Booking in contractors

To book in contractor attendance and request a Permit to Work, contact the Estates Helpdesk.

If you have questions regarding the implementation of the Management of Contractors Policy, please contact the Estates team at estatesadmin@sussex.ac.uk.

If you need to book in contracted work on campus, e.g. for refurbishments or larger projects, this needs to be verified and approved with the Estates and Health, Safety and Wellbeing teams to ensure compliance and safety requirements are met.

All contracted works on campus that involve the following high-risk activities require a Permit to Work (and may require additional access authority) to proceed. This includes:

Hot works (e.g. welding, cutting etc.)
Confined space entry
Electrical or mechanical isolation and certain live-working activities
Complex or high-risk work at height, excavation or ground disturbance
Access to restricted or hazardous areas, such as laboratories and plant rooms

The Permit to Work and access procedures are outlined in the process map below.

Staff that are commissioning or managing contractor works are responsible for ensuring that external contractors are competent to undertake the work; receive all appropriate information about risks and site arrangements; are adequately supervised; and are compliant with applicable University policies and procedures.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Who counts as a contractor?

A contractor is any external company or individual carrying out work or providing services on behalf of the University.

This includes construction companies, maintenance providers, installers, service engineers, consultants, and subcontractors.

The policy applies regardless of the size, value, duration, or payment arrangements for the work.

What are the key roles under CDM 2015?

For construction projects, several duty holders have specific health and safety responsibilities:

The Client (the University) – makes sure suitable arrangements are in place to manage health and safety.
Principal Designer (PD) – manages and coordinates risks during the design stage.
Principal Contractor (PC) – manages and coordinates health and safety during construction.
Designers and Contractors – ensure risks are reduced through safe design and delivery of the work. If a Principal Designer or Principal Contractor is not formally appointed when required, these duties may remain with the Client.

What pre-procurement checks are carried out before a contractor is appointed?

Before appointing a contractor, the University needs to be satisfied that they can carry out the work safely and competently.

This includes checking their skills, knowledge, experience, and organisational capability; health and safety management arrangements; appropriate insurance cover, relevant qualifications, accreditations, or certifications; references and previous performance.

All appointments must follow the University's procurement and approval processes.

What are the minimum pre-commencement requirements?

Contractors must not start work until all required documentation and approvals are in place.

This may include approved Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS), Pre-Construction Information (PCI), and where applicable, a Construction Phase Plan (CPP) for construction activities.

Any required Permits to Work, site induction(s) and briefing on local hazards and emergency procedures must be completed before work commences.

What are RAMS and what should they include?

RAMS (Risk Assessments and Method Statements) explain how work will be carried out safely.

They should identify the hazards associated with the task, explain the control measures that will be used, describe the safe system of work, consider interactions with other contractors and occupied areas.

RAMS should be specific to the task and location, rather than generic, and must be communicated to everyone carrying out the work.

RAMS must be reviewed and accepted by a competent person before work begins.

When is a Permit to Work required?

A Permit to Work is required for certain high-risk activities, such as:

Hot works (e.g. welding, cutting, etc)
Confined space entry
Electrical or mechanical isolation and certain live-working activities
Complex or high-risk Work at Height, excavation or ground disturbance
Access to restricted or hazardous areas, such as laboratories and plant rooms

Permits provide formal authorisation and help ensure the necessary precautions are in place before work starts.

What does an Authorised Person (AP) do?

An Authorised Person helps ensure that high-risk work is carried out safely.

The AP's responsibilities include reviewing whether all safety requirements have been met, issuing and closing permits, confirming contractor competence, checking that isolations and safety controls are in place, and applying additional controls where the level of risk requires it.

What information is included in Pre-Construction Information (PCI)?

Pre-Construction Information provides contractors and designers with important information about the site and project.

Depending on the work, it may include existing Health and Safety Files, asbestos information, service drawings and structural information, known hazards such as chemical, biological, or radiation risks, site access arrangements and logistics, emergency procedures and welfare facilities.

The information provided should be appropriate to the complexity and risks of the project.

What is a Construction Phase Plan (CPP)?

A Construction Phase Plan sets out how health and safety will be managed during construction work.

Typically it includes roles and responsibilities, key project risks and control measures site rules and working arrangements, welfare and emergency arrangements, monitoring and supervision arrangements. The plan must be reviewed before work starts and kept up to date throughout the project.

How are contractors monitored while they are on site?

The level of monitoring will depend on the risk and complexity of the work.

Monitoring activities include site inspections and audits, checks against approved RAMS and permits, reviews of supervision arrangements, observing working practices and behaviours, measuring performance against agreed standards or KPIs.

What happens if a contractor does not follow the requirements?

If a contractor fails to comply with safety requirements, action will be taken based on the level of risk.

This may include immediate intervention to make the situation safe, requests for corrective action, stopping work until issues are resolved, escalation through project management processes, and formal contractual action.

Serious or repeated breaches may result in removal from site, contract termination, or exclusion from future work opportunities.

How should accidents, incidents, and near misses be reported?

All contractor-related incidents must be reported through the University's reporting procedures. This includes accidents and injuries, near misses, dangerous occurrences.

Where required by law, incidents must also be reported under RIDDOR within the appropriate timescales.

All incidents must be reported through the University’s incident reporting system by no later than the end of the day on which they occur. This reporting deadline ensures that incidents are reported promptly, as experience has shown that without one, some incidents may be reported several days later or not at all.

What are a contractor's supervision responsibilities and assurance obligations?

Contractors are expected to actively manage health and safety within their own teams.

This includes providing relevant CDM documentation for assurance, monitoring, and compliance purposes; providing suitable supervision; monitoring compliance with safe systems of work; managing risks throughout the project; and taking action when unsafe behaviour or conditions are identified.

This is subject to University oversight and verification.

What must be done at project completion?

Before a project is formally closed, contractors are required to submit any relevant Health and Safety documentation, communicate any residual or ongoing risks.

All contracted works must leave the site safe, clean, and operational.

Contractors may be asked to participate in a project review or lessons learned process where appropriate.

When is an F10 notification required?

An F10 notification must be submitted to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) when a construction project meets the notification thresholds set out under CDM 2015.

Responsibility for submitting the notification should be agreed during project planning.

What are the consequences of not complying with this policy?

Failure to comply with the University's contractor management requirements may result in work being stopped immediately, including removal from site.

This could extend to formal contractual action, exclusion from future tendering or procurement opportunities, and/or legal or regulatory enforcement action where applicable.

Contractors are expected to comply with all relevant health and safety requirements throughout the duration of their work.