Why construction is treated differently
Construction sites and the construction industry are still some of the most dangerous working environments in the country. A large proportion of serious accidents involve diggers, earth-moving machines and power tools — equipment which causes severe injury when it is used without adequate training, planning or supervision.
Because of that, construction carries an additional layer of regulation on top of the general duties every employer owes.
CDM duties
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations allocate specific duties between the client, the principal designer and the principal contractor. On most sites, this role is held in practice by a project manager or a site manager — but the legal duty sits where the regulations put it, not where the organisation chart does.
On site
Site inductions, method statements, permits to work, competence records and toolbox talks. These are examined closely after any incident, and gaps are extremely difficult to explain retrospectively.
Personal liability
The employer is the first person responsible for monitoring safety at work and is directly liable for damage suffered by employees in the course of employment. In construction, individual managers and directors can also face personal consequences where failures are serious. This is not an area where paperwork produced after the fact helps.
After an incident
Certain injuries and dangerous occurrences are reportable to the HSE under RIDDOR within strict time limits. Speak to us before responding to any inspector correspondence — early written answers tend to shape everything that follows.
