The short answer
Hold the documents, hold the expiry dates, and make the system refuse to allocate work to a subcontractor whose paperwork has lapsed. Reminders alone are not enough, because reminders get ignored.
The failure mode is discovering an expired certificate after an incident, which is when it is worth the most and costs the most.
What to hold
- Public and employer liability insurance, with expiry
- Professional indemnity where relevant
- Trade qualifications and certifications, per individual
- Accreditations relevant to your sector
- Right to work documentation where required
- Signed terms, including your own requirements
Individual qualifications matter as much as company-level documents. A compliant subcontractor sending an unqualified operative is a common and under-tracked risk.
Expiry has to be enforced
| Approach | Reliability |
|---|---|
| Spreadsheet with dates | Fails quietly |
| Calendar reminders | Ignored when busy |
| Automated reminders at intervals | Better, still ignorable |
| Block allocation when expired | Reliable |
| Block with a documented override | Reliable and practical |
The bottom row is the workable answer. A hard block with no override causes people to work around the system; a block with a recorded override keeps the control and the flexibility.
Verify, do not just collect
A certificate on file is not proof it is genuine or still in force. For significant subcontractors, checking directly with the insurer or the certifying body is worth the effort.
At minimum, check that the cover level matches what your contracts require. Certificates that lapse into a lower level of cover are easy to miss on a visual check.
Make submission easy
- A portal where subcontractors upload their own documents.
- Automatic reading of expiry dates where the format allows, with review.
- Reminders to them, not only to you, before expiry.
- Visible status so they can see what is outstanding.
- A record of every version, not just the current one.
Shifting the chasing to the subcontractor removes a large administrative burden, and they are the ones who can actually fix it.