The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is a wide-ranging piece of legislation and, while the legal principles that underpin it may be relatively straightforward, understanding how they apply in practice can be a much trickier story.

This task only increases in complexity in situations involving multiple parties who are each responsible for performing individual aspects of an entire piece of work.

Such is the case on building sites, which often sees developers, head contractors, subcontractors and other third parties trying to juggle their own health and safety obligations while understanding how those obligations fit in with those of others on site.

Under the act, the starting point is that all persons conducting business or an undertaking (PCBU) have a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of its workers and others, including the public. Developers, contractors and subcontractors will generally be considered PCBUs.

A PCBU’s duties under the act typically attach to the workplace, which includes a place where work is being carried out or anywhere that the PCBU’s workers go, or are likely to be, when carrying out work on behalf of the PCBU. For the purposes of the act, a PCBU’s workers are any individuals who carry out work in any capacity on behalf of the PCBU, and includes the PCBU’s contractors and subcontractors, as well as any employees of those contractors and subcontractors.

On Site

This means that most developers, contractors and subcontractors will have duties under the act in relation to any building sites they are working on, even if they are not directly involved in the work being undertaken or are not the main contractor.

As a result, it is likely that more than one PCBU will have health and safety obligations in relation to at least some of the same work activities on a building site. In that case, each PCBU must comply with those duties to the standard required by the act, even if another PCBU has the same duty. PCBUs must also discharge those duties to the extent that they have the ability to influence or control the matter.

In other words, a PCBU’s obligations under the act will not lessen just because another PCBU within the contracting chain has the same duty, and a PCBU cannot use the terms of a contract to transfer or shift its health and safety obligations onto another PCBU.

Where multiple PCBUs have a duty in relation to the same work, they are also required to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities with one another. That is an important factor that should also be built into contract management to manage risk.

Due Diligence

So, what does this mean for developers, or even contractors, who are commissioning, but not directly involved in, the work on a building site?

Developers, contractors and others in this situation will generally be required to ensure they have adequate systems and processes in place to audit and monitor their contractors, subcontractors and any other relevant PCBUs’ compliance with the act. Often, this will be achieved by conducting initial due diligence prior to entering contractual arrangements and, subsequently, on an ongoing basis throughout the project, including thorough regular health and safety audits.

If you have any questions about the act and what it may mean for your organisation, please get in touch with the team at Wynn Williams.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on as legal advice. Always consult a qualified lawyer for advice specific to your situation.

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