Health and Safety Policy Arrangements – Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 – Undertaking Client Responsibilities
Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015), when a principal contractor undertakes the duties of the client on a domestic project, they inherit specific responsibilities to ensure health, safety, and welfare throughout the project. As the acting client, the principal contractor must make suitable arrangements for managing the project, ensuring that sufficient time and resources are allocated. They are responsible for appointing a principal designer, if necessary, and ensuring that both the designer and any contractors are competent and capable of carrying out their roles safely. The principal contractor must provide relevant pre-construction information to designers and contractors to enable effective risk management. They must also ensure that a construction phase plan is in place before work commences and that appropriate welfare facilities are available on site. Throughout the project, they need to ensure coordination and cooperation among all parties, maintaining oversight to confirm adherence to safety standards. By undertaking these duties, the principal contractor ensures the project is conducted safely and in compliance with CDM 2015 regulations.
Take a look at the information below for things you might want to include in your own H&S policy…
Feel free to copy / paste this list, and you can find out more about our full H&S policy here.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 allow the responsibilities of a domestic client to be transferred to the (Principal) Contractor. In such cases, the [Proprietor / Directors] of [My Company] will ensure that;
- Where more than one contractor is involved with the contact, a principal designer and principal contractor will be appointed in writing.
- The project is properly organised and managed in conjunction with the principal designer and principal contractor.
- Adequate time is allowed to design, plan and carry out construction work.
- Relevant information on the site, existing hazards, client requirements, budget and timescale is provided to the principal designer and principal contractor.
- All parties involved in the project communicate, cooperate and coordinate their work throughout all stages of the project (including design).
- Adequate welfare facilities are provided on site before the work starts.
- A construction phase plan is in place and regularly updated. The Plan will explain how health and safety risks will be managed and be proportionate to the scale of the work and associated risks.
- At the end of the project the client is provided with the Health and Safety File by the Principal Designer or Principal Contractor.
- Members of the public around and within the site are protected from harm.
- Notify the relevant enforcing authority (HSE) of the project via the online F10 form.
Our minimum health and safety performance standards will be obtained from; but not restricted to;
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
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