Becoming a Ringley Contractor

At the time of launching Contractors Panel in 2008 Ringley spent about £11M of Clients' money. Our Clients, quite rightly, scrutinize the choices of contractor we use and the payments we make which they must feel are "value for money". Value for money does not necessarily mean the cheapest but definitely implies that the service must be good, deliver a feel good factor and be of a standard that implies honest pricing.

We award work to contractors who share the same values as us and who understand that their role is to enhance or add to the Ringley brand.

In return we have structured feedback mechanisms so our contractors know how we are doing and support the growth of their businesses by being able to give them references based on our 5 star rating.

Our Client portfolio is growing in size and in geographical spread so there are often opportunities for new suppliers and contractors to become involved. The process of becoming a Ringley contractor is not something we take lightly as we will need to vet your insurances, accreditation and make sure you have policies to cover things such as health & safety, risk management etc... We appreciate it is our Clients choice that often we favour smaller companies whose pricing may be more realistic rather than larger companies with bigger overheads. So to ensure we accommodate smaller companies we have designed an area where if you don’t have an environmental policy to upload you can create one and adopt it as your own using our policy builder tool.

All supplier and contractor applications need to be sanctioned by Ringley’s Board of Directors and as meetings are quarterly at worst it will take 3-4 months for your panel application to be determined. You will be advised of the outcome in writing.

Fees

As you can imagine the costs of administering a Suppliers panel are not insignificant so there is a one off application fee and thereafter an annual review fee. The application fee of £60+Vat (£70.50) covers us checking policies, checking the need for the provided services, taking references, and the application being referred to a Board meeting where a decision will be made and then notified to the contractor.

The annual renewal fee is based on the type and number of services provided:

Why does The Ringley Group charge me to be on their Panel of Approved Suppliers?

Legislation put upon The Ringley Group now requires us to have information such as copies of your public liability insurance, employers liability insurance and health and safety policies on our records. For specific trades such as gas fitters or electricians in addition to this we have a need to check that for safety reasons specialist contractors hold up to date certification.

In addition to this where what you do for our customers involves you working at heights we need to know that you have policies to protect our clients and your operatives and that you have given the necessary training and have company policies to deal with this.

The Ringley Group's agenda of corporate social responsibility further requires us to know that we are dealing with reputable contractors who have an equal opportunities policy.

Why does the Ringley Group charge me yearly when I am already an Approved Supplier?

The legislative demands put upon us are not a one off exercise, policies and insurances and other certification expire at various different times throughout the year, so almost every day we have to consider whose documents are not up to date and what we need to chase them for to fulfil our duty to our Clients. Because legislation requires us to do so we have no choice but to manage these risks the costs of which will be fairly shared by those who enjoy the benefits of a stream of work by being part of The Ringley Group's supply chain based on the size of their operation and type of services they provide.