If you work for main contractors, facilities companies or public bodies, sooner or later a customer will ask for a health and safety accreditation. The names are confusing, but the idea is simple: an independent body checks your health and safety arrangements once, and customers accept that instead of each sending their own questionnaire.
SSIP: Safety Schemes in Procurement
SSIP is an umbrella body for health and safety pre-qualification schemes, mainly used in construction. Its member schemes assess businesses against a common set of core criteria, which HSE describes as what it means for a construction business to comply with basic health and safety law, and they recognise each other’s assessments through a "deem to satisfy" arrangement.
HSE’s advice to buyers is that they do not need to ask for evidence of assessment against more than one SSIP member scheme. So if a customer asks for a particular scheme, it is worth asking whether an SSIP assessment you already hold will do. The SSIP portal shows which schemes are members.
The Common Assessment Standard
The Common Assessment Standard was developed by Build UK with the Civil Engineering Contractors Association and launched in 2019. It builds on PAS 91 and covers wider areas than health and safety, such as financial standing, quality, environmental management and corporate social responsibility. There are two levels, a desktop assessment and a site-based assessment, and smaller firms are assessed proportionately.
A building safety section was added in 2024 and, since 1 July 2025, is mandatory for companies carrying out design or building work under the Building Safety Act.
Which one do you need?
- Look at what your customers ask for in their questionnaires and tender documents: they decide.
- For smaller contractors and private clients, an SSIP member scheme is often enough.
- Tier 1 contractors and larger public works increasingly expect the Common Assessment Standard.
- ISO 45001 certification does not automatically replace either, though it makes the assessment easier.
What assessment involves
- An online questionnaire about your arrangements: policy, organisation, risk assessment, training and competence, consultation, monitoring, accident reporting and managing subcontractors.
- Evidence for each answer: policies, risk assessments and RAMS, training records, insurance certificates and accident figures.
- Review by an assessor, who may ask for more evidence before passing you.
- For site-based levels, a visit to see the arrangements working.
- Renewal, usually every year, with the evidence brought up to date.
What accreditation does not prove
HSE is clear that the law does not require conformity assessment, and that a scheme assessment is not proof that an organisation can properly manage the risks of a particular job. Customers should still check project-specific RAMS, competence and track record, and suppliers should expect them to.
Frequently asked questions
Is accreditation a legal requirement?
No. HSE says the law does not require conformity assessment. It is one way of meeting a customer’s pre-qualification requirements.
Do we need it if we hold ISO 45001?
Not automatically. Some customers accept ISO 45001 certification; others still ask for SSIP or the Common Assessment Standard. Check what each customer requires.
How can we make assessment quicker?
Have your policies, risk assessments, training records, insurance certificates and accident figures in one place and up to date before you apply. Most of the time goes on gathering evidence.
This guide is general information for UK businesses, not legal advice. Check the current regulations and HSE guidance at hse.gov.uk, and take professional advice for your situation.