THE EMPLOYMENT AND CONTROL OF CONTRACTORS - (WORKING ON COUNCIL PREMISES AND SITES OR PROVIDING GOODS OR SERVICES TO THE COUNCIL)

PART ONE – POLICY, ORGANISATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

This document contains a statement of Buckinghamshire Council’s Policy on the Control of Contractors and outlines the organisation and responsibilities for putting this Policy into place.

Detailed guidance on implementing the Policy and a selection of questionnaires and checklists etc. are available in Part Two ‘The Tool Kit’.

1.0    Introduction

Various court cases have shown that the Council and its officers may be held responsible for the activities of its contractors’ whatever type of work is being undertaken even if the contractor is at fault. Therefore, a system of selecting and monitoring competent contractors must exist to ensure that contractors fulfil their responsibilities for health and safety and that appropriate action is taken when hazards are identified.

This is particularly relevant to schools where work may be locally initiated (Self-Help schemes).

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and associated legislation, in particular the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM), put certain requirements on employers, employees and the clients/owners and occupiers of premises, to protect, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees, clients, visitors and members of the public (including contractors) from its work activities.

Buckinghamshire Council has a legal duty to assess the risks to employees and non-employees created by its undertaking and to take action to control those risks.

It is the policy of the Council to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that:

• all contractors employed by the Council comply with current health and safety legislative requirements;

• all contractors employed by the Council are competent to undertake the work they are requested to do; and

• appropriate health and safety monitoring is carried out by the Council’s client officers, Heads of establishments and Head teachers.

This Document and associated guidance (Part 2 Toolkit and Part 3 Forms and Checklists) details how the Council will meet its stated Policy on contractor safety.

3.1      Heads of Service, Contracting Officers, Head Teachers and Heads of Establishments

When allocating work to contractors the above must ensure that where appropriate:

• all contractors used have achieved Stage 1 health and safety compliance (see 6.1);
• Stage 2 health and safety checks are carried out before award of contact (see 6.2); and
• all health and safety arrangements are in place before the work is started.

3.2      Persons drawing up contracts (Contracting Officer)

This includes the contract sections of all Service areas and will also include consultants who may draw up contracts on behalf of the Council.

Those contracting officers responsible for the drawing up of contracts must be competent to do so and ensure that health and safety considerations are incorporated as far as possible into those contracts and that only contractors who are competent to fulfil their responsibilities for health and safety are selected to work for the Council. See sections 5, 6, 7 of this document.

3.3      Supervising Officers

Such as Clerks of Works, Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, Client Support Officers, Consultants etc.

Must:

• ensure contractors take adequate account of the health and safety of those affected by their work activities;
• act upon any hazard they observe, or which is drawn to their attention, which may put at risk the health or safety of any Council employee, client, pupil or member of the public and record the action taken;
• inform the contractor of any hazards on the site that may put the contractor or its employees at risk;
• ensure that, where applicable, the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 or any other relevant legislation are fulfilled. See section 7 of Part 2 the Toolkit for more details; and
• follow specific Service area procedures and guidelines that have been produced by the Service area initiating and managing contracts. 

3.4      Managers of Council Premises – With Responsibility for Initiating and Controlling Contracts

Where a Manager of Council premises e.g. a Headteacher or establishment manager is the person initiating and controlling a contract they will, together with the contractor, have complete responsibility for:

• ensuring that relevant legislation is complied with;
• ensuring the health and safety of anyone affected by the works;
• informing the contractor of any hazards known to them, which exist on the site or other relevant information relating to the safe operation of the site, including emergency procedures;
• monitoring the performance of the contractor; and
• complying with the CDM 2015 client’s duties.

And for fulfilling the responsibilities of the:

• contracting officer
• supervising officer

Commissioning the appropriate specialist procurement function from within the local authority may discharge such responsibilities.

3.5      Managers of Council Premises – Where the manager has not initiated the contract:

• Remain responsible for the safety of members of staff, pupils, clients and members of the public using those premises;
• must assume some responsibility for local monitoring of the contractor and informing the contractor of any risks on the site (see Part 3 Forms and Checklists Appendix 8 of the toolkit for a suggested checklist);
• must take appropriate action should they feel that anyone on the premises is put at risk by the activities of the contractor; and
• record the action taken.

3.6      Where equipment and / or workspace is provided by the Council for a Contractors use e.g. in catering contracts                                                              

In the majority of cases, it will be the responsibility of the owners of the equipment and / or premises to have a system in place for its maintenance.

