The extent to which H&S can be delegated

Hi all,

We are a company providing electrical/mechanical sortation devices (think big parcel sorters). We are entering the market and I want to understand our H&S obligations under UK law. We do not wish to assume the role of a contractor and instead we wish to simply sell our technology. For this reason, we subcontract our installation work of these devices to a number of small partners. Whilst I understand that we cannot absolve ourselves of a duty of care to both our own employees and the contractor, I am trying to understand the delegation of H&S responsibilities in relationships where work is subcontracted.

I understand this may be vague and so any pointers to reading/material would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Mass

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I believe you should start from the Health & Safety Executive (https://www.hse.gov.uk/) who is the regulator.

Other than the above, I think that it would be prudent to engage a company that specialises in this field (H&S advice, supervision) so that they can set up your systems and processes to manage and control HSE within your UK establishment and in relation to your projects/subcontractors.

From a contractual point of view, I am of the opinion that as the main contractor you will always be ultimately responsible for H&S on site, whether you subcontract the work or not.

Good luck!

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