If there is one thing you must do to safeguard your enterprise and yourself, it’s to ask this simple but critical question to your security service provider: What’s your Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) score?
The ACS score is a crucial benchmark that evaluates the operational standards and regulations adherence of your security provider. Lodgeservice is proud to boast an ACS score of 141 out of a possible 145, placing us among the highest-scoring security companies in the UK.
For those unfamiliar, if you’re not engaging an SIA ACS-endorsed security provider, you must ensure you carry out the following checks to validate compliance and ensure basic standards are in place.
Critical Checks to Ensure Your Security Provider Measures Up:
- Compliance to Industry Standards: Ensure they are compliant with BS10800:2020 for the provision of security services, BS7499 for static site guarding and mobile patrol services, BS7858 for security screening and vetting of personnel employed in a security environment, and BS7984 for keyholding response services.
- Appropriate Licensing: The service provider’s directors, managers, supervisors, and frontline security operatives must possess the appropriate licenses.
- Financial Stability: The supplier should have audited accounts (unless it’s a new business), a PAYE scheme, and VAT.
- Appropriate Insurances: They must have the required insurance in place.
- Verifiable Credentials: Ensure the company’s website and all accreditation marks and testimonials can be independently verified.
- Employee Welfare: The provider should have suitable staff employment conditions, such as National Living Wage, National Minimum Wage if applicable, holiday entitlement, statutory sick pay, stakeholder pension and adherence to the working time directive.
- Due Diligence: Conduct open-source research on the business, directors, and shareholders, including a credit check if necessary. Investigate their Companies House documents to identify whether the company is a ‘phoenix’. Are the past directors and shareholders credible?
- Subcontracting Clarity: Have clear contract terms regarding the use of subcontractors or labour provisions.
- Regular Audits: Ongoing audit practices must be in place.
- On-site Verification: Ensure there will be out-of-hours spot checks done to assure that officers are actually on site and able to detect security breaches.
- Business Verification: Confirm that the business you contracted with is actually supplying the services.
- Employee Verification: Do the security operatives believe they work for the company you contracted with?
- Billing Verification: Check whether the information on the invoices and bank accounts matches your expectations.
By asking these critical questions, you will ensure your security is in the right hands. But, you could simplify your quest for a reliable security service by choosing one of the top-scoring security companies in the UK: LodgeService.
Secure your peace of mind today by partnering with Lodgeservice. For help, advice, or inquiries, feel free to contact us.
Your security is our priority. Your peace of mind, our mission.