Module 6 Contract Management for Scaffolders

Managing HSE
and Legal Obligations

HSE through the contract lens: the paperwork pack, toolbox talks, right to work, RIDDOR and the first 24 hours after an accident.

Full Course Module

This module is part of the Contract Management for Scaffolders course. Nine modules, all downloads, quizzes and a certificate of completion. One payment, lifetime access.

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By the end of this module you'll be able to
  • Recognise that every breach of HSE law is a breach of your subcontract
  • Apply HSWA 1974, CDM 2015 and WAH 2005 to the scaffolder's daily work
  • Build the minimum compliance paperwork pack from day one of every job
  • Run weekly toolbox talks with records that stand up in court
  • Conduct right-to-work checks through the share-code service before day one
  • Recognise RIDDOR-reportable events and submit the F2508 on time
  • Execute the 24-hour accident response in the right order
  • Distinguish civil, criminal and contract liability and manage all three in parallel
Read time: ~30 minutes Knowledge check: 10 questions, 8 correct to pass

1. Every HSE Breach is a Contract Breach

Most courses teach health and safety and contract management as separate subjects. They aren't. Every breach of HSE law is a breach of your contract. Every record you keep for HSE compliance is a record that proves performance under the contract. Every accident is a contract event.

This module deals with HSE through the contract lens. The legal framework is the floor. The contract pulls those legal duties into your commercial obligations. Failure on either is failure on both.

Teaching point

If HSE goes wrong, you don't just have an HSE problem. You have a payment problem, a programme problem, a liability problem and a reputation problem. Four fights, one cause.

HSE law and the subcontract are the same fight. Every standard form binds the subcontractor to comply with statute, but the three forms differ on how they bring industry guidance, HSE notices and insurance evidence into the contract terms. NASC 2018 is the only one of the three that makes compliance with NASC Health, Safety and Technical guidance a default contractual term. JCT and NEC require it to be written in expressly. Where the MC has specified NASC, you already have a contractual lever the other forms do not give you.

TopicJCT SBCSub/C 2016NEC3 ECSNASC Scaffolding Contract 2018
Statutory complianceSubcontractor to comply with statutory requirements and CDM (Clauses 2.2 and 3.18)Subcontractor obligation to comply with the law, Core Clause 27.4 (Clause 27.4)Compliance with all current relevant statutes, regulations and laws is a contractual term (Clause 2.5)
NASC guidance complianceOnly where expressly written into the Numerical Particulars or specificationOnly where expressly written into the Scope or Subcontract DataDefault contractual term: comply with NASC Health, Safety and Technical guidance (Clause 2.8)
HSE notice consequencesFailure to comply may be a Specified Default leading to determination (Clause 7.4)Notified Defect; Project Manager may instruct correction (Clause 43)MC may employ others and recover costs where Scaffolding Contractor fails to comply with HSE notice (Clause 6.3)
Insurance obligationRequired insurances per Schedule of Information, evidence on request (Clauses 6.4 and 6.7)Subcontractor's insurances per Subcontract Data Part Two (Clause 84)Insurance policies in force at all material times, evidence on request (Clause 8.3)
Teaching point

Clause 2.8 is the commercially distinguishing feature: NASC guidance compliance is built into the NASC standard form by default. JCT and NEC require it to be written in expressly. Where the MC has specified an NASC contract, NASC SG and TG compliance is already a contract term. No further negotiation needed.

(Construction Industry Publications Ltd, 2018, Clauses 2.5, 2.8, 6.3 and 8.3) (Joint Contracts Tribunal, 2016, Clauses 2.2, 3.18, 6.4, 6.7 and 7.4) (NEC, 2013, Clauses 27.4, 43 and 84)

Industry facts
  • 2024 saw the lowest number of accidents in NASC's 80-year history: 73 incidents across NASC members, an Accident Frequency Rate of 0.20, substantially below the construction industry average. Procurement of an NASC-regulated contractor materially reduces safety risk. (NASC Safety Report, 2024)
  • The HSE secured 246 prosecutions and over £33 million in fines across all industries in 2024 to 2025. HSE breaches are criminal, not civil. Personal liability for directors and supervisors is real. (HSE Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025)

2. Quick Definitions

HSE and contract terms used through this module. Tap each to see the detail.

