We’ve Hired a Contractor. Aren’t They Responsible for Their Own Safety?

Understanding PCBU Responsibilities When Engaging Contractors

One of the most common misconceptions we encounter when discussing health and safety with building owners, property managers and facilities managers is this:

“We’ve engaged a professional contractor. Surely they’re responsible for their own safety?”

The short answer is yes.

But also no.

Under New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, engaging a competent contractor does not remove your obligations as a PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking).

Instead, it creates shared responsibilities that require both parties to actively manage risk.

Understanding where those responsibilities overlap is critical.

The Contractor Has Responsibilities

Professional contractors are PCBUs in their own right.

They are responsible for:

• Providing trained and competent workers

• Supplying appropriate equipment

• Developing safe systems of work

• Identifying and managing risks associated with their activities

• Ensuring workers are adequately supervised

• Complying with relevant legislation and industry standards

If a roofing contractor arrives on site, they cannot simply point to the building owner and expect them to manage the risks associated with roofing work.

That responsibility remains with the contractor.

The Building Owner Has Responsibilities Too

Where many organisations get caught out is assuming that responsibility ends once a contractor is engaged.

It doesn’t.

The building owner, property manager or facilities manager often has knowledge of hazards that contractors may not.

Examples include:

• Fragile roofing materials

• Asbestos-containing materials

• Unstable surfaces

• Hidden services

• Restricted access areas

• Building-specific hazards

• Previous incidents or near misses

If those risks are known, or reasonably ought to be known, there is an expectation that they will be communicated.

Simply handing over the keys and assuming the contractor will figure it out is unlikely to satisfy that obligation.

The Duty to Consult, Cooperate and Coordinate

One of the most important concepts within the Health and Safety at Work Act is the requirement for PCBUs to:

• Consult

• Cooperate

• Coordinate

This is particularly relevant when contractors are working on occupied sites or within operational environments.

Neither party can effectively manage risk in isolation.

The contractor understands the work.

The building owner understands the site.

Safe outcomes depend on both parties sharing information and working together.

What We Commonly See

Across New Zealand, we regularly see situations where both parties assume the other is managing the risk.

Examples include:

• Contractors accessing roofs without understanding roof fragility.

• Building owners assuming anchor systems are compliant because they exist.

• Facilities managers believing annual inspections have been completed when records cannot be located.

• Multiple contractors working on the same roof without clear coordination.

In most cases, nobody is intentionally neglecting safety.

The issue is often a lack of communication and clearly defined responsibilities.

The Question WorkSafe Will Ask

Following an incident, the focus is rarely on who signed the contract.

The focus is typically on what each party knew and what actions they took.

Questions may include:

• Were known hazards communicated?

• Was the contractor competent?

• Was there appropriate coordination between parties?

• Were risks reasonably managed?

• Were responsibilities clearly understood?

The answers to those questions often carry far greater weight than the wording of a service agreement.

Height Safety Is a Good Example

Roof access provides a useful example of overlapping responsibilities.

A contractor may arrive with:

• Trained personnel

• Fall arrest equipment

• Rescue procedures

• Safe work methods

However, the building owner may be the only party aware that:

• Roof anchors have not been certified

• A roof sheet has deteriorated

• Access pathways have changed

• Additional rooftop services have been installed

Neither party has the full picture on their own.

Safe outcomes depend on collaboration.

Moving Beyond Compliance

The most effective organisations don’t ask:

“Whose responsibility is it?”

They ask:

“How do we make sure everyone goes home safely?”

When building owners, facilities managers and contractors communicate early, share information openly and clearly understand their respective responsibilities, safety becomes far easier to manage.

The goal should never be to transfer risk.

The goal should be to understand it, communicate it and manage it together.

Final Thoughts

Engaging a contractor does not transfer your health and safety responsibilities.

Nor should it.

Contractors bring expertise in the work being undertaken. Building owners and managers bring knowledge of the environment in which that work takes place.

Both are essential.

The organisations that achieve the best safety outcomes are not necessarily the ones with the thickest procedures or the most paperwork.

They are the ones where contractors and clients work together, communicate effectively and recognise that health and safety is a shared responsibility.