Guide

CHAS for sole traders

You are a one-person business and a client wants CHAS. It is designed for you too, and the assessment is scaled to your size. Here is what it expects.

The short answer

Yes, a sole trader can get CHAS. The assessment is proportionate to the size and risk of your business, so a one-person contractor is not expected to produce the systems of a large company. You are assessed against the SSIP core criteria that apply to you, and for a jobbing sole trader who is not a designer, principal designer or principal contractor, that is the core set of health and safety criteria, evidenced by documents scaled to a business of one.

What the assessment expects from a sole trader

• A health and safety policy. Even a one-person business needs a signed, dated policy, though a short one is fine at this scale.
• Risk assessments and method statements. For the work you actually do, in your trade.
• Training and competence. Evidence of your own qualifications and any required cards or certificates.
• Insurance. Current public liability, and employers' liability if you ever engage anyone.
• The other core criteria. Answered proportionately, saying where something does not apply and why.

Proportionate does not mean exempt

Being a sole trader scales the assessment down, but it does not remove the criteria. You still need each one covered, just at a level that fits a business of one. The common mistake is assuming a small business can skip the paperwork; the assessor still works through every applicable criterion, so a sole trader with a tidy, proportionate set of documents passes more easily than a larger firm with gaps.

When taking on help changes things

Your duties grow the moment you engage others. If you take on an employee, employers' liability insurance becomes a legal requirement and your policy needs to reflect that you now manage people. If you engage even one subcontractor on a construction project, you can become the principal contractor and take on a construction phase plan. None of this stops a sole trader getting CHAS, but it is worth knowing which of your duties change as the business grows.

Related guides

Read who needs CHAS, the CHAS requirements in full, and what a construction phase plan is.

Common questions

Can a sole trader get CHAS?

Yes. CHAS is open to sole traders, and the assessment is proportionate to the size and risk of the business, so a one-person contractor is assessed against the applicable SSIP core criteria with documents scaled to a business of one.

What does a sole trader need for CHAS?

A signed health and safety policy, risk assessments and method statements for the work you do, evidence of your own training and competence, current insurance, and proportionate answers to the other core criteria, noting where something does not apply.

Is CHAS easier for a sole trader?

The assessment is scaled down, but the criteria still apply. A sole trader with a tidy, proportionate set of documents passes more easily than a larger firm with gaps, because the assessor still works through every applicable criterion.

Does taking on a worker change my CHAS obligations?

It changes your duties. Employing someone makes employers' liability insurance a legal requirement and means your policy must reflect managing people, and engaging a subcontractor on a project can make you the principal contractor with a construction phase plan to prepare.