The responsibilities for repair and maintenance of buildings and equipment must be:

• clarified at the time that the contract is let; and
• stated in the contract

Arrangements must be put in place to ensure that any required maintenance is carried out.

3.7      Contractors

All contractors engaged by the Council, including self-employed persons have a legal obligation to:

• ensure they and their subcontractors are competent to undertake the works required;
• protect themselves and their employees;
• ensure that their work activities do not put others including members of the public and Council employees at risk; and
• assess the risks that their activities pose to themselves and others and take appropriate action to control those risks.

3.8      Shared Workplaces

Where two or more employers share a workplace, either temporarily or permanently, they must:   

• assess the risks to health and safety of their own employees and others affected by their undertaking; and
• co-ordinate and co-operate on health and safety matters e.g. arrangements for fire and first aid.

3.9      Training

Buckinghamshire Council or its Consultant’s employees with a responsibility for organising and supervising contracts must:

• be competent to do so, see definition of competence in Part 3, Forms and Checklists, Appendix 16; and

have received sufficient training in order that they may fulfil their responsibilities as outlined in this guidance. This may be via their employer, their professional body, a qualification and/or experience.

For the purpose of this document, there are six types of contract in use within the Council. If in doubt about the categorisation of a contract, please consult the Health and Safety or Procurement Teams.  

4.1     Purchase of Goods/Low Risk Services:

This includes the purchase of a wide range of goods and some services including such items as:

• pens, paper
• machines and equipment
• chemicals

and provision of ‘LOW RISK’ Services such as Trainers, HR or Finance Consultants, postal and delivery services. 

4.2     Installation of Equipment:

If an item being purchased requires installation e.g. a machine tool in a school workshop it must be installed by a competent person to the correct standard, incorporating where applicable, safety devices, lock off switches, guards, emergency stops etc.

Legislation applying to these areas may include Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), etc. The requirements of these regulations need to be addressed prior to purchase.

4.3     Directly Supplied Service Contracts:

Including services such as window cleaning, cleaning of buildings, maintenance of machines and equipment, grounds maintenance and forestry / tree work and supply of lease / hire equipment, provision of personal care.

4.4     Construction / Building Maintenance:

Including highways, general building and repair work sometimes involving a number of different trades. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to all such work, no matter how small (See Part 2 the ‘Toolkit’ Section 7).

4.5     “High Risk” Projects, Trades and Consultancy Services:

Typically; these involve engineering and architectural design for buildings, roads, landscaping and other professional services or trades such as gas work, electrical work etc.

4.6     Outsourcing a Function / Service:

Whole Service areas or functions may be outsourced to external organisations e.g. IT, Facilities, Estate Management, etc.

Although it may have little input or control over the day-to-day management of the function once it is outsourced, the Council is still responsible for monitoring the contractor’s performance. This includes ensuring that the contractor is competent and has all the necessary health and safety arrangements in place.

Contractors are mainly selected to work for the Council using the following methods:

a) Contractors may apply to be on a Buckinghamshire Council List of Contractors of an employing service such as Transportation or Property Services. NB: Quotes or tenders will still be required, see the Council’s Standing Orders and Financial Regulations, or local rules for devolved / delegated budgets for the awarding of contracts.

b) Contractors may tender for a particular contract or “Framework”, for example: catering, window cleaning, highways maintenance, vehicle maintenance, a building extension or grounds maintenance (this will include the procedures adopted locally by schools / establishments with delegated / devolved budgets).

c)Within Services, Head Teachers or Heads of establishments may use local contractors via quotations in accordance with standing orders and financial regulations.

In very exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to use a contractor to fulfil a proprietary need (see the Council’s Standing Orders for full details) for which no competitive tenders can be obtained. In these circumstances the health and safety requirements of this document still need to be fulfilled and it is recommended that the advice of the Procurement Team should be sought.

Where work is carried out by volunteers (paid or unpaid) the same standards apply as for any other contracted work. See the Council’s Health and Safety Policies and Procedures Section 2.8 Volunteers.

CONTRACT TYPES Listed in section 4.2 – 4.6

For a Contractor to be engaged by the Council a Stage One and Stage Two health and safety evaluation must be carried out for contract types 4.2 – 4.6 as detailed below.

6.1   Health and Safety Evaluation Stage One

This is a non-specific assessment of contractor’s health and safety management policy, arrangements and procedures. It caters for companies of all sizes and uses documentation appropriate to those contractors who are self-employed or employ less than 5 people as well as those that employ more. All self-employed persons and employers are required by law to have health and safety policies and arrangements in place.

