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A fake CSCS card could cause you and your staff immeasurable damage. With the potential to do significant harm to your reputation, workers and business, knowing how to spot a fake CSCS card is crucial.
Since their introduction in 1995 by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), CSCS cards have proved a popular way to verify the skills and legitimacy of potential employees. With CSCS cards a standard requirement across the UK construction industry, it’s inevitable fake cards would leak into the system. The good news is they’re easy to spot if you know how.
Here’s all you need to know about fake CSCS cards and how to spot them.
CSCS Cards: background
The construction industry has the highest rate of workplace fatalities. Between 2020 – 2021, the Health and Safety Executive reported 39 construction workers died of fatal injuries from accidents at work.1 The good news is, rates of fatalities and injuries are falling but there’s still more to do.
When CSCS cards were first introduced under the CITB’s Construction Skills Certification Scheme, their purpose was to address what were then, even higher percentages of injuries and deaths on building sites.
Over the years, the scheme has grown to include around 11 different types of CSCS cards, each with its own qualifying criteria for verification of skills and knowledge to ensure you and your workers know everyone on site has the competence necessary to operate safely.
Today, everyone from labourers to managers, apprentices, site supervisors and trainees needs a CSCS card to be on site.
For those new to the profession, on site for the first time, strapped for cash or overwhelmed by form-filling, CSCS cards may feel like an unnecessary hassle so as an employer, you may wish to apply for CSCS cards for your staff yourself. You can also direct staff and recruits to practice CSCS tests they can take online, for both new applications and renewals.
How to spot a fake CSCS card & what to do if you do
Check the following are present on the CSCS cards you are shown. Remember the CSCS continuously make updates to cards so always keep up with changes.
- Registration number. Verify the card’s authenticity by entering the registration number into the CITB online card checker.
- NFC Reader. Place an NFC reader over the contactless symbol and you should be able to bring up their profile details.
- Name. The name on the card should match exactly with the ID you are shown because they will have had to provide the same ID to acquire the CSCS card.
- Expiry date. The time period given must meet the CSCS’ standardised durations.
- Photo. The photo should be a passport-style photograph.
- Hologram. The CSCS hologram should be present in the top left corner.
- H&S Tested. The H&S Tested sign and the person’s title were removed in December 2019. No cards issued after December 2019 have it.
- Checking CSCS cards issued after June 2020. All CSCS cards issued after June 2020 should have a hidden smart chip and a contactless symbol located next to the photograph.
- Checking CSCS cards issued between December 2019 and May 2020. These cards should feature the worker’s full name on the front.
What to do if you spot a fake CSCS card
If you do come across a fake CSCS card, make copies of it and keep the original if you can. Contact the police and keep the person off site (as far as legally possible).
How to avoid fake CSCS cards entering your workforce
One way to ensure false CSCS cards stay out of your workforce and all staff comply, is to take control of applications yourself. The CSCS allows employers to apply for CSCS cards for employees and potential recruits.
Completion of a CSCS card application is already part of your employment process. By applying for cards for new recruits yourself, you can halt those who do not qualify before you confirm their appointment.
Being able to identify those who do not qualify for a CSCS card before you complete recruitment means you can save your business valuable time and money and your workforce from potential danger.
The dangers of fake CSCS cards
According to the Health and Safety Executive, accidents at work cost businesses £16.2 billion in 2018/19 2. Indeed, an accident or worse, a fatality, on your building site could even spell the end of your business.
Beyond investigations into your compliance processes, as the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents explains, accidents at work are like ‘an iceberg’ with wide-ranging hidden costs which far exceed your insurance premiums.
In fact, the ROSPA reports uninsured losses will be ten times the cost of what you’ve paid in insurance premiums, with everything from fines to lost contracts, sick pay and wages for cover staff, quickly mounting up 3.
However the fake card found its way into your business, if there’s an accident, fatality or another type of incident, as the business owner, you will be liable for the wide-ranging consequences.
Indeed, the 2006 Fraud Act made the production or ownership of a fake CSCS card a legal offence. The CITB, who commissioned the CSCS scheme, are government partners hence the reason why the cards had so much weight so quickly.
Applying for CSCS cards for new recruits yourself is one way to ensure you keep your business and workforce protected from harm.
How to apply for CSCS cards as an employer
Employers can make batch applications through the CSCS. To do this you’ll need to:
- Open an Employer Account on the CSCS
- Enter the details for each applicant separately and an individual account will be created for each person. For those who already have accounts with the CSCS, the CSCS will pull up the rest of the details once initial information has been entered.
- You’ll need all the information required to complete an application as usual, including a passport-style photo and CITB test results. Payments can be entered separately and you will be able to choose the type of card you want for each person, check they qualify or see alternatives and state why the application is being made e.g. new applicant, lost etc.
- Each application is processed separately. You can track progress on the site or through emails from the CSCS. Once approved, cards can be delivered to you or the applicant’s home.