Engineering recruitment compliance that gets contractors on site by Monday
GettingDocs takes the chasing out of engineering recruitment compliance. When an engineer, technician or contractor is placed, Amy asks them for the BPSS evidence, tickets, certificates and limited company paperwork they still owe, over WhatsApp or email. Each file is checked as it lands and attached to their record in your ATS, so the client’s security team and site manager get a complete file before the first shift, not a week after it.
Thanks, Amy · Calder Vale Technical
The defence client wants a controls engineer on Monday. BPSS is still open.
A limited company controls engineer accepts a six-month contract on Tuesday at an aerospace and defence manufacturer. The client’s security controller will not let anyone on site until BPSS is complete, and cannot sponsor the SC application that follows until it is. She also needs the IR35 status determination statement on file and her 18th Edition certificate. Here is the same week, twice.
- Tuesday
Offer accepted. The consultant emails a Word checklist and a link to the terms of engagement.
- Tuesday evening
She sends her passport and certificate of incorporation. The 18th Edition certificate is on an old laptop.
- Wednesday
Her employment history arrives, but a seven-month gap from 2024 is not explained. Nobody spots it.
- Thursday
The basic DBS certificate comes in as a dark photo with the certificate number unreadable. It is saved anyway.
- Friday afternoon
The security controller reviews the BPSS file, queries the gap and rejects the DBS photo. Monday is gone.
The start slips a fortnight while the client’s security team waits, and the programme manager asks another agency for a CV.
- Tuesday
The placement lands in your ATS. Amy messages her on WhatsApp with the 12 items the contract still needs.
- Tuesday evening
Passport, certificate of incorporation and signed terms arrive and are filed on her record.
- Wednesday morning
Amy reminds her about the rest. The employment history comes back with the 2024 gap explained as a career break.
- Wednesday
The DBS photo is too dark to read, so Amy says why and asks again. A clear scan follows within the hour, with the 18th Edition certificate.
- Thursday
Every item is in your ATS. The BPSS file goes to the client a day early and the SC application can start.
She is on site Monday under BPSS. Nobody on your desk chased a single document.
Three steps, and nobody chases anybody
As soon as an engineer, technician or maintenance temp is placed, Amy messages them on WhatsApp or by email from your own domain, listing only what their file is missing. No portal to log in to and no app to download.
Each file is filed on arrival, then checked: is it the document asked for, and can it be read? A CCNSG card photographed upside down or a terms of engagement without the signature page goes back with the reason, and reminders go out at the time you choose until the file is done.
Every document attaches to the candidate’s record in Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM or Crelate, with an optional copy in Google Drive. Your compliance team can see at a glance who is cleared to start and who is holding up the shift pattern.
- 18th Edition certificate
- CompEx certificate
- CCNSG safety passport
- Basic DBS certificate
- IR35 status determination statement
No portal, no login. Only what is still missing is ever asked for.
The engineering and contractor onboarding checklist Amy collects
Every client, site and programme adds its own items, but a technical recruitment compliance file is built from the same four groups. Pick a placement type to see a typical file. Amy asks each candidate for exactly those documents and nothing they have already sent.
Right to work, identity and BPSS evidence5 of 5 documents
- Right to work documents (share code, or passport for British and Irish citizens)
- Passport (photo ID for the BPSS identity check)
- Proof of address (current address for the BPSS identity check)
- Employment history with gaps explained (at least the last three years for BPSS)
- Basic DBS certificate (unspent convictions for BPSS; a basic disclosure from Disclosure Scotland or AccessNI where they live there)
Engineering qualifications and professional registration4 of 4 documents
- Qualification certificates (NVQ, HNC, HND or degree)
- Engineering Council registration (CEng, IEng or EngTech registration certificate)
- 18th Edition (BS 7671) certificate (BS 7671 wiring regulations, City & Guilds 2382; check which amendment the client accepts)
- CompEx certificate (work in hazardous areas; valid for five years)
Site safety passports and tickets3 of 3 documents
- CCNSG safety passport (ECITB; check the expiry date on the card)
- First aid at work certificate
- Forklift licence (RTITB, AITT, ITSSAR or NPORS accredited)
Contracts, IR35 and contractor payroll9 of 9 documents
- Signed terms of engagement
- NDA or confidentiality agreement
- IR35 status determination statement (issued by medium and large clients to limited company contractors)
- Certificate of incorporation (limited company contractors)
- Professional indemnity insurance (limited company contractors)
- VAT registration certificate (where the contractor’s company is VAT registered)
- National Insurance number
- P45 or HMRC starter checklist
- Bank details form
Choose engineering and manufacturing when you sign up, or later in Settings, and every document on this list is set up for you. UK accounts also get Right to Work, DBS Certificate, CV and Driving Licence built in, and on the Pro plan you can add your own document types, such as a client’s site induction sign-off.
