Free template
A contractor induction record you can print today
Most sites give contractors an induction. Far fewer can show, a year later, what that contractor was told and that they signed for it. This sheet is the induction as a checklist and the record in one: the checks before work starts, eleven topics ticked one by one, and both signatures against a date.
Prints as one A4 sheet. Free, with no form to fill in. Put your own site’s hazards and rules in the brackets before you photocopy it.
What it records
Five things that make an induction evidence
The question after an incident is never “did you induct them”. It is “what were they told, by whom, and when”. The sheet is built to answer that one.
- The checks before work startsRAMS received and read by somebody on your side, whether the job needs a permit, competence and insurance. Five lines, because an induction given to a contractor who should not have been allowed to start is evidence of the wrong thing.
- The topics, ticked one by oneEleven, from signing in to who to ask. A single “induction given” box records that something was said. Ticks against named topics record what, which is the question asked afterwards.
- Brackets where the content is yoursYour hazards, your PPE, your restricted areas, your assembly point, your site contact. The sheet cannot know them, and the induction is only worth anything where it is specific to the place.
- Two signatures and a dateThe contractor signs that they understood, the person who gave the induction signs that they gave it, and both go against a date. That pair is the difference between a record and a form.
- A valid until dateMost sites do not re-induct a weekly contractor every week. The sheet records how long this induction stands, so the sign in sheet’s initials column has something to point at until then.
Contractor site induction record
Privacy notice. [Company name] records your name, company, the work you are here to do and this induction, for the safety of the people on this site, in our legitimate interests. This record is kept for [retention period] and then destroyed. Reception holds our full privacy notice; ask to see it.
1. The contractor and the job
Name
Company
Work to be done, and where on site
Host or site contact responsible for this work
2. Before work starts Completed by the host
☐ RAMS for this job received, and reviewed by: ______________________
☐ Permit needed for this work? ☐ No ☐ Yes, permit no. ______________
☐ Competence evidence seen: [trade cards or certificates your site requires] ______________________
☐ Insurance confirmed: ☐ held on file ☐ seen today
☐ Tools and equipment in date and fit for use: [inspection or PAT, if your site requires it]
3. Induction topics covered Tick each one as it is explained
☐ Signing in and out on every visit, and wearing the badge
☐ Fire: the alarm sound, escape routes, the assembly point at [location], and what to do on finding a fire
☐ First aid: where it is, who the first aiders are, and how to report an accident or a near miss
☐ Hazards in and around the work area: [vehicles and forklifts, machinery, noise, chemicals, fragile roofs]
☐ Asbestos: where the register is, and what it says about the work area
☐ Where you may go, and where you may not: [restricted areas]
☐ PPE required on this site: [hi-vis, safety footwear, eye, hearing and head protection]
☐ Permits: no hot work, work at height, confined space entry, isolation or roof access without one
☐ Site rules: [speed limit, pedestrian routes, smoking, mobile phones, housekeeping, waste]
☐ Welfare: toilets, drinking water and where to take breaks
☐ Who to stop and ask: [site contact name and number]
4. Declaration
| Who | Statement | Name | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contractor | I have been given this induction, I understood it and had my questions answered, and I will follow the site rules. I will stop and ask if the work or the conditions change. | ||
| Inducted by | I gave this induction in person and covered every topic ticked above. Valid until: ____ / ____ / ________ |
An induction does not replace a review of the contractor’s RAMS or a permit to work for high risk jobs. A starting template: put your own site’s hazards and rules in the brackets. Template from noonelite.com/contractor-induction-template.
Being straight with you
What a template does not do
- The topics are a starting list drawn from general HSE guidance, not an assessment of your site. Your own risk assessments decide what a contractor needs to be told, and the brackets are where that goes.
- An induction tells somebody about your site. It does not check that their method is safe: that is what reviewing the RAMS is for, and the sheet asks who did it.
- It does not replace a permit to work for high risk jobs, and it says so on the form.
