The Contractor Project-Specific Review

Back to the Contractor lead schedule

Introduction

There are two broad categories of objectives to carrying out this review:

  • 1. Commercial objectives.
  • 2. Legal compliance objectives.

To enable Marisco to safely and compliantly engage contractors, requires the cooperation and involvement of all departmental teams. As the Procurement and Operations team will lead the review process as they agree between them when a contractor is to be engaged to carry out work on site, it is essential they communicate the information of who, when, and how to the H&S and Finance teams so they can fulfill their role in the process.

A contractor cannot set foot on any site to begin work until they have passed the on-boarding review.

1. The commercial objectives:

  • The contractor must sign a contract of engagement setting out the commercial terms and conditions of appointment. Working without a contract will only lead to expensive legal disputes over who was responsible for what in the event of an incident or claim.
  • To enable the smooth running of a project, it is only sensible for all the stakeholders in the project to communicate and agree the timings, method of delivery of the services, and the control and management of personnel on site.

2. The Legal compliance objectives:

  • The CDM Regulations place many duties on Marisco when appointing another contractor, not least of which is communicating to the contractor the health, safety and welfare arrangements Marisco will make on the site. Likewise the contractor must cooperate to demonstrate the operatives they will put on our site are competent and trained to work safely and compliantly with all building safety regulations. All of these aspects must be confirmed in writing to ensure every party understands their obligations and complies with them.
  • The contractor agrees and signs a contract of engagement confirming their employment status in the arrangement (CIS reporting requirement).
  • The contractor is legally bound under Section 3 of the Management of Health And Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to submit their site-specific risk assessments and method statement (RAMS) for each project they undertake, copies of which must be forwarded to H&S team at least five working days before work commences.
  • It is necessary to determine if the work the contractor is about to supply falls within the scope of CIS. The Finance team must be informed in advance of the nature of the work before the contractor starts on site, to ensure the correct tax system is applied in advance. Work that falls within the scope of CIS must be reported each month to the HMRC.
  • If the contractor is VAT registered, Marisco is required by the VAT Domestic Reverse Charge Regulations to inform them of what VAT system to apply when invoicing us for their services. To enable the Finance team to determine which VAT system to apply, they will need to be informed of:
    • Whether Marisco's client is an end-user, intermediary, or a contractor for each specific project (Domestic VAT reverse Accounting rules).
    • The type of the property (new build, house, office, etc.) and the precise nature of the project (new build, conversions of one use to another, etc.) to be undertaken. These will determine what VAT rate to apply (standard, reduced. or zero rate), which will then determine if the VAT reverse charge rules apply.
    • Whether the work to be carried out falls within the scope of CIS.
  • The amended Fire Safety Regulations, and the implementation of the new Building Safety Act 2022 from October 2023, places new obligations on our clients to significantly improve the control, management and reporting of what their contractors do on site. Although most of the attention of the Building Safety Regulator is focused on enforcement of the new regulations that apply to High-Risk Buildings (HRBs), there is already the anticipated compliance-creep into the Low-Rise Buildings (LRBs) we regularly work on. The Beechmere Fire prosecutions gives us a clear indication Marisco must not only anticipate what are clients may in the near future demand of us in terms of accurately reporting who, when, and what was dome in the properties we refurbish for them. It should be obvious we in turn must be more alert to ensuring the contractors we engage provide us with all of the information we may be required to pass onto our clients. It should be equally obvious that obtaining that information is far easier if it is reported at the time, and before the contractor's account is settled.

Marisco Group

Head Office:
Unit J5, The Fulcrum
Vantage Way, Poole, BH12 4NU

Tel: 01202 474001

Email: accounts@mariscosouth.com

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