11th August 2013, 10:23 AM
If the main contractor's H&S policy says that all people working on their site has a valid CSCS card, then I'm afraid that's what you need, regardless of whether the contractor is physically on site or not. The subcontractor's policy can't override that, unless there is a specific clause in the contract. Ultimately the main contractor had that legal right and obligation, so you can't escape it. And as the majority of archaeology is on that kind of site, you can understand the stipulation in job adverts. None of this means that a) the card is worth the plastic it's written on or b) the humble digger should have to fork out for it out of their hard-earned mind...