BFSC vs LOSC

Knowing the difference between the two (BFSC and LOSC) will help to protect your business from potential costly and damaging fines to huge insurance claims and getting your own insurance cover right with the BFSCs cover aligned, is key.?

As a business you will face many challenges, one of which being who you hire, availability of labour and how you ensure these are covered correctly to protect yourselves.?

Who are labour-only sub-contractors??

?? They work under your supervision and control

?? They use your plant and materials?

?? They comply with your health and safety?

?? They can be temporary, don’t have to complete the work and can leave a job part way through.

?? They may or may not hold Public Liability Insurance - this is not a defining factor and doesn’t mean this protects you or them?.

So, this makes you responsible for LOSC's. They are essentially employed on a temporary basis to assist in the completion of a job if/when you require additional labour. You would be required to pay them as you do your full-time staff and ensure you have declared payments to LOSC's under your insurance policy. They will then be covered under your Employers and Public Liability insurance.?

Who are Bona-fide sub contractors??

?? They work under their own supervision and set their own timescales and schedule?

?? They provide their own materials and use their own plant and equipment

?? They are responsible for their own health and safety

?? They may have their own staff?

?? They provide their own guarantees and maintenance

?? They have their own insurance?

BFSC's are hired to complete a specific job, for example on a new build this may be roofing / plumbing / electrical work that you aren’t able to complete on your own. They are generally hired and invoiced as a separate job entirely. They must carry their own insurance.?

The consequences of confusing the two:

An incident occurs through fault of the BFSC. The BFSC has no insurance, incorrect cover or has undisclosed materials facts that their insurers are not aware of- you could be held liable under your Public Liability through simply appointing the BFSC even though you are not at fault.?

You hadn’t disclosed the use of LOSCs under your insurance, so they weren’t covered under employers or public liability. They were responsible for a third-party?property damage incident or became injured on site - you could be wholly accountable for the loss/damage/injury.?

To guarantee you are protecting your business correctly and for peace of mind you can:

• Contact us today to ensure you receive the correct advice around cover. It’s not always bad either, if your payments to BFSC's turn out to be higher, this could in fact reduce your premium!?
• Put a stringent vetting procedure in place to check the background of BFSCs and their insurance cover levels or let us manage this for you, to take the hassle away
• Regularly review sub-contractors you use by way of online checks and pre-employment / annual questionnaires. Using a solid panel of trusted sub-contractors regularly should offer further protection and make the job easier?