Your Duties as a Contractor Under CDM 2015
If you work as a contractor in construction, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) place specific legal duties on you — separate from those of clients, designers and principal contractors. Understanding exactly where your responsibilities sit is the first step to managing health and safety properly on any project.
What CDM 2015 Requires of Contractors
As a contractor, you must:
- Plan, manage and monitor the work under your control so it's carried out without risk to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable
- Ensure everyone working for you has the skills, knowledge, training and experience needed for the work — or is supervised by someone who does
- Provide a suitable site induction to anyone new or sub-contracting on the project, if the principal contractor hasn't already done so
- Make sure suitable welfare facilities are provided for the duration of the work
Site Induction: What It Needs to Cover
A proper health and safety induction should leave every new worker understanding the site rules, emergency procedures, and how to recognise and report risks. This isn't just a box-ticking exercise — it's often the only formal safety briefing a temporary or sub-contracted worker receives before starting work, so its quality matters.
Training That Supports Contractor Duties
For those running or supervising contractor teams, the Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) covers the legal framework, site set-up, risk assessments and method statements needed to fulfil these duties in practice. A five-day course, it's also suitable for business owners and supervisors, and can be delivered in-house if multiple people need training — helping ensure cover is maintained even when key people are absent.
Understanding the Construction (Design and Management) regulations themselves — covered in courses such as CDM 2015 in Practice — helps clarify exactly how contractor duties interact with those of the principal contractor and client on any given project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who provides the site induction — the contractor or the principal contractor?
Usually the principal contractor provides the overall site induction, but if they haven't, the duty falls to the contractor to ensure their own workers receive one before starting work.
Do contractor duties under CDM 2015 apply to sole traders?
Yes — CDM 2015 duties apply to contractors regardless of size, including sole traders and the self-employed.
What's the difference between SMSTS and CDM 2015 training?
SMSTS covers the practical skills needed to manage a site safely day to day. CDM 2015-specific training focuses on understanding the legal duties of each party — client, designer, principal contractor and contractor — and how they interact.