Contractors carry out a large proportion of the work in any managed building. They service gas systems, test electrical installations, inspect lifts, carry out fire safety work, and handle everything from cleaning to major refurbishment. And for every one of those tasks, the legal responsibility sits with the facilities manager who appointed them.
This is the part of FM compliance that catches many organisations off guard. It is not enough to hire a contractor with the right accreditations. You must verify those accreditations, brief the contractor properly, oversee the work, and keep the records to prove all of this was done.
Contractor compliance is under more scrutiny than ever in 2026. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced explicit competence requirements. Regulators have increased enforcement activity. Corporate clients now audit contractor management as part of FM due diligence. This guide explains what good contractor compliance looks like in practice.
Codedevza AI‘s FM platforms track contractor accreditations, induction records, permit to work logs, and verification evidence across every site, in real time.
Why Contractor Compliance Is the FM Team’s Responsibility
The most common misunderstanding in contractor management is that once a contractor is on site, the responsibility shifts to them. It does not.
Under the Management of Health and Safetyat Work Regulations 1999, the duty to assess risks including risks created by contractors rests with the premises controller. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the duty to inform contractors about asbestos risks before work begins sits with the dutyholder. Under the Building Safety Act 2022, the duty to verify contractor competence before appointing them is explicit.
If a contractor causes harm because they were not informed of site specific risks, or because their accreditation was not verified, the enforcement action will target the FM team, not just the contractor. Understanding this is the starting point for effective contractor compliance management.
Pre Qualification: The First Line of Defence
Before any contractor sets foot on site, their competence and compliance status must be verified. Pre qualification is the process of checking that a contractor meets the minimum legal and technical standards required for the work they are being asked to do.
For hard FM services in the UK, minimum accreditation requirements include:
- Gas Safe registration mandatory for all gas and boiler work
- NICEIC or equivalent certification for electrical work
- REFCOM for air conditioning and refrigeration work
- F Gas handling certification for work involving fluorinated gases
- CHAS or SafeContractor for general health and safety assurance
- Asbestos Licensing Authority registration for work on or near asbestos containing materials
All of these must be verified against official registers, not taken on trust from contractor marketing materials or email confirmations. Gas Safe registration can be checked at gassaferegister.co.uk. NICEIC registration at niceic.com. ISO certifications such as ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 should also be checked where relevant.
All pre qualification records the accreditation checks, the date they were carried out, and any follow up actions must be retained. If a contractor’s accreditation lapses during a contract, the FM teams must have a process for identifying this and acting on it.
Site Inductions and Communicating Site Specific Risks
Every contractor working on a managed site must receive a site induction before starting work. The induction is not a box ticking exercise. It is the mechanism through which the FM team communicates information that the contractor cannot know from their own experience.
A thorough contractor site induction should cover:
- Site specific hazards including asbestos locations, electrical isolation points, fragile roofs, and restricted areas
- Emergency procedures fire evacuation routes, assembly points, and who to contact in an emergency
- Site rules lone working policy, permit to work requirements, and reporting procedures
- The asbestos register location, condition, and any restrictions on work near ACMs
- Any ongoing or recent incidents that may be relevant to the contractor’s work
Contractors must sign induction records, and FM teams must retain them. If a contractor returns after an extended absence, fm teams should carry out a refresher induction, particularly where site conditions may have changed.
Codedevza AI‘s compliance platforms include digital permit to work management, contractor verification, and audit ready evidence across your entire estate.
Permit to Work Systems
For high risk activities, a permit to work system is not optional. This system ensures teams plan, authorise, and carry out hazardous tasks safely before the work begins.
Activities that require a permit to work in most FM environments include:
- Hot work welding, grinding, cutting, and any activity that produces ignition sources
- Confined space entry work in tanks, ducts, voids, or any space not designed for continuous human occupancy
- Electrical isolation working on or near live electrical systems
- Work at height any work where a fall from height is a risk
- Excavation any digging work near buried services
A permit to work must be issued before the work starts, signed by the person authorising it, and retained as a record. It must clearly state what work teams will carry out, what hazards exist, what controls are in place, and what the emergency arrangements are. After completing the work, FM teams must formally close and sign off the permit.