3. HSWA 1974: The Umbrella

Law, Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

Imposes general duties on employers (s.2), employers to non-employees (s.3), the self-employed (s.3) and persons in control of premises (s.4). Breaches are criminal.

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the base law for everything else in this module. Section 2 says you must look after the health, safety and welfare of your employees. Section 3 says you must run your business without putting other workers or the public at risk. Section 4 catches persons in control of premises. Break any of them and you have committed a criminal offence, not a civil one.

Penalties follow the sentencing Definitive Guideline, based on culpability and harm category. Unlimited fines for the company. Up to 2 years' imprisonment for individuals, and that means directors, supervisors and operatives, where culpability is high.

Case, R v Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services Ltd [2006] EWCA Crim 1586

HSWA s.3 prosecution in construction. The duty to persons who are not your employees is enforced, and the fines are set to hurt at company scale.

Teaching point

HSE breaches are criminal. There is no insurance policy for a criminal fine and no contract clause that transfers a prison sentence. The company can be fined without limit; the individual can go to prison. Everything else in this module exists to keep you on the right side of that line, with the records to prove it.

4. CDM 2015: The Construction Framework

Law, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015

Allocates duties to clients, designers, principal designers, principal contractors and contractors. In force 6 April 2015.

CDM 2015 covers every construction project and sets out who does what:

  • Client: provides pre-construction information, allows time and resource
  • Principal Designer: coordinates pre-construction health and safety
  • Principal Contractor: coordinates construction-phase health and safety, runs the Construction Phase Plan, issues the F10 notification
  • Designer: eliminates and reduces risk through design
  • Contractor: plans, manages and monitors construction work

You're usually a contractor under CDM. Where you do design, which is most jobs, you're also a designer. Both sets of duties apply at the same time.

Your duties as a contractor

  • Plan, manage and monitor your work: RAMS showing how the work will be done safely, supervision that enforces it, inspection that catches problems before they cause harm
  • Make sure workers have the skills, knowledge and training for the task. Do not send unqualified or untrained people to scaffolding work
  • Cooperate with the principal contractor and other contractors: share your RAMS, attend site meetings, sequence your work so one trade does not create hazards for another
  • Brief your workers before work starts: the task, the hazards, the controls, the site rules, the emergency procedure. That is a toolbox talk. Write it down (§7)
  • Follow site rules issued by the MC or client
  • Do not start until you are ready: ground prepared, drawings approved, access confirmed. Starting early means stopping or redoing work, and that exposes you to claims as well as accidents

F10 and the Construction Phase Plan

The F10 is the principal contractor's notification to HSE, required where the work is more than 30 working days with 20 workers at any one time, or more than 500 person-days. You don't send it, but check whether the project is notifiable: it tells you how much HSE attention the job will get, and it belongs in your paperwork pack (§6).

The Construction Phase Plan is the plan the principal contractor must have in place before construction starts (CDM 2015 reg.12). Your RAMS plug into it. If your RAMS aren't in the CPP, your work isn't planned as far as CDM is concerned.

Law, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

Risk assessment before any work that could cause harm. Find the hazards, judge the severity, put controls in place. Record it in writing where you have five or more employees.

Teaching point

CDM duties cannot be passed to someone else. The MC coordinates the site; you still plan, manage and monitor your own work. "The PC signed it off" has never been a defence.

5. WAH 2005: Scaffolding's Own Regulations

Law, WAH 2005 reg.12

Statutory inspection by a competent person before first use, after substantial alteration, after exceptional weather, and at intervals not exceeding 7 days.

Law, WAH 2005 Schedule 3 Part 2

Strength and stability calculations carried out unless the scaffold is covered by a recognised standard configuration (TG20).

The hierarchy of controls

The Work at Height Regulations run on a simple hierarchy. Work through it in order, and record the reasoning:

  • Avoid working at height where you can: pre-assemble at ground level, then lift into place. Every hour not spent at height is risk removed, not managed
  • Prevent falls with collective measures: guard-rails, mid-rails, toe boards. A solid barrier protects everyone on the lift without anyone having to do anything
  • Mitigate falls you cannot prevent: fall arrest (harness, lanyard, anchor point) with a rescue plan to match

PPE is the last resort, not the plan. A hard hat and hi-vis are not a substitute for engineering controls, and no inspector or adjudicator will treat them as one.