- For construction work in scope of CDM 2015 there are duties on clients, principal contractors and contractors that a one page induction record has nothing to do with.
- We are not health and safety consultants and nothing here is safety advice.
Induction and RAMS acknowledged on screen, by nameThe contractor sign in sheet that goes with thisThe permit, for the jobs that need oneAll the free templates
Sources
Check any of this yourself
- HSE, using contractors: a brief guide (INDG368)The short HSE leaflet on the whole subject, including providing information, instruction and training.
- HSE, managing contractors (HSG159)The longer guide, and the five steps the contractor management page is built on.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 3The general duty to people who are not your employees.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 12“Comprehensible information” on risks, for people from an outside undertaking working in yours.
General information about published guidance and legislation, not safety or legal advice. Your own risk assessments decide what a contractor on your site needs to know.
Before you ask
The questions people ask about contractor inductions
Is a contractor induction a legal requirement?
Not by that name. Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 puts a duty on you towards people who are not your employees, and regulation 12 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires you to give comprehensible information about the risks of your site to people from an outside undertaking working in it. A site induction is how nearly every host does that, and a signed record is how it shows that it did.
What should a contractor induction cover?
What somebody who has never been on your site needs in order not to get hurt or hurt anyone else: how to sign in and out, what the fire alarm sounds like and where to go, first aid and accident reporting, the hazards in and around their work area including asbestos, where they may and may not go, the PPE you require, which jobs need a permit, your site rules, welfare, and who to ask. The sheet on this page lists those eleven, with brackets where the detail is yours.
How long does a contractor induction stay valid?
No period is set in law. Twelve months is the most common choice for contractors who visit regularly, with a fresh induction sooner if the site or the work changes materially: a new building, a new process, a different work area. Write the date on the record, which is why the sheet has a box for it.
Who should give the induction?
Somebody who knows the site and, ideally, the area the work is in: usually the host, the facilities or maintenance manager, or a supervisor. A receptionist reading a sheet aloud can cover signing in and the fire arrangements, but cannot answer a question about the plant room, and the point of an induction is that questions get answered.
What is the difference between an induction, RAMS and a permit to work?
An induction is you telling the contractor about your site. RAMS, the risk assessment and method statement, is the contractor telling you how they will do the job safely. A permit to work is your formal authorisation for a specific high risk job, with its controls, for a set period. A contractor doing hot work on your roof needs all three, and none of them substitutes for another.
Do delivery drivers need an induction?
Not this one. A driver who stays in the yard or at goods in needs the short version: where to go, the speed limit, where pedestrians are, what to do if the alarm sounds, and to be signed in so they are on the roll call. A driver who will be on site for hours or moving around it is closer to a contractor, and your own rules should say where that line is.
How long should induction records be kept?
No period is set. Keep them at least as long as the contractor continues to work for you, and then for long enough to be useful if something surfaces later. Many sites choose three years from the last visit, because that is the usual limitation period for a personal injury claim. Whatever you choose, write it in the privacy line on the sheet and keep to it.
Also asked of sites like yours
The other things somebody may ask you to evidence
Each of these is a page about one standard, one duty or one visitor, written the same way as this one: what it actually asks for, what an iPad at reception records towards it, and where it does not help.
- GDPR and the visitor book
- CMMC physical security
- ISO 27001 visitor access
- AEO visitor access control
- BRCGS visitor control
- Fire roll call
- Contractor management
- HSE inspection records
- ISO 45001 contractor control
- Sign in sheet template
- Visitor health questionnaire template
- Permit to work template
- Hot work permit template
- Fire drill record template
When you are ready
If finding last year’s induction means finding a folder
Fifteen minutes on the phone. How many trades a week, how many gates, and what you would need to be able to show after an incident. We will tell you straight whether a kiosk is worth your time yet.
Book a 15 minute callIf the sheet is doing the job, keep using it. We will say so on the call.
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