Contractor management software for UK hospitality
Every contractor vetted, every visit logged.
Paddl's contractor management software gives each contractor, agency worker and door supervisor a portable profile with their insurance, SIA licence, DBS and certificates, runs digital site inductions, logs every visit and sign-in, and alerts you before a credential expires.
What goes wrong with unvetted contractors on site
Without a system, you're exposed every time someone walks through the door
Unknown contractor compliance
Contractors arrive on site and you have no idea if they have food hygiene certificates, DBS checks, or insurance. You are trusting them blindly.
Paper induction forms
Printed induction checklists that get lost, filed away, and never checked again. Without a digital contractor induction system, there is no way to verify if a returning contractor already completed their requirements.
No access control
Anyone with a hi-vis and a clipboard walks onto your site. No record of who was on premises, when, or what they were there to do.
Compliance liability
If a contractor causes a food safety incident or workplace injury, you cannot prove you vetted them properly. Your due diligence has gaps.
How contractor inductions and credentials work in Paddl
Paddl gives you a single system to manage inductions, verify compliance, and maintain a full audit trail. Every contractor meets your standards before they start work.
Digital Site Inductions
Contractors complete inductions on their phone before arriving. Cover food safety essentials, allergen awareness, site-specific hazards, and your procedures.
Compliance Document Verification
Collect and verify insurance certificates, food hygiene qualifications, DBS checks, and right-to-work documentation. Get alerts when documents expire.
Visitor Sign-In & Access Log
A contractor sign-in system for every contractor and visitor. Know exactly who is on your premises at any time, with full audit trail for visitor management in hospitality.
Portable Contractor Profiles
Contractors build a profile once and share it across every business they work with. No repeating the same paperwork at each new site.
Induction Templates
Create role-specific induction templates: kitchen contractors, maintenance teams, delivery drivers, auditors. Each group gets the induction relevant to their access.
Multi-Location Management
Set site-specific induction requirements. A contractor approved for one location is not automatically approved for another with different hazards.
What our customers achieve
Real improvements from hospitality businesses using Paddl
How teams use contractor management
Kitchen Maintenance Contractors
Ensure gas engineers, equipment repair teams, and deep cleaning contractors complete food safety inductions before entering food preparation areas.
Agency & Temporary Staff
Agency chefs and temporary front-of-house staff complete site inductions and provide food hygiene certificates before their first shift.
Delivery Drivers & Suppliers
Delivery personnel sign in, acknowledge food safety requirements for receiving areas, and are logged for traceability.
Health & Safety Auditors
Auditors, EHO inspectors, and consultants sign in with a streamlined visitor process that records their visit for your audit trail.
Multi-Site Contractor Management
Contractors working across your estate complete one induction and share credentials. Site-specific requirements are added per location.
Contractor Digital Induction
Replace printed induction packs with a digital process contractors complete on their phone before arriving. Cover allergen awareness, fire evacuation routes, PPE requirements, and your specific food safety rules. Each induction is timestamped and stored as evidence of your due diligence.
Visitor Sign-In Log
Every visitor and contractor signs in digitally when they arrive, recording their name, company, purpose of visit, and time on site. If an EHO inspector asks who was on your premises last Tuesday, you have the answer in seconds rather than searching through a paper log book.
Contractor Document Verification
Collect public liability insurance certificates, food hygiene qualifications, DBS disclosures, and trade certifications before contractors set foot on site. Paddl tracks expiry dates and sends automatic alerts at 30, 14, and 7 days before documents lapse, so you never unknowingly use an uninsured contractor.
Site Access Scheduling
Schedule contractor visits in advance with specific dates, times, and access areas. Kitchen deep cleans, pest control visits, and equipment servicing are logged against your calendar so the duty manager knows who to expect and when, reducing disruption during busy service periods.
What Paddl's contractor management software does
- Portable contractor profiles: insurance, SIA licence, DBS, food safety and other certificates, reused across every business they work for
- Digital site inductions from templates, with different requirements per location
- Visitor and contractor sign-in and access log per site
- Credential expiry alerts and a review queue for new uploads
- Group-based requirements (door staff, kitchen maintenance, agency catering) and event-based access
- A compliance register of who is cleared to work where
What it does not do
- Paddl checks the documents a contractor uploads; it does not verify SIA licences or DBS certificates against the issuing body
Questions people ask about contractor management software
Can contractors log in and manage their own profile?
