Compliance · September 2026 · 5 min read

Checking contractor compliance before they reach site

Every contractor you let on site is, for that day, your responsibility. If they are not qualified, not insured or not inducted, that becomes your problem the moment something goes wrong. The fix is to check them before they arrive - not at the gate, and not after the fact.

Why an unchecked contractor is a real risk

Wave someone through without checking and you are trusting that they are competent, insured and allowed to work - with no evidence if you are ever asked to prove it. Most of the time nothing happens. When it does, "we assumed they were fine" is not a defence that holds up with a client, an insurer or an inspector.

What to check

• Qualification / CSCS - the right card and competence for the work
• RAMS - risk assessment and method statement, read and signed by the people doing the job
• Insurance - public and employers liability, in date
• Right to Work - they are legally allowed to work
• Accreditations - CHAS, SafeContractor, SMAS and similar, where relevant
• DBS - where the site requires clearance (schools, care, secure sites)

Why the spreadsheet fails

The usual approach - a spreadsheet of contractor documents, checked when someone remembers - falls down fast. Certificates expire, the sheet goes stale, and nothing physically stops an out-of-date contractor from walking on site. It records the intention to check, not the check itself.

Check before they arrive

The reliable model is to gather and approve documents up front, before the first shift - then hold entry until everything is valid. By the time a contractor reaches the gate they are already cleared, or they are not getting in. No queue, no judgement calls on the morning, no gaps.

Keep the evidence

Just as important as the check is the record of it: who was cleared, by whom, and when - with expiry dates tracked so nothing lapses unnoticed. That is the evidence that turns "we check our contractors" into something you can actually show.

This is the core of what Avelio Pro does: CSCS, RAMS, insurance and Right to Work are checked before anyone scans in, expiry is tracked automatically, and a non-compliant worker is blocked at the gate rather than waved through.