Are you a Duty Holder?

There are a number of responsible parties named under the Regulations as Duty Holders, these are:

• Client – This is the party for whom the project is being built.
• Principal Designer – The Principal Designer is the Designer in charge of the pre-construction (design) phase in relation to Health and Safety. Find out more here.
• Principal Contractor – This is the Contractor in overall control of the project during the construction phase, they are responsible for all on site activities and Health and Safety management.
• Designers – Anyone who designs or specifies on the project.
• Contractors – Companies or individuals who undertake on site works during the construction phase.

Each of these parties or Duty Holders have different obligations and responsibilities on a construction project.

In the event of an incident or HSE inspection, each of these parties can be held liable for project issues found. The HSE now recovers the costs of time spent dealing with breaches of health and safety law, these charges are known as 'Fees for Intervention' (FFI). These charges apply when an Inspector finds something wrong on site and they issue a formal notice, either an improvement or prohibition notice.

More information can be found on the HSE website.