For contractors
Does every construction project need a construction phase plan?
Short answer
Yes. Every project to which CDM 2015 applies needs a construction phase plan before the site is set up, whatever its size or value. On a project with more than one contractor the principal contractor draws it up under regulation 12(1). On a single contractor project the contractor draws it up under regulation 15(5). What changes with the size of the job is the length and detail of the plan, not whether one exists.
The two routes
| Project | Who | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| More than one contractor | Principal contractor | 12(1) |
| One contractor | That contractor | 15(5) |
The second row is the one that catches people out. Small jobs are often assumed to be outside the requirement because there is no principal contractor. The opposite is true: the duty simply moves onto the single contractor.
What does not affect it
- Value. No threshold.
- Duration. No threshold.
- Notifiability. A separate test entirely. A project can need a plan and not be notifiable, which is the normal position on domestic work.
- Whether the client is domestic. CDM applies to domestic work. Regulation 7 changes who holds the client duties, not whether a plan is needed.
The only genuine exclusion is work outside CDM 2015 altogether, which for a homeowner means work they carry out themselves rather than having someone do it on their behalf.
What a small plan looks like
Short. A description of the job, who is on it and how to reach them, the site rules, induction and welfare arrangements, the emergency arrangements, and the specific measures for the risks that are actually present. For a domestic extension that is a handful of pages that somebody could hand to a new subcontractor on their first morning.
HSE publishes a short guide for exactly this situation, and the shape it suggests is closer to a few pages than to a manual.
Sources
- CDM 2015, regulation 12: construction phase plan and health and safety file legislation.gov.uk
- CDM 2015, regulation 15: duties of contractors legislation.gov.uk
- Managing health and safety in construction, L153 HSE guidance on the Regulations
- HSE: contractors, roles and responsibilities hse.gov.uk
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