Ongoing Supervision and Monitoring
Appointing a compliant contractor does not end the FM team’s obligations. FM teams must monitor the work to ensure it is carried out safely and in line with the agreed scope and method.
Effective ongoing supervision of contractors includes:
- Periodic checks during the work not just at the start
- Reviewing method statements to confirm the contractor is working to the agreed approach
- Responding promptly to any changes in scope or site conditions that affect the risk assessment
- Documenting any issues identified and the actions taken
For larger or longer running contracts, formal contractor performance reviews provide the opportunity to assess compliance performance over time. FM teams should remove contractors who repeatedly fail to meet compliance standards from the approved contractor list.
Post Work: Certificates, Records, and Closeout
When work is complete, the FM team must ensure they receive and retain all required documentation. This includes:
- Statutory inspection certificates EICR, gas safety records, LOLER certificates, and any other certification required by law
- Completion certificates and sign off records
- FM teams must update asset information, particularly when they install new assets or modify existing ones.
- Closed permit to work records
- Waste transfer notes for any waste removed from site
FM teams must file these records against the relevant asset or building in a centralised system. A certificate received by email and sitting in an inbox is not a compliance record; it is a gap waiting to be found.
Codedevza AImakes contractor compliance management simple with centralised records, automated accreditation tracking, and instant audit ready outputs.
FAQ’s
Who is legally responsible for contractor compliance on an FM site?
The FM team or duty holder appointing the contractor carries the primary legal responsibility for contractor compliance. This includes verifying competence, communicating site specific risks, supervising the work, and retaining records of all of the above. If a contractor causes harm due to inadequate briefing or supervision, enforcement action will target the appointing organisation.
What accreditations must FM contractors hold in the UK?
Key accreditations include Gas Safe registration for gas work, NICEIC certification for electrical work, REFCOM for air conditioning, F Gas certification, and CHAS or SafeContractor for general health and safety assurance. ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 are also relevant for demonstrating a systematic management approach.
How should FM teams verify contractor accreditations?
Accreditations must be verified against official registers. FM teams can check Gas Safe registration at gassaferegister.co.uk. NICEIC at niceic.com. Relying on contractor supplied documents or marketing materials is not sufficient. FM teams must record and retain all verification checks.
What is a permit to work and when is it required?
FM teams use a permit to work as a formal control document to authorise and manage high-risk activities. Teams require it for hot work, confined space entry, electrical isolation, work at height, and excavation near buried services. FM teams must issue permits before work starts, ensure an authorised person signs them, and formally close them when work is complete.
What must a contractor site induction cover?
A site induction must cover site specific hazards, the asbestos register and any restrictions, emergency evacuation procedures, site rules and reporting requirements, and any recent incidents relevant to the contractor’s work. FM teams must retain signed induction records.
What happens if a contractor’s accreditation lapses during a contract?
If a contractor’s accreditation lapses, any work carried out after the lapse date is not covered by that accreditation. The FM team must implement a process to monitor accreditation expiry dates and act immediately when they identify a lapse. Continued use of a contractor without valid accreditation creates legal and insurance risk for the appointing organisation.
What records must be retained for contractor compliance?
FM teams must retain pre qualification and verification records, signed induction records, method statements and risk assessments, permit to work records, completion certificates and statutory inspection certificates, contractor performance review records, and waste transfer notes.
How does the Building Safety Act 2022 affect contractor management?
The Building Safety Act introduced explicit competence requirements for anyone carrying out building work. FM teams must take reasonable steps to verify that all appointed contractors have the skills, knowledge, and experience appropriate to their task. Generic accreditation checking is the minimum job specific competence verification is increasingly the expected standard.
What is a method statement and why is it required?
A method statement is a document that sets out how a specific task will be carried out safely. It typically accompanies a risk assessment and is required for any work with significant hazards. FM teams should review method statements before work begins to confirm they are appropriate for the site conditions and that the contractor follows them.
How can technology help FM teams manage contractor compliance?
Digital contractor management platforms can track accreditation expiry dates, store verification records, manage permit to work workflows, and generate audit ready reports across multiple sites. AI powered tools can flag when accreditations are due for renewal and identify gaps in contractor documentation before they become enforcement risks.
