CDM Regulations 2016: Is There a 2016 Version?

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

If you have searched for the CDM Regulations 2016, you were probably expecting a specific set of rules dated to that year. Here is the short answer that clears up the confusion: there is no such thing as the CDM Regulations 2016. The regulations that govern construction health and safety in Great Britain are the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and they were the version in force throughout 2016 exactly as they are today. This guide explains why the 2016 search comes up, what the transitional period around 2015 and 2016 actually meant, and how to make sure the guidance you follow is current.

There is no CDM 2016

Let us settle the headline first. No version of the CDM regulations was published in 2016. The current regulations are CDM 2015, which came into force on 6 April 2015 and remain the version in force today. Nothing was passed in 2016 that replaced them, and nothing has replaced them since. If a course, template or article refers to the CDM Regulations 2016, it is using a label that does not exist in law, and the duties it describes are almost certainly just the CDM 2015 duties under the wrong year.

Why people search for CDM 2016

The 2016 search is common, and there are a few understandable reasons behind it. Knowing them helps you avoid the same mix-up.

• The transitional period ran into 2016. When CDM 2015 came into force in April 2015, projects already under way were given transitional arrangements to bring themselves into line, and that settling-in period is often remembered as happening around 2016, which leaves people thinking a 2016 version exists. It does not; the regulation itself was still CDM 2015.
• Looking for the current version. People often add a recent year to a search to find the up to date rules, so someone searching in 2016 might type CDM 2016 simply meaning the CDM regulations that applied then. The rules that applied in 2016, and still apply, are CDM 2015.
• Assuming the year in the title updates. Because CDM 2007 replaced CDM 1994 and CDM 2015 replaced CDM 2007, it is natural to assume a fresh version arrives every few years on a fixed cycle. There is no fixed cycle, and no revision followed 2015.

What the transitional period actually meant

CDM 2015 came into force on 6 April 2015, but it recognised that projects already running could not switch overnight, so it included transitional provisions for work that had started before that date. Where a project was already under way and had a CDM co-ordinator appointed under the old CDM 2007 regime, there was a window, running to 6 October 2015, to appoint a principal designer and otherwise align with the new rules. By 2016, that window had long closed and every live project was squarely under CDM 2015. So the thing people half-remember as a 2016 change was really the tail end of the switch to CDM 2015, not a new regulation.

What actually applied in 2016, and still does

In 2016, any construction project in Great Britain was governed by CDM 2015, exactly as it is now. That means the same duty holders and the same duties: the client, the principal designer, designers, the principal contractor, contractors and workers. The same core requirements applied then and apply today, including gathering and sharing pre-construction information, producing a construction phase plan before work starts, managing site risks proportionately, providing welfare facilities, and compiling a health and safety file where relevant. If you were compliant with CDM 2015 in 2016, you are working to the same framework now.

How to make sure you are following the right version

The practical takeaway is to ignore any reference to a CDM 2016 and work to CDM 2015. When you check guidance, make sure it talks about the client, principal designer, principal contractor and contractors rather than the older planning supervisor or CDM co-ordinator roles, which are the tell-tale signs of out of date material. The HSE guidance to the current regulations is L153, and any document you produce should be scoped to CDM 2015 so that it stands up if an inspector asks.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general guidance for UK construction and is not legal advice. For requirements specific to your work, check the full text of CDM 2015 and current HSE guidance L153, along with your own duty holder obligations.