Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

3.10 
Contractors
3.10.1 Introduction
The use of contractors is increasing as many companies 
turn to outside resources to supplement their own staff 
and expertise. A contractor is anyone who is brought in 
to work who is not an employee. Contractors are used for 
maintenance, repairs, installation, construction, demo-
lition, computer work, cleaning, security, health and 
safety and many other tasks. Sometimes there are sev-
eral contractors on site at any one time. Clients need to 
think about how their work may affect each other and 
how they interact with the normal site occupier.
3.10.2 Legal 
considerations
The HSW Act applies to all work activities. It requires 
employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, 
the health and safety of:
➤
their 
employees
➤
other people at work on their site, including 
contractors
➤
members of the public who may be affected by their 
work.
Figure 3.5
Inadequate chair – take care when buying 
second-hand.

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Organizing for health and safety
39
All parties to a contract have specifi c responsibilities 
under health and safety law, and these cannot be passed 
on to someone else:
➤
employers are responsible for protecting people 
from harm caused by work activities. This includes 
the responsibility not to harm contractors and sub-
contractors on site
➤
employees and contractors have to take care not 
to endanger themselves, their colleagues or others 
affected by their work
➤
contractors also have to comply with the HSW Act 
and other health and safety legislations. Clearly, 
when contractors are engaged, the activities of dif-
ferent employers do interact. So cooperation and 
communication are needed to make sure all parties 
can meet their obligations
➤
employees have to cooperate with their employer on 
health and safety matters, and not do anything that 
puts them or others at risk
➤
employees must be trained and clearly instructed in 
their duties
➤
self-employed people must not put themselves 
in danger, or others who may be affected by what 
they do
➤
suppliers of chemicals, machinery and equipment 
have to make sure their products or imports are 
safe, and provide information on this.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regula-
tions apply to everyone at work and encourage employ-
ers to take a more systematic approach to dealing with 
health and safety by:
➤
assessing the risks which affect employees and 
anyone who might be affected by the site occupier’s 
work, including contractors
➤
setting up emergency procedures
➤
providing 
training
➤
cooperating with others on health and safety mat-
ters, for example, contractors who share the site 
with an occupier
➤
providing temporary workers such as contractors, 
with health and safety information.
The principles of cooperation, coordination and com-
munication between organizations underpin the 
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 
and the CDM Regulations, explained next. See later 
section 3.11 on joint occupation of premises. For more 
information on the Management of Health and Safety at 
Work Regulations, read the summary in Chapter 17.