The inspection register

The reg.12 inspection is the most litigated record in scaffolding. Before first use, after substantial alteration, after exceptional weather, and at intervals not exceeding 7 days. By a competent person. Keep the records on site: HSE can ask for them at any time, and if you cannot produce them, you are at fault regardless of the state of the scaffold.

Teaching point

The inspection register serves two masters. To HSE it proves statutory compliance. To the MC, the adjudicator and your insurer it proves the scaffold was fit for use on the day in question. One register, both defences. Miss a week and both defences have a hole in them.

6. The Minimum Compliance Paperwork Pack

HSE law and the contract both demand paperwork. Same paperwork, different purpose. HSE wants evidence of compliance. The contract wants evidence of performance. Get both with one set of records, organised properly from day one.

This is the minimum pack for every job:

  • F10 notification (where the principal contractor is required to issue one). Confirms the project is on HSE's radar
  • Construction Phase Plan, prepared by the principal contractor, which your RAMS plug into
  • RAMS for every method of work (Module 4 covered structure and content)
  • Designs and design risk assessments, with revision control
  • Inspection records (WAH reg.12: weekly minimum, plus event-driven)
  • Training records: CISRS cards (operatives, supervisors, advanced), CSCS cards, CITB SSSTS and SMSTS, manual handling, harness training, asbestos awareness
  • Right-to-work records (NASC CG21:21, see §8)
  • Toolbox talk register: date, topic, attendees, signatures
  • Accident book (RIDDOR-reportable and non-reportable)
  • RIDDOR records: HSE form F2508 submissions, with reference numbers
  • PPE issue records (sign-out sheets, replacement records)
  • Insurance certificates: PL, EL, CAR, PI

Why each matters contractually

  • The MC will demand sight of these as a condition of payment. No paperwork, no payment
  • If a dispute goes to adjudication, the records are your evidence of compliance. Without them, the adjudicator has no basis to decide in your favour
  • If an accident happens, the records are your defence. An untrained operative plus no record of training is as good as strict liability against you
Teaching point

Treat HSE paperwork as contract paperwork. The same file serves both. Lose the file, lose both defences.

7. Toolbox Talks: The Underrated Record

Toolbox talks are short, focused safety briefings: usually weekly, before high-risk activities, or after an incident. Required by HSWA general duties and CDM. They're also the cheapest and most effective records you can keep.

What goes in the record

  • Date and time
  • Site
  • Topic (fall arrest equipment, ladder access, manual handling, working near services)
  • Who delivered it (named supervisor)
  • Attendees: every operative who attended, signed by them
  • Reference materials used (NASC SG card, HSE leaflet)
  • Any questions raised and the answers given

Frequency and triggers

  • Weekly minimum on every site
  • Before any high-risk activity (cantilever work, work near power lines, working over the public, asbestos work)
  • After any near-miss or incident, with content addressing the cause
  • After any RAMS revision
  • After any new operative joins the gang (induction)

Why they win cases

Most HSE prosecutions and civil claims hinge on one question: did the operative know about the risk? Toolbox talks are the cheapest evidence that they did. A signed register of weekly toolbox talks for the duration of a 6-month job is unanswerable evidence of safety culture.

Industry facts
  • 80% of scaffold accidents industry-wide are caused by manual handling, slips, trips and falls. These four causes should be the rotating spine of your toolbox talk programme. (Building Engineer)
Teaching point

Toolbox talks take 15 minutes a week and save companies hundreds of thousands of pounds when defended in court. No exceptions.

8. Right to Work and Employment Paperwork

NASC CG21:21

Post-Brexit, free movement ended on 31 December 2020. From 1 January 2021 the points-based immigration system applies. Right-to-work checks are the employer's duty.

The check

Before day one. Not on day one. Failure is a criminal offence, and the civil penalty runs up to £20,000 per illegal worker (figure to confirm against the current GOV.UK guidance). One missed check on one operative can outweigh the margin on the whole job.

Two routes for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

  • EU Settlement Scheme: settled or pre-settled status
  • Points-based system: sponsored skilled worker visa

The online share code

From 1 July 2021, most people prove right to work through the Home Office online share-code service, not by passport. The operative gives you a share code; you run it through the online checking service and save the profile page (PDF or HTML). Keep it for the duration of employment plus 2 years, then destroy it securely. A photocopied EU passport in a drawer is not a check. It proves nothing and protects nobody.