Contractor onboarding for every kind of engineering placement
A limited company contractor on a defence programme and a PAYE maintenance electrician on nights need very different files. Chase rules read your ATS to decide who is chased and for what, so each placement type gets its own list.
Contract engineers
Design, controls, electrical and project engineers working through their own limited company or an umbrella, often on day rates with a hard start date and an IR35 decision from the client.
PAYE technicians and maintenance
Maintenance electricians, mechanical fitters, CNC machinists and multi-skilled technicians on your payroll, with tickets and starter paperwork due before the first shift.
Defence and aerospace
Roles where the client completes BPSS before anyone starts, and sponsors SC or DV clearance where the work needs it. Amy collects the identity, history and DBS evidence; the vetting stays with the client.
Energy and hazardous sites
Instrument, electrical and mechanical technicians for refineries, power stations, chemical plants and offshore wind, where CompEx and a CCNSG safety passport decide who gets through the gate.
Permanent engineering hires
Chartered and incorporated engineers, engineering managers and technical specialists, where the client wants qualifications and registration on file before the offer is confirmed.
Documents land in the ATS you already use
Engineering and manufacturing staffing questions
What does BPSS need from an engineering contractor?
The Baseline Personnel Security Standard covers four things: proof of identity, right to work in the UK, at least three years of employment history with any long gaps explained, and a check for unspent convictions, usually a basic DBS certificate (or a basic disclosure from Disclosure Scotland or AccessNI). Amy collects that evidence from the candidate. SC and DV clearance is a separate step: the candidate cannot apply for it themselves, and the client or its security controller sponsors it once BPSS is done.
Who provides the IR35 status determination statement?
Under the off-payroll working rules, a medium or large client decides whether the rules apply to a limited company contractor and gives a status determination statement, with its reasons, to the contractor and to whoever it contracts with. For small private sector clients the contractor’s own company makes the decision, and the rules are unlikely to apply to someone employed by an umbrella company. GettingDocs keeps the statement on the contractor’s file alongside the rest of their paperwork; the determination itself is the client’s.
Does GettingDocs verify qualifications, tickets or DBS certificates?
No. Amy checks that each file is the right document and readable, and sends back anything that is not, but she does not look up the Engineering Council register, confirm a CompEx or CCNSG card with the issuer, check the DBS Update Service or run a Home Office right to work check. Your compliance team still does those checks. GettingDocs means they start with a complete file.
How do you speed up contractor onboarding?
Most of the wait is the contractor finding documents and sending them to the right person. Asking for everything missing in one WhatsApp or email message, then reminding them at the same time each day until the file is complete, removes most of it. GettingDocs starts as soon as the placement appears in your ATS.
Can limited company, umbrella and PAYE workers get different lists?
Yes. Chase rules read your ATS, so a limited company contractor is asked for a certificate of incorporation, professional indemnity insurance and the status determination statement, while a PAYE maintenance technician is asked for a National Insurance number, a P45 or HMRC starter checklist and a bank details form.
Which applicant tracking systems does it work with?
Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM and Crelate today, with Greenhouse coming soon. Documents are attached to the candidate’s record, with an optional copy in Google Drive.
Get engineers through the gate with a complete file
Watch Amy collect a contractor’s BPSS and ticket file from one of your own placements on a 15 minute call.
