Checklist
Principal contractor compliance checklist
Everything a principal contractor needs to manage on their own compliance and across their subcontractor supply chain.
By Complys·26 Mar 2026·7 min read
As a principal contractor, you carry CDM 2015 legal duties for the health and safety of the construction phase — including managing the compliance of every subcontractor you appoint. Your own compliance must also be impeccable, as clients and auditors will scrutinise it closely.
Your own compliance
Insurance
- Public liability insurance — minimum £5 million, most clients require £10 million or more
- Employers' liability insurance — minimum £5 million
- Contract works / all risks insurance — covering the project works
- Professional indemnity insurance — if providing design or management services
Accreditation
- CHAS or SMAS — SSIP pre-qualification. Complys helps you maintain the documents required to obtain and keep these.
- Constructionline Gold — the PQQ pass is valuable for public sector tender work
- ISO 9001 — quality management
- ISO 14001 — environmental management, increasingly required by clients
- ISO 45001 — occupational health and safety management
Key personnel
- Site manager — SMSTS qualified
- Site supervisors — SSSTS qualified
- All operatives — CSCS cards at appropriate level
- First aider — current first aid at work certificate, at least one per site
- Appointed person for lifting operations — where applicable
CDM 2015 duties
- F10 notification submitted to HSE before work starts (notifiable projects)
- Construction phase plan prepared before work starts
- Health and safety file maintained and updated throughout the project
- Principal designer appointed and coordinating with
- Site rules established and communicated to all workers
- Emergency procedures in place and communicated
- Welfare facilities provided and maintained
Subcontractor management
As principal contractor, you are legally responsible for the competence and compliance of your subcontractors. You must check and document:
- Insurance — public liability, employers' liability — certificates current
- Accreditation — CHAS, SMAS or equivalent SSIP scheme
- Competency cards — CSCS cards and trade-specific cards (CISRS, ECS, CPCS, Gas Safe, etc.)
- RAMS — site-specific risk assessment and method statement for their work package
- Right to work — evidence for all workers they bring on site
- Induction records — all subcontractor workers inducted before starting work
Site management documents
- Construction phase plan
- Site-specific RAMS for principal contractor activities
- Scaffold inspection records
- Permit to work system for high-risk activities
- Site induction records for all workers
- Toolbox talk records
- Accident, incident and near miss records
- Waste transfer notes
- Subcontractor approval records
Compliance checklist summary
- ✓ Public liability insurance (min £10m)
- ✓ Employers' liability insurance (min £5m)
- ✓ Contract works insurance
- ✓ CHAS or SMAS accreditation
- ✓ Constructionline Gold
- ✓ SMSTS for all site managers
- ✓ CSCS cards for all own operatives
- ✓ F10 notification submitted
- ✓ Construction phase plan in place
- ✓ Subcontractor compliance records (insurance, accreditation, cards, RAMS)
- ✓ Site induction records for all workers
- ✓ Permit to work system operational
- ✓ Accident and near miss records
- ✓ Right to work evidence for all own employees
Manage your supply chain compliance with Complys
Live compliance scores for every subcontractor. Document status, expiry alerts and GPS attendance — all in one dashboard.