Do you tick all the boxes to be PQS Approved?

Getting PQS approval depends on satisfying the assessors on a wide range of compliance issues. The specific requirements will vary based on several factors related to your business. Therefore, the first step is to ensure you have applied for the most suitable assessment.

There are several different assessment types available through PQS, so it’s important to apply for the right one. This depends on factors such as the number of employees you have and the level requested by your clients.

• We support you every step of the way
• Competitive pricing with no hidden costs
• A quick, easy and hassle-free process

Why PQS Accreditation?

PQS accreditation is almost certain to open more doors and lead to more opportunities – in turn generating more business and profit for you and ensuring your own workforce is protected by robust health and safety practice.

Our service includes:

• Up to date professional advice when you need it most
• You, your directors and managers have direct access with a service provider who understands your needs
• An expedient response from a professional
• A friendly company with wide networking contacts
• Confidence that your legal duties are covered

Call our experts on 0800 031 5404

or alternatively fill out the quick quote form.

Introduction

Due to recent feedback from our clients, we would like to share the information we have on PQS accreditation costs and where it stands in the current market.

PQS accreditation is the most competitive method for achieving SSIP accreditation. PQS can be used to obtain the majority of the SSIP umbrella group partners such as CHAS and Safe contractor under their deem to satisfy scheme

We will explain all of the costs of achieving PQS accreditation and compare it to CHAS, one of the more popular alternatives.

Cost Comparison

CHAS have developed a membership-type offering. The cost of each type depends on how many people you employ.

Costs per annum: You must renew the membership each year.

CHAS accreditation costs

PQS accreditation costs

The costs for PQS accreditation are:

The fees above are correct as of January 2025.

Training costs

In terms of training that is required to achieve the standard needed for assessment, this can vary depending on your activities.

The assessor will be looking to ensure all members of your workforce are trained for the task they are carrying out.

This can be an industry standard that is needed such as:

• Gas safe for gas engineers
• Level 3 NVQ in Electrical Installations
• CISRS Scaffolding Part 1 & 2 – Scaffolders

They will also look to ensure that refresher training is carried out such as tool box talks and eLearning is often required.

Courses that are often asked for include:

• Working at Height
• Manual Handling
• Asbestos Awareness

Competent person costs

Ensuring you have the right level of support and advice for your Health & Safety is a bit of a minefield and can be defined simply by the number of employees you have.

Less than 5 employees = Safety Advisor

This service is where you are offered support and advice when needed, this tends to be a one of payment where you will be given a service agreement, certificate and a CV to show the qualifications of the person who is providing you with the advice. Paperwork such as off the shelf risk assessments and risk assessment and Method statements would be provided on an as and when basis should you need them.

5 or more employees = Competent Person

This service is where you pay a monthly retainer fee for continued support and advice should you need it.  In this service you will be provided with a full Safety Management System including full Health & Safety Policy and Employee Handbook. A consultant will be on hand to provide advice and guidance should this ever be necessary.

Whilst not every company is black and white like this, the rule of thumb tends to be the details above. You may be asked by a client to prove you have a dedicated support for Health & Safety resource as well as a full health & safety policy.

Additional Information

If you still have more questions  don’t hesitate to get in touch, and we will be happy to help you achieve your accreditation.

Bespoke risk assessment and method statement

Get customised risk assessment & method statements for your projects, or select one of our many ready to go templates.

You can easily tailor the template to meet your specific needs.

We provide standard and bespoke RAMS (risk and method statements).

Standard RAMS

We provide a wide range of risk assessment & method statements in template format on our website. Each can be five to sixteen pages long and contain between 3,000 and 9,000 words.

The RAMS are within a template and cover all the principal risks and methods to carry out a specific job. The RAM Templates need the client’s involvement as there will be a comprehensive sequence of work that could apply. As the client, you would be responsible for ensuring that this sequence was relevant to yourself and, if not amended to reflect your process.

Our standard RAMS cost from £6 to £12 per RAM or are provided free as part of our Safety Advisory service or Competent person service.

Review our standard RAMS

Bespoke risk assessment and method statements

Bespoke RAMS are when the client has a very specific request that does not fall into any template we have available. Bespoke RAMS are tailored to include the process you carry out and ensure that all risks are appropriate to the job and site you are working on.

Writing a bespoke RAMS requires input from one of the consultants, so we will charge a fee. Whatever your requirements, we will have the solution to support you.

Use the form on this page to tell us about your requirements, and we will give you an economical fee to write it up for you using one of our templates.

Please complete the form below and give us some details about your requirements.

Complete the form below and we will get in touch

Do I need a health and safety policy?

Find out why even small businesses need a health and safety policy. Learn how to write a policy that meets legal requirements and keeps your employees safe.

If you employ less than five people, you still need a health and safety policy; you can verbally communicate to employees or others who may be affected by your business activities.

Businesses with more than five people must have a more detailed health and safety policy that includes the organisation and arrangements.

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It’s sometimes referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA.

How to write the policy

A policy is a written statement which has three essential parts:

1) Health & Safety Policy

The health and safety policy details a statement of intent. The statement of intent details your aims and objectives, health and safety policy, processes and systems to prevent accidents, train your employees, supply PPE, etc. The policy is signed and dated by the most senior person, the managing director.

