Service
F10 notification
Whether your project actually reaches the notification threshold, and submission to HSE on the client's behalf where it does.
Short answer
An F10 is the notice given to HSE before a notifiable construction project starts. A project is notifiable if the work will last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers on site simultaneously, or exceed 500 person days. The duty to notify sits with the client, though someone else may submit on their behalf. Most domestic projects are well below both thresholds.
The two thresholds
Regulation 6 of CDM 2015: a project is notifiable if the construction work is scheduled to last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point in the project, or to exceed 500 person days.
The first test is an and, not an or. Both halves have to be true together: longer than 30 working days and more than 20 workers at the same time. A six month refurbishment with a steady crew of six fails the first test on the worker count and is only notifiable if it crosses 500 person days.
Person days is the arithmetic that catches longer jobs: the total number of days worked by everyone. Six people for eighty five days is 510, and notifiable. Six people for eighty is 480, and not.
Run your project through the checker.
What ClearCDM does
Two things. First, work out honestly whether the project reaches either threshold, which on most of the work we do means telling clients they do not need to notify anything. Second, where a project does reach it, complete and submit the F10 to HSE on the client's behalf, and give them the notice to display on site.
What submitting does not do. Completing the form on somebody's behalf does not move the duty. Regulation 6 puts it on the client, and regulation 7 moves it to the contractor or principal contractor on domestic projects. We do the work; the duty stays where the regulations put it.
Common questions
Is my extension notifiable?
Almost certainly not. The thresholds are more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers on site simultaneously, or more than 500 person days. A domestic extension with five people on it for four months is around 400 person days at most and never has 20 people on site at once.
Who has the duty to notify?
The client, under regulation 6. HSE's own guidance notes that in practice the client may ask someone else to notify on their behalf. On a domestic project regulation 7(1) moves the regulation 6 duty to the contractor or principal contractor, or to the principal designer where there is a written agreement.
Does notifying change what else applies?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. Notification is a separate test from the principal designer appointment. A project can need a principal designer and not be notifiable, which is the normal position on domestic work.
How is it submitted?
Through HSE's online F10 form. HSE no longer processes paper forms or accepts notification by email or post. On a notifiable project a copy of the notice has to be displayed where workers on site can read it.
Sources
- CDM 2015, regulation 6: notification legislation.gov.uk
- CDM 2015, regulation 7: application to domestic clients legislation.gov.uk
- HSE: how to notify a project (F10) hse.gov.uk
Check the threshold in thirty seconds
The free checker does the arithmetic on both tests and shows the working.
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