CDM 2015 and the HSE: What the Health and Safety Executive Actually Does

A practical guide for UK site managers, contractors and small builders.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive, and a lot of site teams are unsure what that actually means in practice. Does the HSE approve your paperwork? Do they visit every site? What happens if an inspector turns up? This guide sets out exactly what the HSE does under CDM 2015, what it does not do, and how to make sure you are on the right side of it.

The HSE is the enforcing authority for CDM 2015

The HSE is the national regulator for workplace health and safety in Great Britain, and for most construction work it is the enforcing authority for CDM 2015. That means it is the body responsible for making sure duty holders comply, and it has legal powers to inspect sites, require improvements and take action when the rules are broken. Local authority environmental health teams enforce health and safety in some workplaces, but on construction sites the HSE is almost always the relevant regulator.

One thing worth being clear about: the HSE does not approve, sign off or certify your CDM documents. There is no HSE stamp on a construction phase plan. The duty to produce and follow the right documents sits entirely with the duty holders. The HSE checks compliance after the fact, usually by inspection, not by pre-approval.

Notifying the HSE: the F10

The most direct contact most projects have with the HSE under CDM 2015 is the notification, submitted on a form known as the F10. The client is legally responsible for making sure the HSE is notified where a project is notifiable, although in practice the principal contractor or principal designer often submits it.

A project is notifiable to the HSE if the construction work is scheduled to either last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point, or exceed 500 person days. If either threshold is met, the F10 must be submitted before the construction phase begins, and a copy of the notice must be displayed where workers can read it.

Notifying a project does not trigger an automatic inspection, and it is not the HSE granting permission. It is simply the regulator being told the work is happening so it can target its inspection resources.

Inspections and what an inspector looks for

HSE inspectors visit construction sites both proactively, as part of planned inspection campaigns, and reactively, after a complaint or an incident. On a CDM 2015 project an inspector will typically look for evidence that the project is being planned, managed and monitored properly. That means checking whether a construction phase plan exists and is being followed, whether risk assessments and method statements are in place and understood, whether welfare facilities are adequate, and whether the named duty holders are actually carrying out their duties.

Inspectors focus heavily on the high-harm risks that account for most serious construction incidents: work at height, excavations, moving plant, and exposure to dust and other hazardous substances. Being able to show your paperwork and, more importantly, that the site matches the paperwork, is the core of a good inspection.

Enforcement: what the HSE can do

When an inspector finds a problem, the HSE has a graduated set of enforcement tools under CDM 2015 and the wider Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

• Verbal and written advice. For minor issues, an inspector may simply advise on what needs to change.
• Improvement notice. A formal notice requiring a specific breach to be put right within a set period.
• Prohibition notice. Where there is a risk of serious personal injury, this stops the dangerous activity immediately, until the risk is controlled.
• Prosecution. For serious or repeated breaches, the HSE can prosecute duty holders. Penalties can include unlimited fines and, in the most serious cases, imprisonment.

There is also the Fee for Intervention scheme. Where the HSE finds a material breach of health and safety law, it can recover its costs from the duty holder at an hourly rate, so a poorly managed site can end up with a bill even without a formal prosecution.

The HSE guidance you should actually read

The HSE publishes the official guidance to CDM 2015 as document L153, Managing health and safety in construction. It is the plain-English companion to the regulations and explains what each duty holder has to do. It is the single most useful reference if you want to understand your duties in the regulator's own words, and it is the document inspectors expect duty holders to be broadly familiar with.

How to stay on the right side of the HSE

The practical takeaway is straightforward. Notify the HSE when the project crosses the threshold, produce a genuine construction phase plan before work starts, keep your risk assessments and method statements current and matched to what is happening on site, provide proper welfare, and keep records that show who did what. The HSE is not looking to trip you up on a technicality. It is looking for evidence that the people running the job are managing the real risks. Sites that can demonstrate that rarely have anything to fear from an inspection.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general guidance for UK construction and is not legal advice. For requirements specific to your work, check current HSE guidance, including L153, and your own duty holder obligations under CDM 2015.