Do your subcontractors need Employers’ Liability insurance? (UK)
Updated 2026-09-14 · general information, not legal or insurance advice
Employers’ Liability (EL) insurance is one of the few types of business insurance that is legally required in the UK. Under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, most businesses that employ staff must hold at least £5 million of cover (most policies are written at £10m). The question that trips up builders is: does that apply to your subcontractors?
The short answer
A genuine (“bona-fide”) subcontractor who runs their own business and carries their own EL and Public Liability is responsible for their own cover. A labour-only subcontractor — someone working under your direction, more like a temporary employee — is usually treated as your employee for insurance purposes, which means your EL policy is expected to cover them unless they can show their own.
Why this costs you money
Insurers price EL and Public Liability partly on your wageroll and turnover. At your annual renewal audit, if a labour-only sub can’t evidence their own cover for the period they worked, their payments get added to your wageroll — and you’re charged extra premium on it. If an uninsured sub causes injury or damage, the claim can land on your policy or your own bank account.
What to collect from every sub
- A current Employers’ Liability certificate (if they have anyone working for or under them), typically £5m–£10m.
- A current Public Liability certificate at the limit your contract requires (often £5m).
- The policy dates — cover must be valid for the whole period they’re on your site, not just the day they hand it over.
The practical problem
Collecting a certificate once is easy. Keeping every sub’s cover current — catching renewals, chasing the ones who let it lapse — is the part that eats your time and slips through on a spreadsheet. That’s exactly what CoverWatch automates: it chases each sub for you and keeps an audit-ready record.