CHAS Foundation is our launchpad for contractors that want to become CHAS-accredited 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-accredited.
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 accreditation packages, you will not be required to do so after completing our Learning Pathway courses.
CHAS Foundation Courses
Complete our FREE courses on health and safety to prepare for a smooth accreditation process.
As part of our mission to make the world of work safer for businesses, employees and the public, we’re offering free access to health and safety courses under our Learning Pathway. These courses fall under two categories: “Legally Required Documentation” and “Get Assessment Ready“.
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 accreditation.
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 accreditation packages.
Our entry-level membership option, CHAS Standard, includes a health and safety assessment and SSIP accreditation. As a co-founder of the SSIP scheme, CHAS offers the convenience of helping you join other SSIP scheme members through your CHAS accreditation.
CHAS Advanced, helps you achieve SSIP and PAS 91 accreditation. Complete a single prequalification questionnaire (PQQ) system with CHAS to demonstrate compliance and improve your visibility with CHAS clients looking for suitably-compliant contractors.
CHAS Elite members get access to our most comprehensive set of risk assessments. Through the Common Assessment Standard, our accreditation services will help your business demonstrate compliance in 13 areas of risk management through a single assessment body.
Going through the content in our Learning Pathway will ensure a smooth assessment process as you already have the knowledge and documentation in place to demonstrate compliance with health and safety standards.
Join CHAS Foundation To Streamline Your Path To Compliance
Sign up for FREE today or learn more about our accreditation courses by speaking with one of our friendly CHAS advisors.