If you work in construction, facilities management, or cleaning, a buyer has probably asked for CHAS, SafeContractor, or Constructionline before you could quote. All three are prequalification schemes. They check your health and safety (and often much more) so that buyers don’t have to send you a fresh questionnaire every time.
The trouble is that they overlap, they use different level names, and buyers don’t always say exactly what they mean. Paying for the wrong one is a common and avoidable expense. This guide explains SSIP, deem to satisfy, and the Common Assessment Standard in plain English, then shows how to choose based on what your buyers actually specify.
Start with SSIP
SSIP stands for Safety Schemes in Procurement. It describes itself as “the mutual recognition scheme for occupational health and safety standards”, and its mission is to reduce duplicated health and safety assessments for suppliers. SSIP’s member schemes assess you against a shared set of core criteria, which SSIP says are aligned with PAS 91 and serve as a threshold standard approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
CHAS, SafeContractor, and Constructionline all offer SSIP-recognised health and safety assessments. CHAS describes itself as a founder member of SSIP, SafeContractor says it’s a member of the SSIP Forum, and Constructionline includes SSIP in every verified membership level.
What deem to satisfy means
Deem to satisfy is how SSIP stops you paying for the same health and safety check twice. According to SSIP’s deem to satisfy page, if you hold an SSIP certificate from one member scheme and a buyer wants a different one, you apply for deem to satisfy. The second scheme checks your existing approval on the SSIP portal rather than putting you through a full new assessment.
There are some conditions worth knowing:
- Certificates from SSIP’s registered member schemes can be used for deem to satisfy with any other registered member scheme.
- Certificates from certification body members work one way only, so a registered member can’t deem to satisfy against them.
- The second scheme may still ask for extra information, such as insurance details, risk profile questions, trade association membership, or a site audit.
- It covers health and safety only, so anything else the buyer wants (finance, quality, environment, and so on) isn’t included.
That last point matters. Deem to satisfy will get your health and safety recognised, but it won’t give you a buyer’s full prequalification if they want more than health and safety.
The Common Assessment Standard
The Common Assessment Standard (CAS) is a broader prequalification standard developed by Build UK for construction. Build UK’s Common Assessment Standard page describes it as an industry-agreed question set with desktop and site-based assessment standards, based on UK legislation and designed for construction companies in the UK.
It goes well beyond health and safety. The current version (Version 5, dated 1 July 2025) covers identity, financial, corporate and professional standing, health and safety, environmental, quality, building safety, fairness, inclusion and respect, information security, and information management.
A few points from Build UK’s guidance that help when you’re choosing:
- You’re certified once a year by a Recognised Assessment Body, and the certificate is valid for one year from issue, provided you keep time-critical documents up to date.
- You choose either the desktop level or the site-based level. Desktop is checked remotely. Site-based adds an auditor visit to check your policies are actually in use.
- You only need one Recognised Assessment Body. Build UK’s FAQs say companies “only need to be certified once a year by a single Recognised Assessment Body”, and you can share your data with the others.
- If you already hold a valid SSIP certificate or ISO 45001 certificate, you don’t need to answer the health and safety questions it covers, subject to Build UK’s question-by-question exemptions.
Build UK’s prequalification page lists the Recognised Assessment Bodies as Achilles, Compliance Chain, Constructionline, CQMS, SCCS, Smas Worksafe, and Veriforce CHAS. When I checked in October 2026, SafeContractor wasn’t on that list. Build UK also says CAS is accepted by a growing list of contractors and clients who no longer specify a particular assessment body.
How the three schemes compare
CHAS
CHAS sets out its contractor levels on its packages page. CHAS Standard is a health and safety assessment including SSIP, plus a social value assessment. CHAS Advanced adds the requirements of the former PAS 91 standard. CHAS Elite goes further again, adding public sector requirements and the Common Assessment Standard.
CHAS says its Elite assessment is done remotely, and that its CHAS Assured on-site audit checks you’re implementing the policies and procedures submitted in the desktop assessment.
Constructionline
Constructionline’s subcontractor memberships page lists Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels. SSIP is included at every level. Silver adds corporate and professional standing. Gold adds the Common Assessment Standard (a desktop audit) and Building Safety Act assessments, and Platinum adds an on-site audit. Constructionline also offers an associate membership as an entry point, which isn’t a verified level.
