Welfare Facilities for Construction Workers

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has just republished its information sheet on the provision of welfare facilities during construction work. It reflects the legal requirements as set down in the 'Construction (Design and Management) Regulations'.

What must be provided?

Some employers appear to be under the impression that a cold water supply and chemical toilet are all that they are obliged to provide for the workers. The law, however, sets down the absolute minimum provision as:

Adequate toilet and washing facilities
Place to warm up and eat food
Place to store clothing

The provision of these facilities, which includes ensuring they are located conveniently for the workers and adequately maintained, is an essential element of the planning and preparation stages of a project.

In planning the facilities, it is vital to take account of the maximum number of people who will need to use them and of any requirements that are specific to the particular project. For example, if the work is particularly dirty, showering facilities must also be provided.

Furthermore, it is not sufficient to set up the minimum facilities and then neglect them. They really must be up to standard, be adequately maintained and cleaned.

Whose responsibility?

So who is responsible for providing these facilities? The answer is that responsibility is shared by a number of parties. That is not to say that everyone can leave responsibility to 'somebody else'. It means that if welfare provision is not up to standard then everyone is held responsible, for example:

The CDM Coordinator is responsible for advising the client on what welfare facilities are required during the construction phase of the project.
If the work is notifiable (i.e. lasts more than 30 days or requires more than 500 person days of work) the client must not permit construction work to start until contractors have adequate welfare facilities in place for their employees.
Contractors must ensure adequate welfare facilities are available to cater for the workers for whom they are responsible. In particular, the Principal Contractor has overall responsibility for providing the welfare facilities for the site.

There is some flexibility in terms of how the welfare facilities are provided, for example it may be possible to use facilities that are already available on site or close to it. However, everyone is responsible for ensuring they are available throughout the construction phase of a project.

You can access the new leaflet on the HSE website.

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