Join CHAS Foundation

CHAS Foundation is our launchpad for contractors who want to become CHAS-verified but still need time and resources to prepare for their assessments. Find courses on legal requirements to demonstrate health and safety (H&S) compliance and resources to get assessment ready. Best of all, CHAS Foundation is 100% FREE.

What Is CHAS Foundation?

CHAS Foundation offers FREE guidance and support for businesses seeking to become CHAS-verified.

CHAS Foundation is a free educational and resource hub for contractors needing guidance on demonstrating their compliance and improving their supply chain risk management practices. Sign up to access free guides and courses under the Learning Pathway, covering topics ranging from legally required documentation to writing policies and statements showing you are assessment-ready.

You don’t have to be a CHAS member to join CHAS Foundation. Although we strongly recommend upgrading your account to one of our CHAS membership packages, you will not be required to do so after completing our Learning Pathway courses.

Sign up today

Legally required documentation courses

All organisations are legally required to furnish certain documents and information about their compliance processes. The following courses are designed to help your company comply with these legal requirements.

Health and safety policy statements

Complete this course to learn how to create a health and safety policy for your business.

Contractors are expected to have a health and safety policy dated within the last 12 months and signed by the person responsible for your organisation’s health and safety.

Enforcement actions

Contractors are obligated to provide details of enforcement actions (if any), such as prohibition notices or breaches. Learn how to comply with these requirements by completing this course.

Accident reporting and investigation

Learn how to create procedures to report, record and investment accidents and near incidents.

Any contractor with employees is required to report all accidents and near misses in compliance with Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013.

Risk assessments

Get a complete introduction to creating risk assessments and method statements tailored to the scope of the work you’re undertaking.

Risk assessments play a vital role in creating a safe working environment, particularly in projects that involve a high level of danger.

Control of hazardous substances to health (COSHH)

Complete this course to understand COSHH regulations and protect your workers from these common hazards.

Contractors are expected to provide COSHH assessments of hazardous substances or products relevant to their work. This may be a product used by your workers or a substance at work (e.g., dust and swarf).

Work equipment (PUWER)

Learn how to create procedures for managing risks associated with the use of work equipment.

Contractors are expected to provide evidence of workplace equipment inspections conducted within the last 12 months or a risk assessment relevant to their workplace equipment.

Monitoring audit and review

Complete this course to learn how to monitor, audit and review health and safety risks in your organisation.

Contractors are required to have a system for monitoring, auditing and reviewing health and safety risks — the details of which can be included in their health and safety policy.

Control of asbestos

Complete this course to learn how to develop health and safety measures when your workers discover suspected asbestos on a job site.

Contractors doing intrusive work within construction-related works should provide proof of asbestos awareness training within the last 12 months. This can be in the form of certificates or toolbox talks.

Health and safety construction advice

Learn about your legal obligations and health and safety duties when undertaking construction work by completing this course. To be compliant with guidelines specific to the construction industry, you may be asked to provide your health and safety advice source.

Get assessment ready courses

Complete the following additional short courses to position your company for your first assessment and ensure you are ready to achieve nationally-recognised compliance.

Competence to health and safety advice

Contractors are expected to have access to reliable health and safety competence advice in compliance with the Management of Health & Safety Regulations 1999.

This course will offer an overview of your duties when appointing an internal or external health and safety advice source.

Portable electrical work equipment and PAT testing

This course will teach you how to provide documentation outlining the maintenance of portable electrical equipment through portable appliance testing (PAT) testing.

Contractors that use portable electrical site tools are encouraged to demonstrate their observance of regular maintenance and equipment testing.

Health surveillance

This course will provide an overview of the importance of health surveillance and how you can create a system of ongoing health checks in your organisation.

These health checks may be required by law for workers exposed to noise, vibration, solvents, dusts, fumes, biological agents or ionising radiation, among other health and safety risks.

Manual handling

In sectors like construction, manufacturing and logistics, employees face the risk of sustaining injuries due to manual handling activities such as lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling and carrying objects.

This course will help you provide written arrangements and risk assessments to demonstrate your awareness and management of manual handling risks.

Training and workforce competence

This course will teach you how to provide health and safety training to your workforce through apprenticeships, certifications and toolbox talks, among others.

To demonstrate compliance with health and safety training guidance, you may be required to provide evidence of training within the last 12 months covering high-risk activities such as working at height, manual handling, fire safety and asbestos handling, among others.

Subcontractors

Learn how to manage the health and safety risks associated with hiring subcontractors.

Contractors that engage in subcontracting are expected to outline health and safety procedures to manage risks. These should include a system for monitoring, auditing and reviewing risks.

Cooperation and coordination

Complete this course to learn how to manage and review the risks associated with working with external parties such as subcontractors, clients and principal contractors.

Contractors are encouraged to provide practical evidence to demonstrate their cooperation and coordination competency in the form of risk assessments, construction phase plans and minutes of meetings with third parties.

Drug and alcohol policy

Learn how to create a drug and alcohol policy to manage and prevent drug and alcohol misuse at work.

As part of your legal duty of care to protect the health and safety of your employees, you can create documentation detailing the signs of drug and alcohol misuse and outline steps to take when it happens in your organisation.

Upgrade Your CHAS membership to apply what you’ve learned

Once you have completed these courses and prepared the necessary documentation to begin your first health and safety assessment, we encourage you to upgrade your CHAS membership to any of our three membership packages.

CHAS Standard

Our entry-level membership option, CHAS Standard, includes a health and safety assessment and SSIP certification. As a co-founder of the SSIP scheme, CHAS offers the convenience of helping you join other SSIP scheme members through your CHAS certification.

Find out more

CHAS Advanced

CHAS Advanced helps you achieve proof of SSIP compliance and demonstrate compliance with industry standards across a range of risk management modules, including modern slavery, insurance, environmental, and more. Complete a single prequalification questionnaire (PQQ) system with CHAS to demonstrate compliance and improve your visibility with CHAS clients looking for suitably compliant contractors.

Find out more

CHAS Elite

CHAS Elite members get access to our most comprehensive set of risk assessments. Through the Common Assessment Standard, our membership services will help your business demonstrate compliance in 13 areas of risk management through a single assessment body.

Find out more