Guidance for people running security contracts.
Practical writing on SIA licensing, screening and site compliance, from the team building SecureOptix.
Verifying employment history: what actually counts as done
A CV entry is a claim. Verification is the work of turning that claim into something an assessor would accept, and it does not happen by asking the applicant to confirm it themselves.
When to actually start an SIA licence renewal
Leaving a renewal until close to the expiry date treats the process as instant. It is not, and the gap between application and outcome is where cover gets awkward.
TUPE when a security contract changes hands
Officers transfer with the contract, and so does their employment history. The compliance question nobody asks until day one is what you now hold about them.
Spreadsheets vs dedicated licence tracking: when to actually switch
A spreadsheet is a perfectly reasonable way to track five licences. The question is what size the problem is now, not what it was when the sheet was built.
What your no-show pattern is actually telling you
A single no-show is a cover problem. The same shift falling through every few weeks is a rostering problem wearing a cover problem's clothes.
The Approved Contractor Scheme, and whether to join
Voluntary in law and close to mandatory commercially. Most of the work is evidencing what a well-run contractor already does.
BS 7858 screening, walked through stage by stage
The standard is usually described as a checklist. It reads more sensibly as a sequence, where each stage exists to close a specific gap the last one left open.
SIA licence types, and which one actually covers the job
A licence card looks the same regardless of sector. What it authorises does not, and rostering someone against the wrong sector is not a paperwork slip.