Are you a construction worker?

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) - What you need to know

Who is a construction worker?

A worker is someone who works for or under the control of a contractor on a construction site.

Why are construction workers important in helping to ensure construction work is carried out in a way that avoids harm?

Workers are those most at risk of injury and ill health on a construction project. Because they are in a good position to recognise risks, they can help those they are working for to establish ways in which the work can be carried out safely and without risk to health. Workers must report anything they see that is likely to endanger either their own or others health and safety.

Workers must be consulted by their employers, or whoever is in control of their work, about matters which affect their health, safety and welfare.

When do construction workers' duties start and finish?

Workers' duties start as soon as they are appointed to start work on site and continue until the period they are contracted to work for finishes.

What skills, knowledge, training and experience do construction workers need to carry out their work in a way that ensures health and safety on site?

Workers must have the skills, knowledge, training and experience (SKTE) to do the work that they have been employed to do, or be in the process of obtaining them. If they do not have the full range of SKTE, their employer, or whoever is in control of them, must provide them with the training and supervision that enables them to carry out their work safely and without risk to health.

In assessing whether they have the SKTE, workers should not rely on industry certification cards or similar as the only evidence that they have the right qualities for a particular job. Nationally recognised qualifications (such as NVQs and SVQs) can provide potential employers with evidence that a worker has the SKTE to carry out the tasks to do a particular job.

What you need to do

Guidance on what a worker needs to do to carry out their duties on both commercial and domestic projects under CDM 2015 is available on the roles and responsibilities of a worker page.