Written Statement of Particulars

NASC CG16:21

On or before day one, every employee and worker must receive a Written Statement covering pay, hours, holiday, sickness, pension, notice, training and disciplinary procedures.

Training Cost Agreements

NASC CG23:21

Recover training costs from leavers through a written agreement signed before training starts. Sliding scale: 100% within 26 weeks, 50% to 52 weeks, 25% to 104 weeks, nil after.

Scaffolding training is expensive and portable. An Advanced CISRS course walks out the gate with the operative. The Training Cost Agreement is the only mechanism that brings any of it back, and it only works if it is in writing, signed before the course starts, with a clear repayment schedule. Signed after the course, the Employment Rights Act bites: a deduction from final pay without a prior written agreement is unlawful, and you will recover nothing.

Teaching point

Three documents, three deadlines, all before the event: the right-to-work check before day one (CG21:21), the Written Statement on or before day one (CG16:21), the Training Cost Agreement before the course starts (CG23:21). Day one means before the operative turns up, not after. Every one of these windows closes permanently.

9. RIDDOR: The Reporting Framework

Law, RIDDOR 2013

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. Specified events must be reported to HSE.

What's reportable in scaffolding

  • Death of any person
  • Specified injuries: fractures (other than fingers, thumbs and toes), amputations, dislocation of a major joint, loss of sight, crush injury leading to internal organ damage, burns covering more than 10% of the body, scalping, loss of consciousness from head injury, asphyxiation
  • Over-7-day incapacity: off normal work for 7 or more consecutive days
  • Occupational diseases: HAVS, occupational dermatitis, occupational asthma, asbestos-related disease
  • Dangerous occurrences: collapse of scaffolding over 5m, a falling object causing or potentially causing major injury, an electrical short circuit causing fire or explosion

Timescales

  • Death: by quickest practicable means (call HSE), then F2508 within 10 days
  • Specified injury: F2508 within 10 days
  • Over-7-day incapacity: F2508 within 15 days
  • Dangerous occurrence: F2508 within 10 days
  • Occupational disease: F2508 within 10 days of diagnosis
RIDDOR: is it reportable, and on what clock?
An event happens injury, disease or dangerous occurrence Does it meet a RIDDOR reportable category? YES Report to HSE. Start the clock. Death and specified injury: F2508 in 10 days. Over-7-day incapacity: F2508 in 15 days. NO Record it. Act on it. Accident book entry, near-miss review, toolbox talk (§10). Watch the 7-day line. Occupational disease (for example HAVS): F2508 within 10 days of diagnosis. Not reportable today can become reportable: a strain that keeps a man off 7-plus days crosses the line.

Why RIDDOR matters contractually

  • RIDDOR reports trigger HSE investigation. Investigation findings feed the criminal case and the civil case
  • Most contracts require notification of any RIDDOR event to the MC, often within 24 hours. Failure to notify is a contract breach
  • Insurers require notification at the same time. Failure to notify can void cover
  • Future tenders may demand your RIDDOR statistics. A poor RIDDOR record costs you future work
Teaching point

RIDDOR is not paperwork after the fact. It's a chain-reaction trigger: HSE, the MC, the insurer and the next tender all read the same record. Get the F2508 in on time, every time.

Sort it: reportable or not

Drop each event into the right bucket. Report it to HSE on the clock, or record it internally and act on it.

10. Near Misses: Free Warnings

A near miss is an accident that didn't cause injury but could have. The only difference between a near miss and an injury is luck. Near misses are free warnings. Learn from them, because the next one may not be free.

Have a procedure: when a near miss happens (a fall caught by a guard-rail, a load nearly striking someone, a slip with no injury), the operative reports it straight away, and you investigate. Why did it happen? What control failed? What stops it next time?

Write down every near miss and look for patterns. Five near misses in the same place or on the same task is not bad luck, it's a systemic problem that needs fixing before it becomes a RIDDOR entry.

Near-miss records also do defensive work. If an incident does happen and you can show you logged and acted on near misses, you prove a working safety culture rather than a paper one. That evidence shapes the HSE's view of culpability, and culpability drives the sentence.