(2) Organisation of Health and Safety – Roles and Responsibilities

The organisation of health and safety is best done by developing an organisation chart, with the most senior person at the top, then detailing the people who are responsible for the day-to-day running of all matters concerning health and safety. An example is:

• Managing director
• Health and safety advisor
• Fire safety manager
• Health and safety training manager
• Risk assessments and method statements manager
• PPE manager
• Control of substances hazardous to health COSHH manager

In small businesses, one person may have many roles

3) Arrangements for health and safety – How are risks managed?

The arrangements for health and safety should detail how the organisation aims to achieve its aims. For example:

• Develop risk assessments
• Training of people
• Consulting with people
• Fire and emergency arrangements
• First aid arrangements
• Reporting of accidents, injuries and dangerous incidents
• Arrangements for working at height, manual handling, etc.

Tips to write a health and safety policy

Here are some tips for creating a health and safety policy:

Be specific – Tailor it to your business and clearly state who is responsible for what. 

Get buy-in – Involve all stakeholders, especially those with significant safety responsibilities, to ensure the policy is accurate. 

Review regularly – Update the policy annually or when there are changes to the business, such as a new management structure or expansion. 

The benefits of having a written policy for businesses of any size including: 

• Demonstrating a commitment to the health and safety of employees, customers, contractors, and the public
• Clarifying responsibilities
• Building confidence when seeking new contracts or tenders

Buy a policy

We have written several health and safety policies. Click on the link to review them: Health and safety policies.

• HSG65 health and safety management
• Property developer
• General builder
• Demolition contractor
• Joinery contractor
• Electrical contractor
• Plumbing and heating contractor
• Air conditioning contractor
• Roofing contractor
• Flooring contractor
• Plastering contractor
• Cleaning contractor
• Haulage company
• Bespoke health and safety policy

We can write a policy for you if you can’t see your company type above.

SEGURO Support

If you would like and advice on a Health & Safety Policy, call us on 0800 031 5404 or complete the form below, and we will contact you.

All your H&S requirements in one place

Here at Seguro we can be a one stop shop for your safety needs. We can help you with one off client requests or by being your competent person providing you with our full Safety package the choice is yours.

All our our clients have different needs so we can tailor a package to fit your Health & Safety requirements.

Competent Person

We provide a full Health & Safety Management System including a policy, employee handbook and an environmental policy. Expert advice is available for you 24/7.

Accreditation

If your looking for an accreditation but not sure which one we can recommend one to suit your individual needs

We can help you to provide the paperwork needed to enable you to show you are capable of working safely. These vary depending on what accreditation you are looking to complete.

• PQS
• CHAS All Levels available 
• Safe Contractor
• Constructionline All levels (Silver or Gold)

We stay with you until the accreditation is achieved.

Risk Assessments & Method Statements

We have a full library of Risk Assessments & Method Statements available for you to purchase from as little as £10. All of our documents are available in word format for you to be able to amend and use as you need in your business.

examples

• Contract Gardening Service Risk Assessment and Method Statement
• Gas meter Installation Risk Assessment & Method Statement
• Installation aluminium windows and doors
• Floor wall tiling risk assessment method statement

Safety Advisor

This is a support service for less than 5 employees, this comes with expert advice as well as access to our online documents and Risk assessments. This can be purchased separately or comes free with accreditation applications for less than 5 employees.

We offer many more services including PQQ preparation, Construction Phase Plan preparation. Why not visit our website and see if we can help you with any issues you have now and throughout 2025.

What is Builders Profile?

Find out how Builders Profile streamlines subcontractor procurement. Get all the details you need in one convenient location.

Builder’s Profile provides a service enabling clients and contractors to procure the services of subcontractors who have demonstrated compliance and provided the necessary PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) information.

The accessible database allows companies to submit their information and keep it up to date easily for clients and contractors to review. If you are a client or a contractor, it gives you one location to view all the details you need to manage a supply chain, no matter how large or small.

The idea is that subcontractors are able to fill in one PQQ instead of having to fill in different ones for each contractor they want to work with.

The benefit for contractors of Builder’s Profile is that all the information you need to select a subcontractor is in one place.  This can help reduce the cost of procurement as well as administration.

There are various levels of membership available

• Main Contractor Membership
• Subcontractor Premium Membership
• Subcontractor Basic Membership
• Members of our Partner Trade Associations, Premium Membership
• Members of Supporting Trade Associations share a discounted Premium Membership

The Key Benefits

• You do not need to manage multiple profiles and documents over several platforms.
• A secure system that allows you to keep your PQQ files and documents all in one place.
• Access to Marketplace allows you to see and tender for thousands of private and public construction market projects.
• Access to Acclaim. Acclaim is one of the founding members of SSIP to obtain SSIP accreditation.

What does a Builder’s Profile cost?

For a sub-contractor, the membership fee depends on your turnover; the price range is between £149 to £349 + VAT per annum. (January 2025)

If you hold a constructionline membership, a combined membership is possible.

SEGURO Support

The world of PQQ’s SSIP accreditation suppliers, such as CHAS, Constructionline, PQS, and Builders Profile, is complex.

If you would like FREE support to help you work out the best option, please call us on 0800 031 5404, or we can contact you. Complete the form below, and we will get in touch.