Contractor and Supply Chain Safety: Shared Responsibility in 2026

As organisations increasingly rely on contractors, agencies, and complex supply chains, regulators are signalling that shared responsibility for safety will no longer be optional. The message is clear: contractor safety is no longer someone else’s problem.

Legislative developments reinforce this expectation. The Employment Rights Act extends employment protections to certain workers within supply chains, while the Procurement Act 2023, effective from February 2025, requires that health and safety considerations be embedded throughout public procurement processes, from tendering through to contract management. These changes underscore the need for organisations to actively manage and monitor safety across all tiers of their extended workforce.

For sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and logistics, the practical implications are significant. Enhanced due diligence is required to ensure that contractors meet safety standards, and accountability for risk management must be clearly defined across all supply networks. Areas where responsibility for hazards is unclear are likely to attract regulatory attention.

Operationally, this translates into tighter controls on contractor onboarding, site inductions, competency checks, monitoring arrangements, and incident reporting. Organisations must gain visibility of safety performance across their extended workforce, ensuring that compliance and risk mitigation extend beyond direct employees to all individuals operating on their behalf.

Action point: Review and update contractor management procedures. Ensure that safety expectations are explicitly defined in contracts and that robust monitoring and verification arrangements are in place to confirm ongoing compliance.