Good Evening My friend operates a labour agency and wishes to supply to the rail industry. He has registered with the Link Up scheme and now has the core module audit proforma and product code questionnaire etc. He has spoken to me in passing as 'you have dealt with all that Link Up stuff' and asked me some advice. My involvement has been as PC or Subcontractor only (from 2006 to 2010) and never as a labour supplier. so I promised him I would ask those in the know on here. To what extent does his responsibility with regard to medicals, drug and alcohol and competency management stretch? Is he a full 'employer' and therefore liable fully for all the duties of a 'sponsor' in the same way as a contractor carrying out physical works would be, or is there a semi-exemption as he will only provide labour to contractors. I accept there will be a requirement to competency check people when they approach him for entry onto the database of labour, but things such as pre-employment medicals and ongong competence assessments etc would surely not be practicable for personnel who would be transient at best. Any advice welcomed. Sorry if this is a very specialised question on a generalist forum! Regards Ian

Ian As Pompey says that's what we would expect. We hire in labour for Network Rail work and expect everything Pompey has said of our labour suppliers. There is also a time factor involved. We as a hirer would not have the time to get them Personal Trackside Safety (PTS) trained which is everything already mentioned. This training includes Drug & Alcohol Testing ,Medical and a 3 day training course. It may seem a big market but the training and cash outlay is tremendous. Regards Alex