CDM Regulations 2020: Is There a 2020 Version?
If you have searched for the CDM Regulations 2020, you were probably expecting to find a specific set of rules issued in that year. There is a simple answer that saves a lot of confusion: there is no such thing as the CDM Regulations 2020. The regulations that govern construction health and safety in Great Britain are the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and they have not been reissued since. This guide explains why people search for a 2020 version, what actually applies to your work, and how to make sure the guidance you follow is current.
There is no CDM 2020
Let us deal with the headline straight away. No version of the CDM regulations was published in 2020. 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, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 or since that replaced them. If a course, template or article refers to the CDM Regulations 2020, it is using a label that does not exist in law, and the underlying duties it describes are almost certainly just the CDM 2015 duties under a wrong name.
Why people search for CDM 2020
The 2020 search is common, and there are a few understandable reasons behind it. Understanding them helps you avoid the same trap.
- 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 new version arrives every few years. It does not. There is no fixed cycle, and no revision has followed 2015.
- Looking for the current version. People often add the current or recent year to a search to find the up to date rules, so someone searching in 2020 might type CDM 2020 simply meaning the CDM regulations that apply now. The rules that applied in 2020, and still apply, are CDM 2015.
- Confusing CDM with other 2020 changes. A number of construction and safety updates did land around that time, so it is easy to mix them up with the CDM regulations themselves. The CDM regulations were not among the things that changed.
What actually applied in 2020, and still does
In 2020, 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 2020, you are working to the same framework now.
Nothing has replaced CDM 2015
It is worth being clear that CDM 2015 has not been superseded by anything since. Some genuine changes to the wider building safety landscape have happened, most notably the Building Safety Act and its associated regime for higher risk buildings, but that sits alongside CDM rather than replacing it, and it does not turn CDM 2015 into a CDM 2020 or a later edition. For the vast majority of construction and refurbishment work, CDM 2015 is the regulation that sets your health and safety duties, and it is the one your paperwork should reference.
How to make sure you are following the right version
The practical takeaway is to ignore any reference to a CDM 2020 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
Is there a CDM Regulations 2020?
No. No version of the CDM regulations was issued in 2020. The current regulations are the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, which came into force on 6 April 2015 and have not been replaced since. Any reference to a CDM 2020 is a mislabelling of the CDM 2015 duties that were, and still are, in force.
What CDM regulations applied in 2020?
CDM 2015 applied in 2020, just as it does now. The duty holders and duties were the same: client, principal designer, designers, principal contractor, contractors and workers, with the usual requirements to share pre-construction information, produce a construction phase plan, manage risk proportionately and provide welfare. Nothing about CDM changed in 2020.
Have the CDM regulations changed since 2015?
No. The CDM regulations have not been revised since CDM 2015 came into force. Wider building safety law has developed, notably the Building Safety Act and the regime for higher risk buildings, but that runs alongside CDM 2015 and does not replace it. CDM 2015 remains the version that sets your construction health and safety duties.
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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.