Subcontractor Health and Safety Charter
To ensure a safe working environment, Apollo have developed a Health and Safety Charter which details the principles and practices to be adopted by all contractors on Apollo’s sites. The H&S Charter is a strict requirement to be adhered to by all subcontract personnel employed to ensure all parties are working to the same safe working practices.
All subcontractors must read and ensure that the requirements listed in the Charter can, and will be, adhered to on site by their operatives. No deviation to the stated principles by any company / worker will be tolerated. This Charter forms part of your subcontract order and contract and will therefore be contractually binding.
1. H&S Compliance and General Conduct
Operatives must conform to all statutory and legal Health and Safety requirements including Apollo’s Site Rules.
2. Appearance
All workers must be presentable at all times and the removal of tops or wearing of shorts is prohibited from all sites.
3. No CSCS card – No work
Only workers who are competent to undertake the works and hold the correct level and trade appropriate CSCS card (or equivalent) will be allowed to work on any of Apollo’s sites. Failure to produce competent records will result in the operative being sent away. It is your company’s responsibility to ensure your workers are competent, having the necessary skills, experience and knowledge to undertake the work tasks required of them.
4. Training
In addition to compulsory CSCS cards, all operatives must be trained and have certified evidence to carry out task specific requirements on site. It is further recommended that you provide your own first aid cover. Asbestos Awareness training is mandatory on Apollo sites. Evidence in the form of certification will be requested at the site induction.
5. Safe Systems of Work (SSOW)
Risk Assessments and a subsequent Method Statement (SSOW) must be developed and sent to Apollo a minimum of 7-days before works commence on site to allow the site management team to evaluate the content for adequacy. Furthermore, if they fail the evaluation, you will have to amend and update it until it is sufficient before works start. The SSOW must be site and task specific and all operatives undertaking the task must read, sign and carry out work only within the requirements set. Failure to provide a SSOW within the 7-working day period will result in work not being authorised to commence on site.
6. Personal Protective Equipment
Apollo maintain a minimum three-point PPE system on all sites unless otherwise stated in the order, which includes safety footwear (to BS EN 345 or EN ISO 20345), head protection (EN 397) and Hi-Visibility clothing (EN471). Task specific PPE such as gloves, eye protection, ear protection and respiratory equipment must be worn when risks exist. It is the subcontractor’s responsibility to provide their workers with PPE and failure will result in the operatives being sent away from site. Only your company’s logo on any PPE will be permitted. No other logos representing other Principal Contractors or organisations will be accepted. If this cannot be facilitated, then PPE with no logos at all will also be accepted.
7. Supervision and Inspection
You must provide adequate supervision for your workers on site and the supervisors must be competent and hold as a minimum a Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) certificate. It is Apollo’s Policy that if you provide more than 3 operatives then the third operative must be a supervisor who is SSSTS qualified. Your Supervisors are required to undertake weekly toolbox talks to their workers and issue copies to Apollo’s Site Management team. Apollo operate a regular audit and inspection programme of which your operatives safe working will also be
reviewed. Your operatives must cooperate and comply with any identified issues brought to their attention during
an inspection and Apollo’s inspectors have the right to stop any works which are deemed unsafe.
8. Work Equipment and Plant
Portable electrical equipment brought onto site, including lights and leads must be in good condition and have
evidence of in-date PAT testing and re-inspections are to be undertaken annually. Any plant, lifting equipment
and machinery brought onto site must be CE marked and accompanied with appropriate certificates and
documentation such as servicing and thorough examination certificates. PUWER records are required to be
provided as part of your RAMS and updated weekly.
9. COSHH
If you bring any substances on site, then you must submit their associated Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS),
and if they are substances classified as hazardous to health, a full COSHH assessment must also be provided.
10. Non-English-Speaking Operatives
If you provide operatives where English is not their first language, they must be able to speak and read the basics
of the English language to a level where they can read H&S signs and understand site inductions, otherwise they will not be allowed to work on site. Apollo do not recognise the ‘buddy’ system as we do not consider this is a safe system of work.
11. Work at Height / Access
Unless otherwise stipulated in your order, it is deemed all access is to be provided by subcontractors. The access
equipment must be high enough and suitable for the task to be carried out safely. In all cases a hierarchy of risk will be applied, and the use of step ladders will be as a result of ALL other options available being exhausted. The use of step ladders will only be permitted if the hazard and risk are evaluated through a permit system which can only be issued by a member of Site Management.
12. Dust Management
It is a mandatory requirement on Apollo sites that all tools used for cutting must have vacuum extraction
or sufficient dust suppression to control the exposure of dust. Failure to provide task specific dust extraction/suppression can result in the work task being suspended until measures are in place. Additionally, any
respiratory protection such as face masks must be a filtering facepiece (FFP3) device unless a (FFP2) is justified
in the SSOW. Your operatives must have undergone face fit testing on the specific face mask you provide them
to wear to ensure they adequately fit and protect the individual.
13. Task Lighting
Apollo are responsible to provide lighting in access routes and common areas only. Subcontractors are responsible for providing their own task specific lighting arrangements.
14. Subcontractor Weekly H&S Packs
On a weekly basis each Subcontractor will submit a H&S Pack to the Apollo site management. This pack will consist of pertinent registers including, but not limited to, weekly PUWER, LOLER, Working at Height Access equipment and Toolbox Talks delivered Registers. Failure to comply with any of the above will result in your workers being refused entry or removed from site and Apollo accept no responsibility for loss of finances if any of the aforementioned are not followed. Furthermore, should non-compliance with any of the aforementioned items result in Apollo incurring any costs or penalties in terms of sub-contact contra charges, damages associated with programme failure, accelerated working to make up for lost productivity or any other mitigating measures, then these will be passed on to you.