It is the policy of the Council that contactors with current accredited membership of the Contractors Health and Safety Scheme (CHAS) or an alternative Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP Forum) member company will automatically be accepted as being compliant with the Stage One Health and Safety Assessment.

Other contractors not holding such accreditations applying for consideration must either demonstrate equivalence to the CHAS or SSIP Safety Schemes or complete BC’s own health and safety evaluation form(s) appropriate to their circumstances’ and submit it with relevant supporting documentation for evaluation by the councils contacting officers.

The onus is on the contractor to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate their membership of a SSIP or equivalent Scheme, although this can be checked by the Contracting Officer.

For information on carrying out a Stage One Evaluation using CHAS, SSIP or BC evaluation forms see Part 2 the “Toolkit” Section 1.

Should a contractor lose their registered compliant status or fail to renew it at the end of their compliance period they will be invited by the employing Service to remedy the situation. Failure to do so will result in removal from the relevant list(s) of contractors.

If, however, any Contract type detailed in section 4.1 – 4.6 is going to be awarded using one of the EU Procurement procedures, then you must contact the Procurement Team before you begin the tender process.

6.2    Health and Safety Assessment Stage Two: Contractors Competency

A Stage Two assessment is required in order to establish a contractor’s competence in relation to their experience for the specific work to be undertaken. The Stage Two assessment must be carried out by an appropriate competent person, who may be either the contracting officer, a member or members of the contracting team or a consultant contractor.

The assessment may be carried out at the same time as a tender or at the time of establishing a standing list of contractors used for call-off orders via a schedule of rates. If a standing list of contractors or framework contract is being established for future tendering, competency checks must be made at the time of tender.

For more information about the Stage Two Assessment see Part 2 the Toolkit Section 2.

6.3     Contract types listed in section 4.1

For contractors applying for contracts detailed in section 4.1 – Purchasing of Goods – CHAS registration, SSIP membership or the equivalent is optional although they will still be required to supply basic health and safety information to the contracting officer.

Health and safety considerations will be addressed by ensuring that:

• items are made to a relevant British or European Standard where this applies; and
• the item(s) are suitable for the purpose for which they are purchased.

See Section 5 of Part 2 the “Toolkit” for a Standard Conditions of Contract for Purchasing paragraph for use in contracts.

It may be appropriate to ask contactors in this ‘low risk’ category to supply some basic health and safety information. A question set for this can be found in Part 3 Forms and Checklists Appendix 3.

7.1    Risk Assessment

To ensure that work is safely carried out, the contracting officer / consultant must complete a general risk assessment of the hazards associated with the work required. Any risk that can be eliminated or reduced by the clients should be acted on if possible. In many instances the risk assessment will reveal very little risk involved and nothing that a contractor, assessed as competent, would not expect to deal with on a day to day basis. In such instances there may be no information on residual risk to pass on to the contractor. If residual risks are identified these must be passed to the contractor in order for them to make suitable arrangements to deal with them.

However, the same work being carried out when vulnerable clients or children may be in the area could raise the risks for both them and the contractor. In these cases, co-operation and communication will be vital to manage the risk successfully.

In high-risk areas a more detailed risk assessment will be required, for example:

• gas,
• electrical,
• work on the highways or near to live carriageways,
• working at height e.g. window cleaning,
• confined space working,
• working adjacent to water,
• asbestos,
• proximity to vulnerable clients / pupils with unpredictable behaviour, and
• transporting of vulnerable clients or those who use wheelchairs, etc.

Some of these activities will require a ‘permit to work system’, hot work procedure, or method statements. See Part 3 Forms and Checklists, Appendices 9-13 for further guidance.

7.2    Further Requirements for Contract types listed in section 4.4 – 4.6 and High-Risk Work

This category of work could extend to supplying a whole Council service area or portfolio function or could involve construction, renovation, redevelopment, decoration and / or repairs or maintenance. In which case, The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 will apply regardless of size. See section 7 of Part 2 of the “Toolkit” for details.

Council employees placing orders with contractors may only do so for high-risk work if qualified / competent to do so (or where they are reporting to a qualified person who must then sign off the work following a specific risk assessment of the work to be undertaken). 

The principles below generally refer to the procedures required in a construction project. However, they should be taken and modified to use in any contracting process to effectively manage the health and safety aspects of the work. The Health and Safety Team can help with this task and advise on developing arrangements specific to particular work.