Teaching point

Ignored problems become incidents. Reported problems become toolbox talks. The gap between the two is whether your operatives believe reporting changes anything, and they take that belief from what you did with the last report.

11. The First 24 Hours After an Accident

The first 24 hours after an accident determine the next 24 months. The actions you take, and the records you create, define the criminal case, the civil case, the insurance claim and the contract dispute. Tap each of the first-hour actions, in order.

The accident response timeline
First hour Secure the scene Render aid, call 999 Account for everyone Notify the PC Preserve, photograph First 24 hours Notify insurer (24h rule) Written notice to MC Witness statements Brief the office Start investigation First week Submit F2508 (statutory) Investigation report Confirm to MC, insurer Review RAMS, corrective Toolbox talk on the cause

Same day (first 24 hours)

  • Notify your insurer (PI, EL, CAR). Most policies require notification within 24 hours
  • Take written statements from witnesses while events are fresh. Date and sign each statement
  • Notify your MC formally in writing, even if you've already done it verbally
  • Brief your office: senior management, HSE rep, HR if employees are affected, legal if available
  • Begin the internal investigation: cause, contributing factors, sequence of events
  • Update the accident book. Even if the event is RIDDOR-reportable, the accident book entry is separate

First week

  • Submit the F2508 to HSE within the statutory timescale
  • Complete the internal investigation report
  • Confirm the investigation details in writing to the MC and your insurers
  • Review the RAMS and toolbox talk records relating to the activity
  • Take corrective action: additional training, RAMS revision, supervision changes
  • Issue a toolbox talk to the workforce covering the cause and the corrective action

What NOT to do

  • Do not admit liability, verbally or in writing, before investigation
  • Do not destroy or alter the scene before HSE attends
  • Do not give a statement to HSE without legal advice if the accident is serious
  • Do not promise compensation before your insurer is involved
  • Do not discuss the accident on social media or with the media without legal sign-off
Written notification to the MC, same day

"We write to notify you formally of an accident at [site] at [time] on [date], involving [operative/third party]. The area has been made safe and work in the affected area has stopped. [The event has been notified to HSE / We are assessing whether the event is reportable under RIDDOR 2013.] Our investigation is under way and we will confirm findings in writing. This notice is given under [insert clause reference] of the Subcontract. Nothing in this notice is an admission of liability."

Teaching point

The time to plan your accident response is not the day after an accident. Have the procedure written, the contact list to hand, and the response practised.

12. Liability: Three Layers, One Incident

12.1 Civil liability

Personal injury claims by injured operatives or third parties. Covered by Public Liability and Employer's Liability insurance. Most claims settle. Some go to court.

12.2 Criminal liability

HSE prosecution under HSWA, CDM or WAH. Unlimited fines for the company. Up to 2 years' imprisonment for individuals. Sentencing follows the Definitive Guideline on culpability and harm.

12.3 Contract liability

Damages flow through the contract chain. Your accident delays the MC's project, the MC's client claims LADs against the MC, and the MC tries to pass it down to you. Whether they can depends on your liability cap and consequential loss exclusion (Module 3, Section 7).

Teaching point

The three layers run in parallel. The same incident generates three separate processes with three separate sets of rules. Coordinate them: what you say in one is evidence in the other two.

After an incident, the criminal investigation, the civil claim and the contract dispute all start moving at once. Each form allocates liability differently, and each handles admissions differently. NASC 2018 contains two clauses that quietly do most of the commercial work in the days after a serious accident. Clause 8.2 stops the MC settling on your behalf before your insurer has had a chance to investigate. Clause 9.2 lets you shift liability for damage to fragile roofs and adjacent property where the risk has been flagged in the tender or quote. Neither protection exists in JCT or NEC in the same direct form.

