What to Include in a Construction Compliance Pack

What Is a Compliance Pack?

A compliance pack is a collection of documents that proves your business meets the health, safety, and insurance requirements to work on a particular project or for a particular client. Main contractors and clients request these packs before you start work — and sometimes during a project as part of ongoing audits.

Getting your compliance pack right is often the difference between winning and losing work. If it's incomplete, slow to arrive, or full of expired documents, you look unprofessional. If it's crisp, complete, and delivered within minutes of being asked, you stand out.

The Standard Compliance Pack Contents

While requirements vary by client, most compliance packs include:

Insurance

• Employer's Liability Insurance — certificate showing minimum £5m cover (£10m for some clients)
• Public Liability Insurance — certificate showing minimum £1m cover (often £5m or £10m)
• Professional Indemnity Insurance — if you provide design or consultancy services

Health & Safety

• Health & Safety Policy — current, signed, and dated within the last 12 months
• Risk Assessments — specific to the work being carried out on this project
• Method Statements — RAMS (Risk Assessment and Method Statement) for each activity
• COSHH Assessments — if working with hazardous substances

Qualifications & Training

• CSCS Cards — for every operative on site
• Trade Qualifications — NVQs, City & Guilds, or equivalent
• Training Certificates — SMSTS, SSSTS, asbestos awareness, working at heights, first aid
• DBS Checks — if working in schools, hospitals, or with vulnerable groups

Accreditations

• CHAS/SSIP Certificate — your pre-qualification accreditation
• Constructionline Registration — if applicable
• ISO Certificates — 9001, 14001, 45001 if held

Company Information

• Company registration details — Companies House number, VAT number
• Environmental Policy — increasingly required, especially for larger projects
• Equal Opportunities Policy — often requested by public sector clients
• Modern Slavery Statement — required for companies with turnover above £36m, but increasingly requested by others

How to Structure Your Pack

A well-structured compliance pack makes life easy for the person reviewing it:

• Cover page — your company name, the client/project name, date generated
• Contents page — list every document included with its expiry date
• Documents in logical order — insurance first, then H&S, then qualifications, then accreditations
• Clear file naming — "Employers_Liability_2026-2027.pdf" not "scan_003.jpg"
• Expiry dates visible — highlight when each document expires so the reviewer can verify at a glance

How to Share Your Pack

The days of posting printed folders or emailing 15 separate attachments are over. Modern options include:

• Secure sharing links — generate a time-limited link that gives access to a read-only version of your pack. Professional, trackable, and easy to revoke.
• Single PDF or ZIP — if the client insists on a file, compile everything into one download rather than scattered attachments
• Client portals — some main contractors have their own upload portals (e.g., Aconex, Procore). Upload directly if available.

Keeping Your Pack Current

The worst thing you can do is generate a compliance pack and forget about it. Documents expire, and a pack that was valid last month might contain three expired items today. To stay ready:

• Track every document's expiry date in a central system
• Set up automatic alerts at 90, 30, and 7 days before expiry
• Re-generate packs after any document update so you're always sharing the latest versions
• Review your pack template quarterly to ensure it still matches what your clients are asking for

Summary

A compliance pack should be complete, well-structured, and always current. Build a template for each client, keep your underlying documents up to date, and you'll be able to respond to any request within minutes rather than days.