Contractor approvals
CHAS, Constructionline and SSIP: choosing the right route
The most useful approval is the one that matches your work and the customer’s requirement. Begin with the buyer’s wording, then check the route and evidence needed.
1. Ask the buyer four specific questions
Before paying for an application, obtain the tender, supplier-onboarding instruction or contract requirement. A familiar scheme name can still leave uncertainty about the level, scope or evidence the buyer expects.
- Which approval or assessment is required? Ask for the exact name and, where applicable, the membership level.
- What activities must it cover? Check the legal entity, work categories and any relevant contractor responsibilities.
- What alternatives are accepted? Ask whether an existing assessment can satisfy any part of the requirement.
- When must it be in place? Clarify whether the relevant date is tender submission, onboarding or starting work.
Keep the reply with the application file. This gives your team, consultant and scheme provider the same starting point and makes a change in the buyer’s requirement easier to identify.
2. Understand what the names refer to
| Name | What to understand | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| CHAS | Offers different contractor assessment packages. Its published options include Standard, Advanced and Elite, covering different levels of assessment. | The exact package the buyer accepts. Read the current CHAS package details. |
| Constructionline | A supplier platform with different membership options and validation requirements. | The required membership level, work categories and completed verification status. Check Constructionline’s current supplier information. |
| SSIP | A framework for recognition of health and safety assessments between member schemes. | Whether your existing assessment and scope qualify for recognition through the receiving scheme. See SSIP’s Deem to Satisfy guidance. |
Broader prequalification may include information beyond health and safety. If the buyer names the Common Assessment Standard, ask the provider which current assessment package meets that requirement. For example, CHAS identifies its Elite package with that standard in its package comparison.
Use the buyer’s answer to decide what is useful for this contract. A higher membership level should have a clear business purpose and an understood maintenance commitment.
3. Check what you already hold
List your current memberships, assessments and certificates with the legal entity, scope and expiry date. Download the actual evidence so that the receiving scheme can check it.
SSIP’s Deem to Satisfy arrangements can reduce repeated health and safety assessment where the receiving member’s conditions are met. The receiving scheme checks matters such as the existing assessment’s validity and scope, and additional information may be needed. Recognition of that element does not automatically complete every wider membership requirement. Follow SSIP’s published process.
Ask about recognition before booking a second full assessment. Also check with the buyer that the resulting approval will satisfy its onboarding requirement. Keep both answers rather than relying on a verbal assumption.
4. Build an application evidence pack
Use this as an organising checklist. The scheme’s current question set and your activities determine the documents and detail required.
- Company information: consistent legal name, registration details, contact information, work categories and responsible people.
- Insurance: current documents and the cover details the buyer or application asks you to provide.
- Policies and responsibilities: approved arrangements that accurately describe how your business manages the relevant risks.
- Work examples: appropriate risk assessments, method statements, briefings and inspection records from your activities.
- People: training, competence and supervision information relevant to the work you are declaring.
- Subcontractors: selection checks, instructions, monitoring arrangements and records of any follow-up actions.
- Wider business evidence: the quality, environmental, financial or other information requested by the selected assessment package.
Name files clearly and keep one current version. Check that dates, signatures and company details agree. Where the application asks for evidence of implementation, select a completed example that answers the question and explain its relevance.
5. Plan the work after submission
Assign one person to monitor assessor questions and coordinate responses with the people who own the information. Keep a simple log of each query, the response and any supporting file supplied.
Once the assessment is complete, record renewal dates and the expiry dates of supporting evidence. Review changes in activities, personnel or insurance so that the information you present to buyers stays accurate.
Budget for the provider’s charges, your team’s time and any preparation support. Our services cover CHAS applications, Constructionline preparation and SSIP-related support. If a buyer requests a management-system certificate as well, read our ISO preparation guide.
Common contractor approval questions
Do I need both CHAS and Constructionline?
That depends on the buyer and the work you want to pursue. Ask which approvals and levels it accepts, then check whether existing health and safety assessment evidence can be recognised for part of a further application.
Will an approval guarantee new contracts?
No. It can help satisfy a buyer’s selection requirements. You still need to demonstrate that your services, capacity, experience and commercial proposal suit the opportunity.
Can Safe Policies complete the preparation with us?
We can help interpret the application, organise documents, review gaps and support responses. Your business supplies accurate operational information and implements the arrangements; the scheme makes its assessment decision.
This is practical preparation guidance. Official sources are linked alongside the relevant information. Confirm current requirements with the scheme or certification body for your application.