Yes. A contractor keeps one profile with their documents and it travels with them to every Paddl business they work for. They upload renewals themselves and the business that needs them sees the new certificate in a review queue.
What is contractor management software?
Contractor management software gives hospitality businesses a centralised system to manage site inductions, verify compliance documentation, and control access for contractors and visitors. It ensures every person entering your premises has met your food safety and health & safety requirements before they start work.
Do contractors need food safety inductions?
Yes. Any person working in or around food preparation areas should receive an appropriate induction covering your food safety procedures, allergen protocols, and hygiene requirements. This applies to maintenance contractors, agency staff, delivery drivers, and any other visitor accessing food areas. It is part of your due diligence under UK food safety law.
How do portable contractor profiles work?
Contractors create a digital profile containing their qualifications, insurance, certifications, and completed inductions. When they are engaged by a new business on Paddl, their verified credentials are shared automatically. The new business can add site-specific induction requirements on top of the shared profile.
Can I set different induction requirements per location?
Yes. Each location can have its own induction template reflecting its specific hazards, layout, and procedures. A contractor approved for your central kitchen may need a separate induction for your satellite sites if the risks are different.
How does this help with EHO inspections?
EHO inspectors assess your confidence in management, which includes how you manage third-party access to food areas. Having documented contractor inductions and a digital access log demonstrates robust management controls. It shows inspectors that you take due diligence seriously and can evidence who has been on your premises and what training they received.
How do I track contractor compliance?
Paddl gives you a central dashboard showing every contractor, their document status, induction completion, and last visit date. You can filter by location, compliance status, or contractor type. Expired documents are flagged automatically, and you can generate a full compliance register as a PDF for audits or insurance purposes. There is no need to chase paperwork manually or maintain separate spreadsheets.
How do portable credentials work across businesses?
When a contractor registers, they create a profile with their credentials (SIA licence, DBS check, etc.). When another venue invites them, their credentials are already on file. The new venue just needs to review and approve them, no re-uploading needed. This takes about 30 seconds instead of starting from scratch.
What credentials can I track for contractors?
You can track any credential type: SIA licence numbers and expiry dates, DBS certificates, food hygiene certificates, public liability insurance, PAT testing certificates, ECS cards, COSHH training, right to work documents, and more. You can also require contractors to sign specific documents like venue policies.
How does event-based access work?
Create an event with a name, location, and date range. Assign contractors with specific roles (e.g. "Main Entrance", "VIP Area"). Contractors see the event in their app and can check in on the day. When the event ends, you can automatically deactivate the contractors, or leave them active for the next event.
Is contractor management free?
Yes. Contractors don't count toward your subscription user limit. You can invite as many contractors as you need at no additional cost. This makes it practical to manage even occasional or one-off contract workers.
How does this help with GDPR compliance?
When a contractor is removed, their profile is anonymised but compliance snapshots are retained. This means you can prove a contractor was properly credentialed at the time they worked for you, without retaining their personal data longer than necessary.
What happens if a contractor's SIA licence expires?
Paddl sends automatic warnings at 30, 14, and 7 days before expiry to both the contractor and your managers. If the licence expires, the contractor's compliance status changes to non-compliant and they appear flagged in your dashboard. You can configure whether to auto-deactivate expired contractors or handle it manually.
What documents do contractors need for hospitality sites?
It depends on the role. Door staff need a valid SIA licence and DBS check. Agency kitchen staff need a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate and allergen awareness training. Maintenance contractors typically need public liability insurance, relevant trade certifications, and COSHH awareness. Paddl lets you define exactly what each contractor type needs, so requirements are enforced automatically when they are invited.
How do I manage agency staff compliance?
When you invite an agency worker to Paddl, they create a profile and upload their credentials. You define the requirements for their role, such as food hygiene certificate and right to work documentation, and Paddl checks whether they have everything before their first shift. If they work at another Paddl venue in future, their credentials are already on file and just need your approval.
How Paddl compares
Where Paddl's contractor management software sits against the alternatives, with prices and the honest trade-offs.
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