---
id: KB-CS-043
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/use-cases-by-sector/the-one-who-won-the-contract-and-subcontracts-it-all
idioma: en
categoria: casos-por-sector
subcategoria: servicios
audiencia: usuario
nivel: avanzado
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CS-041, KB-CS-042, KB-CS-038]
citadoPor: [KB-CS-035]
---

# The one who won the contract and subcontracts it all

_You signed and someone else does the work. As far as the site is concerned there is still one name on the contract, and it is yours._

**Responde a:** liability when i subcontract the service · my subcontractors documentation for the client · client asking for papers of a company that is not mine · how do i control what my suppliers do

You win the maintenance contract for twelve sites and you do not have twelve teams: you have arrangements with local firms who deliver it. **The client did not contract those firms, they contracted you**, so anything they ask, they ask in your name. This position carries a very specific trap: the paperwork you will be required to produce is not yours, and you answer for it anyway.

## What you answer for, depending on who is looking

| Who is looking | What they see | Who they ask |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The site | One supplier: you | You |
| The subcontractor | One client: you | You |
| A review at the site | The whole chain | You, then downwards |
| **Your insurer** | **Who actually did the work** | **Whoever can prove it** |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **You are the position with the worst information about what actually happens, and the one that has to answer about it fastest.** Whoever is on site sees it; the site lives with it; you find out from a report that arrives on the 5th of the following month, if it arrives. Closing that gap is not about control: it is the only thing that lets you answer without phoning someone who may not pick up.

## What to set up before the first job

1. **What each subcontractor must provide, written and up front** — And no less than the site requires of you, or you pay the difference.
2. **How their paperwork arrives without chasing** — It is third-party documentation, so it has to be requested and chased.
3. **What evidence each job leaves behind** — The report, who did it and when. If nothing remains, for answering purposes it did not happen.
4. **What happens if a subcontractor subcontracts** — If you do not decide it, they will.

> [!WARNING]
> The classic mistake here is **requiring less of the subcontractor than the client requires of you**, usually because requiring everything would make them dearer or slower. That gap does not disappear: it sits on your balance sheet as a hole that opens on its own the day someone asks. And it is usually discovered at the worst possible moment — after something has happened and the papers of whoever was there have to be produced.

> [!NOTE]
> What liability the party who subcontracts assumes towards the client and the authorities, and what verification duties they carry over their suppliers, **depends on the contract and the sector, and is settled by your adviser**. Here we cover the part fully within your control: what you require, how it reaches you, and what is recorded about each job.

**Can I require of my subcontractor exactly what is required of me?**

It is advisable. The gap between what is asked of you and what you ask is your risk.

**Must I show my supplier's papers to the client?**

It depends on the contract, but being able to is worth it before they ask.

**What if the subcontractor sends nothing?**

That is the normal scenario. Which is why the request has to chase on its own.

## Ejemplos

**The client asks for the documentation of the firm that did the work, which is not yours.**

- Keeps each subcontractor's file alongside the contract it serves

→ It is handed over without phoning anyone or waiting for a reply.

**Each subcontractor sends their papers whenever they remember, in whatever format.**

- Requests specific documents and chases until they arrive

→ What arrives is comparable across all twelve firms.

**The subcontractor is asked for less than the client asks of you.**

- Writes down what is required and checks it is complete

→ The gap is visible before anyone asks about it.

**A site's job report arrives the following month, or not at all.**

- Captures the evidence of the work when and where it happens

→ The month closes on what happened rather than what is remembered.

**A subcontractor subcontracts in turn and you find out afterwards.**

- Records which firms are authorised under each contract

→ The chain stops growing without anyone knowing.

**Twelve sites, twelve firms and no overall view of who is current.**

- Shows the status of every supplier at once

→ You act on the two that are failing instead of all twelve.