A new employer, a new site, and the form is somewhere
Before an apprentice starts with a new employer, your team does its checks on the workplace: the employer's own arrangements for health and safety, insurance, supervision and support, whatever your policy requires. A business development manager visits, fills in a form, maybe takes photos, and files it.
Then the employer takes a second apprentice at a different site. Is the first check enough? Nobody is sure where it is. A year later, the employer's insurance certificate has expired and nobody noticed. Another employer has changed premises. When a learner file is sampled and the reviewer asks to see the workplace check for that employer, someone spends an afternoon searching a shared drive.
Why checks do not stay current
- Checks are recorded against the employer, but apprentices work at particular sites, which may differ.
- The form is a Word document or a PDF, so its contents cannot be searched or reported on.
- Evidence such as insurance certificates has an expiry date that nobody tracks.
- Nothing links the check to the start process, so starts can be planned before a check is done.
- The person who did the check may leave, and their knowledge of the employer goes with them.
What an out-of-date check costs
At best, it is a gap in the file and an awkward question when files are reviewed. At worst, a learner is working somewhere your provision never properly looked at. Neither is something you want to discover after the event.
It also wastes time. Business development managers repeat checks they have already done because they cannot find the last one. Compliance teams chase expired certificates in bulk once a year instead of one at a time as they fall due. We do not give health and safety advice or decide what your checks must cover; your policy and your advisers set that. We make sure the checks are done, stored and renewed.
The employer check workflow we build
- Your current checklist is turned into a form that works on a phone or tablet during a visit, with the same questions and your own guidance notes.
- Each check is recorded against the employer and the specific site, with photos and documents attached.
- Items with an expiry, such as an insurance certificate, carry the date, and a reminder goes to the employer and your account manager before it runs out.
- Checks have a review date set by your policy, and the account manager is prompted when it approaches.
- The start tracker reads the check status, and a start planned at a site without a current check is flagged to the manager before any paperwork goes out.
- Compliance sees every employer and site with a simple status, and can open any check and its evidence in one click.
| Status | Meaning | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Current | Check done and within its review date | Starts can be planned |
| Due soon | Review date or certificate expiry approaching | Reminder to account manager and employer |
| Expired | Past review date or certificate expired | Flag on any planned start at that site |
| Not done | New employer or new site | Start flagged until a check is recorded |
A normal week with checks in order
A business development manager visits a new employer on Tuesday. The check is done on a tablet in the meeting room, photos taken, insurance certificate photographed, submitted before they leave the car park. Compliance can see it the same afternoon. The start tracker shows the employer as clear, and the start pack goes out.
Two weeks later, an existing employer's insurance is due to expire. They get a friendly reminder with a link to upload the new certificate, and do it the same day. Nobody at your end has to remember. When an employer moves premises, the account manager records the new site, and the system asks for a check there before the next review is booked on site.
Could your employer checks be here?
- Workplace checks are Word documents or PDFs in a shared drive.
- You are not sure which employers have expired certificates.
- Checks are recorded per employer but not per site.
- Starts have been planned before the check was done.
- Finding a check for a file review takes real effort.