For any type of work clients must make sure: -

• there are reasonable management arrangements in place;
• they allow sufficient time for each stage of the work ;
• they ensure co-operation with all parties involved;
• they ensure there is co-ordination between all parties involved;
• that welfare arrangements are made if required; and
• any fixed workplaces comply with health and safety requirements and relevant information is passed to any parties that may need it.

Pre-start or pre-construction information (if CDM Applicable) will also need to be drawn up prior to tender / selection of a contractor. Service Area permission for such work initiated locally will also be required. See Toolkit Section 12 for a précis of CDM 2015.

It is strongly advised that owing to the potential size and complexity of such work professional knowledge and advice is sought.

When placing an order for such work one of the following statements should be incorporated:

I have carried out a risk assessment of the work* / site* (*delete as appropriate) and, in my opinion, the work may be undertaken either:

a) By you as a competent contractor in accordance with your generic / specific risk assessments and working practices, taking any BC generic risk assessments that may have been issued to you into account.

Or 

b) When the additional requirements, information, residual hazards and risks described above / attached have been addressed and your intentions discussed with me for agreement.

The contractor must then carry out their own work-based risk assessment and develop appropriate method statements and working practices (Safety Plan) taking into account all the information provided by the Contracting Officer.

Or for CDM 2015 notifiable contracts.

c) Pre-construction information works order is attached. You must not start work until you have discussed your intentions with the client co-ordinator for approval and delivered your construction phase Health and Safety Plan. Formal authorisation to proceed will be given by the client.

The order must be signed by the officer who has assessed the work, and when appropriate in the case of a CDM job above the threshold (see Section 7 of Part 2 the “Toolkit”) by the Designer / CDM-Coordinator; as well as the officer authorised to sign the order in accordance with the financial regulations of the Council.

Finally, all such information should be discussed and agreed at a pre-start meeting involving all the parties affected by the work during its progress at any stage; See Part 3 Forms and Checklists Appendix 7 for information on what should be included in a pre-start meeting.

7.3    Information for Contractors

Information on residual risks following the contracting officer’s risk assessment must be passed to the contractor with any other relevant information. This must include information to assist the contractor to carry out the work safely. This information will change in detail on a contract-to-contract and site-to-site basis; however, an example has been provided in Part 3, Forms and Checklists, Appendix 15 as a guide to the type of information which should be provided by contracting officers. Contracting officers may modify this example as appropriate.

The effort devoted to planning and managing health and safety should be in proportion to the risks and complexity associated with the project / work.

Any paperwork produced should help with communication and risk management. Paperwork which adds little to the management of risk is a waste of effort.

7.4    Planning Meeting

Before work commences a pre-contract, planning meeting must be held. In complex or high-risk projects there may be many as the project progresses through its various stages. This meeting should be attended by the following:

• Designer (and CDM co-ordinator if applicable).
• Supervising officer (or consultant) from the employing Service area.
• Principal Contractor and or contractor’s representatives (senior member of site staff).
• Where applicable the manager / person in charge of the premises in which the work will take place (where the building is occupied by staff of more than one Service area or shared site and the work is likely to affect them all then a representative from each Service area or Team should attend).
• Where appropriate the Service area’s Health and Safety Adviser.

Methods of controlling work events to avoid risks should also be considered, see Part 3 Forms and Checklists Appendix 9-13 for standard Permit to Work / Limitation of Access forms.

The Contractor must have developed a Safety Plan or if appropriate a Method Statement for the work from the pre-construction / start information. See Part 2, the Toolkit, Section 3 and Part 3, Forms and Checklists, Appendix 14 for guidance.

Work may not commence until either the appointed CDM co-ordinator (if applicable) contractor and / or contracting officer agrees that the safety plans and arrangements are sufficiently developed for works to commence. The Principal Contractor, if applicable or contractor is then responsible for the on-going implementation / development of the plan as the project develops.

Buckinghamshire Council as Owners / Occupiers of Premises must:

• Ensure that access and egress to the premises and any plant, equipment or substances within it are safe and without risks to health;
• ensure that contractors working on the premises are given adequate information about any specific risks e.g. unsafe floor surfaces, roof lights, or the presence of clients / children who could interfere with work;
• ensure that any contractors carrying out work on the fabric of the building consult and sign the Asbestos Log. See Asbestos Policy, BCC Health and Safety Policy and Procedures Section 4.2;
• provide information to those persons who might be affected by:
• nearby property or processes,
• other contractors on site or nearby, and
• restrictions on working times.

Landlords also have a duty to occupying tenants or contractors working in or sharing premises.

The contractor or supervising officer must notify the manager of the premises in advance of:

• the commencement date of any work;
• the nature of that work; and
• the arrangements that must be made to ensure the safety of all persons affected.

