Back to Site in January: What to Check Before You Start

‍‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‍# Back to site in January, what to check before you start

January is when a lot of stuff quietly expires or rolls over in the background. If you don't catch it before you're back on site, you're the one who gets turned away at the gate or left carrying daft risk. Here's a clean checklist to run through.

Quick rule of thumb: do this once, properly, and you're a long way ahead of most outfits rolling back in hungover on 3 January.

1. Cards and tickets, are you actually legal to walk through the gate?

CSCS and other scheme cards

• Check the expiry date printed on your CSCS card · most are valid 5 years.
• You can double-check status and expiry using online card checkers (CSCS Smart Check or CITB's checker, which also covers CPCS/CISRS).
• Most CSCS cards can be renewed up to 6 months before expiry and up to 1 year after, via the My CSCS app or online.

CPCS plant cards

• Blue Competent Operator cards are valid 5 years. You can usually start the renewal process 3 months before expiry.
• Renewal normally means: up-to-date HS&E test, logbook / on-site assessment, maybe a practical test depending on category, then an application (F1/3) via the test centre.
• You've got up to 5 years after expiry to renew a Blue card via the renewal route; beyond that, you're into re-test territory.

What to do now

Open your wallet and your email, list every card with an expiry date in the next 12 months, and decide which to renew in Q1 while work is quieter.

2. Training and certificates, first aid, asbestos, core H&S

First aid

• First Aid at Work and Emergency First Aid at Work are normally valid for 3 years from issue.
• HSE expects you to re-qualify before the old cert expires. They also recommend very short annual refreshers (often half-day) to keep skills sharp.

Asbestos awareness

• Regulations don't set a hard time limit, but HSE guidance and industry best practice say: annual refresher for anyone who might disturb asbestos during their work (domestic refurbs, maintenance, M&E, etc.).
• Refresher doesn't have to be a full course · a 1–2 hour update is usually enough if your basics are solid.

Other short courses worth sticking in a January review

• Manual handling, fire safety, working at height, face-fit tests · no fixed legal expiry, but many sites/big clients expect refresh every 2–3 years or sooner if your work changes.

What to do now

List all training that shows a "valid until" date and anything you did more than 3 years ago. Call your usual provider or CITB-approved centre and get refreshers blocked in now, before the year runs away.

3. Insurance, are you still covered?

Employers' Liability (EL)

• If you have even one employee, you're legally required to carry Employers' Liability insurance of at least £5 million with an authorised insurer.
• The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 makes it a criminal offence to operate without it: fines can be £2,500 per day uninsured.
• Most EL policies are annual; a lot of small firms renew around 1 January.

Public Liability, Tools, Professional Indemnity

Not legally compulsory, but you'd be daft to run a proper construction business without PL cover at least.

Check:

• Renewal dates.
• Indemnity limits (for example, £1m vs £5m · more and more clients want higher).
• Any exclusions that now bite you (height limits, heat work, use of subbies).

What to do now

Dig out your insurance schedule, confirm the renewal date and what's covered, and diarise it before it auto-renews on weak terms. If you've grown (bigger jobs, higher turnover), tell your broker now, being under-insured is nearly as bad as having no cover.

4. Vans, MOT, tax and licences

January is a good time to give the wheels and paperwork a once-over:

• MOT · check expiry for every van/car used for work; remember many were bought or re-plated at year-end.
• Vehicle tax · confirm renewal dates in your DVLA account or V5 reminders.
• Business use on insurance · if you've added a second van or started towing plant/trailers, make sure the policy and licence categories actually cover what you're doing.

One missed MOT or working with the wrong insurance class and an accident will land on you, not your boss.

5. RAMS, paperwork and regulatory changes

If you're running jobs or a small firm, January is when you should:

Review RAMS and standard method statements

• Update them for any new processes, kit or materials you're using this year.
• Check they still line up with CDM regs, your clients' rules and any recent HSE guidance (for example, silica, dust, mental health).

Check for changes that kicked in on 1 Jan / upcoming

• New or updated building and fire-safety standards (for example, Future Homes/Buildings Standards coming into force from March 2027, so designers and principal contractors will be working backwards from that).
• Any local client or framework changes on paperwork (new templates, extra checks).

You don't need to rewrite everything, just make sure your standard RAMS aren't still dated 2021 and talking about kit you don't even use anymore.

6. Quick January checklist

For a sole trader / small firm, this is your yearly reset:

Cards and tickets

• Check CSCS, CPCS, CISRS, other cards · note any expiring in next 12 months
• Book HS&E tests and renewal applications 3–6 months before expiry

Training

• Check First Aid at Work/EMFAW issue dates · rebook if hitting 3 years
• Book asbestos awareness refresher if last one was more than a year ago
• List any other H&S training older than 3 years (manual handling, fire, WAH) and plan refreshers

Insurance

• Confirm Employers' Liability policy in place if you have staff; note renewal date
• Review Public Liability/tools/prof indemnity · limits, exclusions, renewal date

Vehicles

• Check MOT and tax expiry for each vehicle
• Confirm business use cover and any towing/plant extensions

Paperwork & compliance

• Update RAMS/template method statements for this year's typical jobs
• Note any announced regulatory changes you'll need to prep for later in the year (for example, tax and NI changes from April · see the tax-year guide)

What to do next

• This week: run through the checklist above · it takes 30 minutes and saves months of hassle.
• Anything expiring in Q1, deal with now while sites are quieter · don't wait until March when everyone else is scrambling.
• If your insurance auto-renewed, check the terms haven't changed and your cover still matches your actual work · brokers change exclusions and limits at renewal and don't always shout about it.

Sources

• CSCS card renewal guidance · renewal windows (6 months before, up to 1 year after expiry), HS&E test requirement.
• CPCS renewal guidance · Blue card valid 5 years, renewal within 5 years of expiry, logbook and assessment requirements.
• HSE first aid guidance · 3-year certification, annual refresher recommendation.
• HSE asbestos awareness guidance · annual refresher best practice for anyone who may disturb asbestos.
• Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 · legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1969/57/contents · £5m minimum, £2,500/day fine for non-compliance.
• CDM 2015 · legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/contents · RAMS and method statement requirements.

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