4 of HASAWA • on poorly erected
requiring persons in scaffolding that was
control of non-domestic overloaded
premises to take • on a site that had not
reasonable measures to been notified to HSE
ensure that other people
are not put at risk.
5
House Building Contractor Fined
due to actions of a Sub-Contractor
• Local Authority prosecution - Control of
Pollution Act 1974 Section 60
• Highbury Corner Magistrates were told that
sub-contractors working for main contractor
persistently unloaded lorries outwith the
Councils noise permitted hours
• 20 separate offences resulted in £30,000 fine

6
 Client Held Liable for
Contractors Negligence
• High Court Ruling
When a firm engages a contractor and fails to
make reasonable enquiry's about that
contractors competence then the firm may
be held liable for injuries caused by the
contractors negligence

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 Case history - Civil Court 1967
McArdle v Andmac Roofing
• Company engaged as main contractors
• They hired a sub-contractor to repair a roof
• Employee of the sub-contractor fell through a
hole left by employees of another sub-
contractor
The court ruled that the main contractors were
liable - it was their duty to supervise and
ensure that gaps were not left in the roof
8
 CONIAC (Construction Industry
Advisory Committee) Strategic 5
Year Plan 1991
Managing Health and Safety
Changes in recent years have made it much
harder for the industry to achieve an acceptable
performance in health and safety.
Besides the general upturn in activity, which has
served to stretch resources, the industry has
fragmented due to growth in the number of
firms and greatly increased sub-contracting
9
 Continued
The fragmentation, which has increased with the use of
management contracting in construction projects, has
resulted in a weakening of control in the health and
safety aspects of site activities.
The growth in casual working and self employment gives
rise to similar problems.
For it is much more difficult to exercise control over
those on site who do not work for them and who
consider that such control is not warranted

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 Falsework Collapse

HSE Inspector - “Being on site at the time gave me a

rare opportunity to analyse the cause of the failure
before any urgent clearing up operations” 11
 CLIENT &
DESIGN TEAM

MANAGING DESIGN ENG.

CONTRACTOR Temp. Works

MAIN CONTR. 100%

RC Frame

Scaffolding Sub- Formwork and Re- Concreting Sub-

Contractor bar Sub-Contr. Contr.

S/Emp. Casual 12
Scaffolders
 Managing the Health and safety
of sub-contractors
Those having control of the site should:
• CO-ORDINATE the activities of all other
parties on site
• SEEK AND USE INFORMATION from the
client and designer to plan work and avoid
hazards before work begins
• CHECK that subcontractors are competent
• MONITOR AND CONTROL work on site
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 Managing the Health and safety
of sub-contractors
The sub-contractor, in addition to satisfying their
responsibilities for their own work and employees,
should:
• ACCEPT at the tender stage the main contractors
right to manage the site
• AGREE to co-operate on Health and Safety matters
with other contractors
• OBEY site rules
• ENSURE that the same rules and arrangements
apply to any work which is further sub-let
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 Appointing sub-contractors
The appointment of sub-contractors must not
depend solely on technical ability but should
take full account of their competence in
health and safety matters.
This may be judged by their attitude to safety,
their safety policy and past performance.

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 Sub-contractor’s Health and Safety Assessment
ITEM ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED
1. Do you have a company safety policy? YES Copy of policy

NO Reason for absence of policy

2. Do you employ a professional safety YES Qualification/ experience
advisor?
NO Indicate how H&S advice is obtained
3. Do your managers and supervisors YES Brief details of recent training
receive H&S Training?
NO Indicate how you keep your managers/supervisors
up-to-date
4. Have any improvement or prohibition YES Brief details of circumstances
notices been served on your firm?
NO
5. Have any prosecutions been raised YES Please provide details, date, nature of charge,
against your firm for alleged breaches of outcome, subsequent action, etc
H&S legislation? NO
6. Will you permit the M.C. to examine YES Numbers of fatal, major injury and over 3-day
your accident records and documentation injuries reported to the enforcing authority in the
relevant to H&S? NO last 12 months
7. Will you permit the M.C. to approach YES Details of clients who may be approached
other clients for a reference regarding
your ability to manage and control H&S? NO
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 High Risk Activities in
Construction
• Demolition-Use of explosive/Asbestos Removal
• Excavations
• Piling Works Detailed Method
• Frame Erection-Steel/Concrete Statements
• Cladding
should be
• Roofing
• Scaffolding
requested at
• Work At Heights-Steeplejacks “Tender Stage”
• Work In Confined spaces for any high risk
• Work With Hazardous Materials activity
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 Conclusion
• Check their competence, e.g.:
• Send out questionnaire
• Contact previous clients
• View HSE webpage for prosecutions
• Check with CHASPI or Local Authority Database
• Involve your own people, e.g.:
• Contracts
• Purchasing
• Projects
• Operations
• Review their plans
• Check method statements, don’t just accept them
• Monitor their work
• Keep records 18