Craig, I may have to do this also, however, as far as I know so far it is only for Public Sector organisations? We have to do SAFEcontractor first as that is what our customers want, it is not a speculative thing for us. IIRC, there is someone involved with CHAS around here on the forums? HTH Paul

CHAS is used widely by both public and private sector clients with more than 420 buyers and over 32,000 regsitered contractors and consultants it is the largest scheme in the UK. Membership includes blue chip comapanies such as BAE; General Motors, Bentley Motors and even the Royal Household As a founder member of SSIP (www.ssip.org.uk) a compliant registration with CHAS is seen as a deem to satisfy with other SSIP scheme members. If you want further information please contact the admin team through the CHAS web site Regards John

Unlike the previous sales pitch I would say that CHAS is probably the most recognised of the contractor registrations schemes and it is true that many companies lose contracts without it. So in that respect I would say it probably is worth it as many companies won't accept contractors without accreditation. However, (and speaking as a consultant who has helped endless amounts of clients through the process) be prepared to get frustrated as hell and jump through a huge amount of hoops to get it and cross your fingers that you get a nice assessor because some I have come across take the michael. You will probably find that you won't get accreditation on first attempt, most companies don't, the amount of paperwork required is immense (in my opinion excessive). The earlier the start you get the better. You may need to get help. Good luck (you'll need it!!)

I see it very differently to the last posting. Two of our clients flew through it with only minor changes required. One of them actually did it by themselves to prove the adequacy of the documentation.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I better make a start on the paperwork. :( Craig

Hi Craig, I work for a FE/HE College in West Yorkshire. We contract out some of our training, and as part of this tendering process, organisations have to complete a 14 page document, to demonstrate to us that they take Health and Safety responsibilities seriously. This covers all aspects of Health and Safety, and the CHAS scheme accreditation, demonstrates that the requirements of our organisation are in place, within that organisation. So it's down to individuals, and if they believe it is value for money.