Appoint a Principal Contractor

If more than one contractor will work on your project, you, as the client, must appoint a principal contractor to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase. The appointment must be in writing. You must also appoint a principal designer to do the same for the design stage.

When you must appoint

You must appoint a principal contractor whenever more than one contractor will be working on the project at any time, or it is reasonably foreseeable that they will. The test looks at the whole project, so contractors who work one after another count. If an electrician finishes in week one and a plumber arrives in week three, you need a principal contractor.

A contractor is anyone who, in the course or furtherance of a business, carries out, manages or controls construction work. You do not need a principal contractor when one contractor does all the work, although your other duties as a client still apply.

If you are a domestic client, having work done on your own home and not for a business, you do not make the appointment.

Appoint at the right time

Make the appointment as soon as practicable and, in any event, before the construction phase begins. Appoint during procurement, early enough for them to plan the work and liaise with the principal designer.

Choose who to appoint

The principal contractor must be a contractor, which means a firm that carries out, manages or controls the construction work. That is usually your main contractor, but it can be a construction management firm that controls the works without building them itself. A designer or consultant who does not carry out, manage or control construction work cannot be appointed. You can appoint yourself only if you are a contractor in your own right.

Check they can do the job

The person you appoint must have the skills, knowledge and experience, and if they are an organisation the organisational capability, to manage health and safety on your project. A contractor must not accept the appointment unless they meet that test, and you must take reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that they do. HSE expects the checks to be proportionate to the size and complexity of the project and the risks involved.

Make the appointment in writing

The regulations require a written appointment, so a verbal agreement does not count. A clause in the construction contract or a separate letter both work, provided the document names the principal contractor and says they are appointed as principal contractor for the project. Add the date the appointment starts, and ask the contractor to confirm in writing that they accept it.

Give them what they need to do the job. As client you must make suitable arrangements for managing the project, including allowing sufficient time and other resources.

Notify HSE

If your project is notifiable, the notice you send to HSE must give the principal contractor's name and contact details. If you have not yet appointed one when you notify, update the notice once you have.

If you do not appoint one

If you do not appoint a principal contractor when you need one, you must carry out the principal contractor's duties yourself. They include drawing up the construction phase plan, organising cooperation between contractors, making sure everyone receives a site induction, preventing unauthorised access, providing welfare facilities and consulting the workers. Not appointing does not remove the duties, it passes them to you, and few clients have the construction expertise or site presence to meet them.