Contractor Duties Under CDM

CDM 2015 places specific duties on every contractor working on a construction project, regardless of project size.
A contractor is any business or person who carries out, manages, or controls construction work — this includes subcontractors.
Contractors must plan, manage, and monitor their own work to ensure it is carried out without risk to health and safety.
They must provide adequate supervision, instruction, and information to their workers for every task on the project.
Contractors must ensure their workers have the skills, knowledge, training, and experience to carry out the work safely.
They must cooperate with the principal contractor and other contractors to coordinate work and prevent conflicts between trades.
Contractors must comply with the site rules and directions given by the principal contractor for the project.
They must report anything they are aware of that is likely to endanger the health or safety of any person on site.
Contractors must provide their workers with the information and training needed to carry out their work safely.
Welfare facilities must be provided or arranged for their workers unless the principal contractor is providing them.

Personal legal duty	Every contractor has individual legal duties under CDM — claiming ignorance of the law is not a defence against prosecution.
Competent workforce	Contractors must ensure their workers are trained and competent — sending unqualified workers to site is a criminal offence.
Cooperation	CDM requires contractors to work together — failure to cooperate creates the dangerous trade interface incidents that kill workers.

Do

Don't

Plan, manage, and monitor your work to ensure it is carried out safely.
Provide adequate supervision and instruction for all your workers on site.
Ensure every worker you employ has the skills and training for their specific task.
Cooperate with the principal contractor and other contractors on the project.
Comply with site rules and directions from the principal contractor.
Report any hazards or unsafe conditions you discover to the principal contractor.
Provide information and training to your workers for safe task completion.
Ensure welfare facilities are available for your workers on the project.
Maintain your own health and safety records for the work you carry out.
Contribute relevant safety information to the Health and Safety File.

DON'T carry out construction work without planning how it will be done safely.
DON'T leave your workers unsupervised when they need guidance on the task.
DON'T send workers to site who lack the training and competence for the work.
DON'T refuse to cooperate with other contractors — CDM requires coordination.
DON'T ignore site rules set by the principal contractor — they apply to you.
DON'T keep quiet about hazards you find — report them to the principal contractor.
DON'T assume your workers know how to do the job safely — provide the information.
DON'T leave your workers without access to welfare facilities on the project.
DON'T fail to keep health and safety records for your construction activities.
DON'T withhold information that should be included in the Health and Safety File.

See also: CDM 2015 Awareness | Worker Duties Under CDM

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