The Regulations, known as CDM 2015, set out procedures that must be followed for planning, managing and monitoring safety arrangements and specify standards that must be met on construction sites.

To ensure that health and safety is correctly managed, CDM 2015 also defines specific roles and duties for everyone involved in construction projects, including clients, contractors, designers and workers.

CDM 2015 applies to all construction projects, regardless of size, in England, Wales and Scotland. Similar requirements apply in Northern Ireland under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.

This factsheet summarises the health and safety requirements that all construction projects must meet under CDM 2015. It also sets out the health and safety roles and duties that CDM 2015 assigns to clients, contractors, designers and workers, and makes clear what is meant by ‘principal’ contractors and designers. It explains what a ‘construction phase plan’ is, when a ‘health and safety file’ is required and which construction projects must be notified to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).