All contractors working on Council premises must report their presence on site to the person responsible for that building and discuss the safety precautions, which must be put into place whilst the work is carried out.  Failure to do so must be reported to the contract supervising officer.

A permit to work or limitation of access system should, if appropriate, be adopted to help control the contractors on site. See Part 3, Forms and Checklists, Appendices 9-13 for a definition and examples of permit to work and limitation of access permits.

Clear guidance, standards and codes of practice exist for most work activities and tasks undertaken by contractors for example:

• the safe use of equipment;
• electricity;
• use of hazardous substances;
• working at height;
• protection from falling objects etc;
• hot working; and
• confined spaces working etc.

Information on acceptable standards can be obtained from the employing Service area or the Health and Safety Team. Advice is also available from The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by telephone or via their website www.hse.gov.uk

8.1     Unsafe Work Activities

Where a contractor is working in an unsafe way the following action should be taken by supervising officers / heads of establishments:

Imminent Risk:

• Consult directly with the contractor on site, ask immediately for the unsafe practice to stop and inform the contract supervising officer.
• If the risk continues remove all persons within Council control and inform the contract supervising officer and the Health and Safety Team.
• Immediately contact the contract supervising officer.

Further Action:

In all cases any verbal complaint to the contractor's supervising officer must be:

• Recorded and followed up in writing to the contract supervising officer and the Health and Safety Team so that appropriate action can be taken.

Where the employing Service area cannot be identified or contacted then the Health and Safety Team should be informed.

Only those authorised by the employing Service area may agree to or request changes in job specification.

Advice on Safety Matters in Relation to Contractors

If any doubt arises regarding the working activities of a contractor, then:

• Immediately contact the contract supervising officer.
• If you are unable to contact them or feel that you have received unsatisfactory advice, then contact the Health & Safety Team.

Action to be taken by the Supervising Officer etc.

On receipt of a report of unsafe work activities by a contractor, the supervising officer (or other nominated officer) will visit that site as soon as possible in order to take appropriate action. A record of any such reports, complaints and visits must be kept in order to facilitate the monitoring and review process.

Where breaches of safe working practice are serious and the contractor fails to respond to requests to cease dangerous activities, consideration will be given to terminating the contract and replacing the contractor. The arrangements for doing this will be written into the contract documentation.

The Council supervises / monitors work with contractors in two ways:

EITHER

• Directly via competent Council staff responsible for the site, or those with delegated responsibilities for the site. In this case the Council has the responsibility for monitoring the contractor’s activities.

OR

• Via competent consultants / contactors acting on the Council’s behalf. In these cases, the consultants have responsibility, which should be clearly stated in the contact documents, and they must therefore carry out direct monitoring of contractor’s activities. Council employees also have a responsibility to monitor the work of the consultant to see they are fulfilling their responsibilities.

The large amount of small low risk and ongoing contract work being undertaken for the Council means that it is impossible for all work to be directly supervised. Therefore, it is essential that all Council employees take some responsibility for monitoring the work of contractors and take appropriate action should they feel that the health or safety of employees, clients, and members of the public is in anyway threatened by the activities of the contractor. See Section 8.1 of this document for details of the procedure for reporting unsafe activities.

9.1    On-Site Monitoring

Whilst the work is in progress the following persons have responsibilities for ensuring the work is carried out safely: -

Premises Managers should:

• Deal with any issues affecting health and safety presented by the contractor or work carried out and passing relevant information to the supervising officer (in some cases this person may also be the supervising officer and contracting officer); and
• Investigate any reports of unsafe working brought to their attention.

Employees should:

• Report unsafe acts or conditions to their supervisor / manager who will take the appropriate action.

9.2    Monitoring by Supervising Officers

Supervising Officers have responsibilities for       

• monitoring on site safety for risks to Council employees and non-employees;
• taking appropriate action where necessary; and
• recording findings and action taken.

The Supervising Officer is responsible for reviewing and investigating complaints about the health and safety performance of contractors and taking appropriate action. This person will directly monitor contracts in a number of different ways including measurement of Key Performance Indicators and site visits. A minimum target of 5% of works sites should be formally monitored annually and records must be kept.

The extent of monitoring may vary with the level of risk. See Part 3, Forms and Checklists, Appendix 8 for an example.

It is strongly recommended that the health and safety monitoring be linked to and carried out at the same time as quality monitoring.

Model guide outline of procedures for monitoring and review of contractors, other than supply of goods contracts.