What the certificate is
An employers' liability certificate is the insurer's confirmation that a business holds cover for injury or illness suffered by its employees in the course of their work. It is a statutory document, not just a commercial nicety, which is why it looks more standardised than other certificates you will see.
What must appear on it
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Name of the insured employer | Must match the legal entity engaging the staff, not a trading name |
| Policy number | Lets you verify the policy with the insurer or broker |
| Insurer name | Confirms it was issued by an authorised insurer |
| Date cover starts | Should be on or before the first day on site |
| Date cover ends | The field worth tracking, because the certificate dies with it |
| Limit of indemnity | Statutory minimum £5m, commonly £10m in practice |
Who needs it and who does not
Broadly, if you employ anyone you need employers' liability cover. The common exemptions are genuine sole traders with no employees, and some family businesses where every employee is a close relative. Company directors who are the only employee sit in a grey area that depends on the company structure, so ask rather than assume.
- Limited company with staff: certificate expected, no exceptions.
- Limited company, single director, no other staff: often exempt, ask for written confirmation.
- Sole trader with no employees: usually exempt, but public liability is still expected.
- Labour-only subcontractors you direct and supervise: they may count as your employees for insurance purposes, so check your own cover too.
Display and retention
The old rule was a certificate pinned to the wall. The practical modern position is that the certificate must be reasonably accessible to every employee, and an electronic copy that staff can read is accepted. Keeping historic certificates matters more than people expect, because industrial disease claims can surface decades after the work. Treat superseded certificates as records to archive, not clutter to delete.
Checking a subcontractor's certificate
- Match the insured name to the company on your contract and your purchase order.
- Confirm the limit meets the greater of the statutory £5m and your client's contractual minimum.
- Check the period of cover spans your whole programme, not just the mobilisation date.
- Look for the insurer's name and an authorised broker, and be wary of a certificate sent as an editable document.
- Where the subcontractor claims exemption, get that in writing with the reason.
- Diary the expiry immediately, ideally 60, 30 and 7 days out.
Employers' liability versus public liability
| Employers' liability | Public liability | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it protects | Your employees | Members of the public and clients |
| Legally required | Yes for most UK employers | No, but contractually near-universal |
| Typical minimum | £5m statutory, £10m commonly required | £1m to £10m depending on the client |
| Certificate expected | Always where staff are employed | Always for on-site or customer-facing work |
Keeping this from becoming a monthly chore
The certificate itself takes two minutes to read. The work is doing it across every subcontractor and every year, then noticing the one that quietly lapsed in week three of a nine-month job. Credbase reads the expiry off the certificate, tracks it per subcontractor and chases the renewal before the date, so the check happens whether or not anyone remembers it.
Frequently asked questions
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