The downsides of not having an SSIP certificate
SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an industry recognised health and safety accreditation that is given to contractors when they are able to supply all of the required information needed to complete the online assessment. As of today, having an SSIP certificate is not compulsory for every contractor, so what are the downsides to not having SSIP?
Peace of mind:
One of the downsides to not having an SSIP certificate in place is that for some employers is that it could leave you in sticky situations, not having a recognised health and safety assessment could cause you trouble should something happen on one of your sites or to one of your employees and having an SSIP accreditation will help with the procedures to reduce risks.
Having an SSIP certificate means your business is to a nationally recognised standard for health and safety. This means that you as an employer can have peace of mind that your business has the correct procedures in place to reduce the risk to employees as well as others that may be impacted by your services.
It also shows potential employees that you have made sure that their safety is important to you as their employer, giving them an assurance that the conditions they’re working in are safe and they have an employer who cares for their wellbeing.
Miss out on working for big clients:
Another downside to not having SSIP is that you’re missing out on working for the likes of Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Midas. All of these clients ask for SSIP as a requirement to work on their sites, they do this so they can make sure that all the contractors they hire are up to a certain safety standard, saving them time in the vetting process, where juggling different health and safety certificates would be extremely time-consuming.
As a contractor, having an SSIP certificate shows clients that your business meets these standards and will allow you to work on large projects.
Limiting your company’s visibility:
By gaining a certificate, you will not only be able to work on their sites but also make yourself visible to them through the SSIP and SMAS Portal – which means if they need a contractor for their site they can search for SSIP accredited business in their area with the required trade and are able to look at the levels of compliance you hold (beyond just health & safety) and get in contact with you about work.
Having SSIP is also a great way to market your business. By being approved you can show customers and clients that you take health and safety seriously and have gone through the process to make sure that you are compliant, something you should shout about.
What Next?
Although SSIP and health and safety is by far the most recognised and sought-after accreditation, you may also have compliance in other areas such as environmental or quality management. SMAS Worksafe has introduced a new 3 tiered system with Worksafe Pro and Worksafe Infinity, which allows you to show compliance in these and other areas such as financial, anti-bribery & corruption as well as having support from the SMAS team to help you throughout the year.
Why’s that beneficial? Because if you can show clients that your business has a higher level of compliance, there is less risk for them hiring you over someone who doesn’t hold those accreditations, winning you more business.
If you already have an SSIP certificate but are interested in showing off your other areas of compliance, learn about Worksafe PQQ.