SafeContractor
SafeContractor, from Alcumus, focuses on SSIP health and safety certification. Its SSIP page says certification is issued for a year and is recognised by clients and other SSIP schemes. In 2022 SafeContractor also announced UKAS accreditation as a Type C inspection body to ISO/IEC 17020:2012, linked to its route to SSIP membership. SafeContractor doesn’t mention the Common Assessment Standard on its SSIP page, so if a buyer wants CAS, check with SafeContractor directly what it can offer.
How to choose: follow the buyer’s wording
In my experience, the right answer nearly always comes from reading the buyer’s documents closely. Here’s how I’d approach it.
If the buyer names a specific scheme, such as “you must be SafeContractor accredited” or “CHAS Elite or equivalent”, you need that scheme or something they confirm in writing as equivalent. Some clients manage their whole supply chain inside one scheme’s platform, and an equivalent certificate may not get you onto their list.
If the buyer asks for “SSIP accreditation”, any SSIP member scheme will do. Choose the one that suits your trade and budget, and use deem to satisfy if a second buyer asks for a different scheme.
If the buyer asks for the Common Assessment Standard, you need CAS certification from a Recognised Assessment Body, at the level they specify. Among the three schemes in this article, that means CHAS Elite or Constructionline Gold for the desktop level, or CHAS Elite (CAS) Assured or Constructionline Platinum if the buyer wants a site audit. An SSIP-only certificate won’t meet it.
If you’re bidding for public sector work, read the procurement documents carefully. CHAS lists public sector requirements as part of Elite, and Build UK says public sector bodies should also use CAS to prequalify construction suppliers.
A common gap I see is a business holding two or three overlapping memberships because each was bought in a hurry for a single tender. Before renewing, list every buyer who has asked you for a scheme, write down their exact wording, and see whether one CAS certificate (or one SSIP certificate plus deem to satisfy) would cover them all.
Whichever you choose, the assessment is only as good as the documents behind it. A current health and safety policy, risk assessments that match your work, training records, and insurance certificates are the core of every scheme. My guide to health and safety basics for small business owners covers the foundations, and risk assessments that actually work helps with the documents assessors look at most. If you’re working towards ISO 45001, my article on integrated management systems explains how it fits alongside quality and environmental certification.
FAQs
What is SSIP?
SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is the umbrella body that lets health and safety assessment schemes recognise each other’s certificates. Its member schemes assess against shared core criteria, so suppliers don’t have to repeat the same health and safety assessment.
What does deem to satisfy mean?
Deem to satisfy lets you use an existing SSIP certificate from one member scheme to meet another scheme’s health and safety requirements. The second scheme checks your certificate on the SSIP portal instead of carrying out a full new assessment, although it may ask for some extra information.
Is CHAS the same as SafeContractor?
No. Both offer SSIP-recognised health and safety certification, so deem to satisfy can link them, but they’re separate schemes with different platforms and buyer communities. CHAS also offers the Common Assessment Standard through CHAS Elite.
Which Constructionline level includes the Common Assessment Standard?
Constructionline Gold includes the Common Assessment Standard at desktop level. Platinum adds an on-site audit.
Do I need more than one Common Assessment Standard certificate?
No. Build UK says companies only need to be certified once a year by a single Recognised Assessment Body, and they can share their data with the other Recognised Assessment Bodies.
Is ISO 45001 accepted instead of SSIP?
Not as a direct swap for a scheme membership, but Build UK says a valid ISO 45001 or SSIP certificate exempts you from the health and safety questions it covers within the Common Assessment Standard.
Get the right accreditation first time
CAW Consultancy helps contractors prepare for CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline, Achilles, and Builders Profile, from choosing the right level to getting your documents assessment-ready. Our support starts from £399 + VAT, and a gap analysis is free. Call 01257 824481, email Craig@cawconsultancy.co.uk, or visit www.cawconsultancy.co.uk.
If keeping track of renewals and expiry dates is the problem, Compliance Master is our compliance management platform for exactly that.
Sources
- SSIP: What is SSIP?
- SSIP: Deem to satisfy
- Build UK: Common Assessment Standard
- Build UK: Prequalification
- Build UK: FAQs
- CHAS: Contractor packages
- CHAS: Common Assessment Standard
- Constructionline: Subcontractor memberships
- SafeContractor: SSIP
- SafeContractor: UKAS accreditation news
Craig Willetts is the founder of CAW Consultancy Business Solutions Ltd and a UK lead auditor with over 20 years’ experience across ISO management systems and UK security industry schemes.
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