CHAS vs SSIP: the difference, and which you actually need

The short answer: they are not alternatives. SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an umbrella body, and CHAS is one of its member schemes. When a tender says "CHAS or equivalent SSIP scheme", it is asking for a health and safety assessment from *any* SSIP member — CHAS, SafeContractor, SMAS Worksafe, Acclaim and others all count. You need one of them, not all of them.

What SSIP actually is

SSIP does not assess anyone itself. It sets the core criteria its member schemes assess against, and it runs mutual recognition between them: a current assessment from one member scheme is deemed to meet the others. The practical tool is the SSIP portal — a free public register where buyers look suppliers up. If you hold a current assessment with any member scheme, make sure you appear there, because that register is what a procurement officer will actually check.

What CHAS is within that

CHAS is the member scheme public buyers name most often, largely for historical reasons: it was set up by local-authority health and safety officers, so council tender templates have said "CHAS" for decades. Naming CHAS does not mean requiring CHAS. Public buyers are expected to accept equivalents, and in practice they do — the phrase "or equivalent" is in the tender because procurement rules put it there.

Which one should you hold?

If you already hold any SSIP member assessment, keep it and point buyers at the SSIP portal. Paying for a second member scheme almost never adds anything: mutual recognition covers you, and buyers cannot lawfully insist on one member scheme over another for the health and safety element.

If you hold none and are choosing, the honest differences are price, turnaround and the extras bundled on top:

1. Price bands differ by employee count on every scheme, and change often enough that the schemes' own sites are the only reliable source. Small firms should expect a few hundred pounds a year whichever they pick. 2. Turnaround depends mostly on your own paperwork, not the scheme. Policies, risk assessments and method statements, training records and insurance are the evidence every member scheme asks for. 3. Extras are where schemes differ: CHAS sells broader packages aligned to the Common Assessment Standard, SafeContractor bundles trade-specific modules, and so on. Buy the extra only when a tender actually demands it.

What to say in a bid

If the question is "Do you hold CHAS?" and you hold a different SSIP member assessment, answer yes to the substance: name your scheme, state that it is an SSIP member scheme with mutual recognition, and give your registration number and expiry date. That answer scores; a bare "no" does not.

One warning sign to act on early: if your assessment lapses mid-tender, the buyer can score you down at the point they check. Renew before the expiry date, not after the reminder email.