TopicJCT SBCSub/C 2016NEC3 ECSNASC Scaffolding Contract 2018
Indemnity to MCSubcontractor indemnifies the Contractor against losses arising from subcontractor's negligence, breach or default (Clause 6.1)Subcontractor carries risk for events listed in Clauses 80 to 81, including loss of or damage to plant and materials, and third-party claims caused by the subcontractor (Clauses 80 to 81)Scaffolding Contractor indemnifies the Contractor against personal injury, death and property damage caused by the Scaffolding Contractor in carrying out the Works (Clause 8.1)
MC's reciprocal indemnityContractor indemnifies the Subcontractor against losses arising from the Contractor's negligence or breach (Clause 6.2)Contractor carries risk for events at Clauses 80 to 83, including MC-caused loss (Clauses 80 to 83)Contractor shall indemnify the Scaffolding Contractor against loss, damage, claims or proceedings arising from injury or damage caused by misuse of the Scaffold Structure by any person other than the Scaffolding Contractor (Clause 8.4)
Admission control after incidentNo specific clause limiting admissions; subcontractor must give notice of claimInsurance policies operated under Core Clause 84, conduct of claims per insurance terms (Clause 84)Notice obligations and prohibition on the MC making admissions on the Scaffolding Contractor's behalf without consent (Clause 8.2)
Adjacent property and fragile surfacesNegligence standard applies under Clause 6 (Clause 6)Damage to adjacent property carried by the contractor causing the damage (Clauses 80 to 83)Specific provision: Scaffolding Contractor liable for damage to fragile roofs and adjacent premises unless notified in tender or quotation (Clause 9)
Teaching point

Two NASC clauses do real commercial work after an incident. Clause 8.2 stops the MC settling on your behalf before your insurer has investigated. Clause 9.2 shifts liability for damage to fragile roofs and adjacent property where the risk was flagged in the tender or quote before the contract was signed. The window closes at contract execution. Flag it in the quote.

(Construction Industry Publications Ltd, 2018, Clauses 8.1, 8.2, 8.4 and 9) (Joint Contracts Tribunal, 2016, Clauses 6.1, 6.2 and 6) (NEC, 2013, Clauses 80 to 84)

13. Insurance: The Four Certificates

  • Public Liability: typical contract requirement £5m to £10m
  • Employer's Liability: statutory minimum £5m, market norm £10m
  • Professional Indemnity: required where you do design, and under CDM that is most jobs
  • Contractors All Risks (CAR): property damage and third-party injury during the works

All three standard forms require the insurances to be in place and evidence available on request (§1 table). Keep the current certificates in the paperwork pack (§6): the MC will ask for them at pre-let, at renewal, and the day after anything goes wrong.

Remember the 24-hour rule from §11: most policies require notification of an incident within 24 hours, and failure to notify can void cover. An unnotified claim is an uninsured claim.

Teaching point

Insurance pays for the civil layer only. It does not pay criminal fines and it does not perform the contract for you. Treat the certificates as the entry ticket, not the safety net.

Action Checklist

Before you leave this module
  • Build the compliance paperwork pack on day one of every job, organised for both HSE and contract use
  • Check whether the project is F10-notifiable and get your RAMS into the Construction Phase Plan before starting
  • Run a weekly toolbox talk on every site, with a signed register
  • Rotate manual handling, slips, trips and falls through the toolbox talk programme: they cause 80% of scaffold accidents
  • Carry out right-to-work checks through the share-code service before day one, and store the profile page for employment plus 2 years
  • Issue the Written Statement of Particulars on or before day one
  • Sign Training Cost Agreements before training begins, never after
  • Keep the WAH reg.12 inspection register current: before first use, after alteration, after weather, and at intervals not exceeding 7 days
  • Log every near miss and act on the pattern, not just the event
  • Maintain a RIDDOR log and submit the F2508 within the statutory timescale, every time
  • Notify your insurers within 24 hours of any reportable event
  • Have the accident response procedure written, the contact list to hand, and the response practised. Brief supervisors: no admissions, no scene clearance beyond making safe, no statements to HSE on serious accidents without legal advice

Case Study: The Tuesday Morning Fall

XYZ Scaffolding is four weeks into an erection for ABC Construction. On Tuesday morning an operative falls from the second lift and fractures his ankle. He is taken to hospital by ambulance. The supervisor makes the area safe, then strikes and stacks the affected bay, tells ABC's site manager, and adds an apology on the spot. Nothing goes in writing. Three weeks later the F2508 still hasn't been submitted, the insurer still hasn't been told, and ABC emails claiming the costs of the resulting programme delay. Five decisions, one per critical mechanism in this module.

Downloads

HSE and compliance tools for this module. Coming soon.

Module 6 Summary Coming soon. The three layers of HSE law, RIDDOR timescales and the 24-hour accident response on one page.
Coming soon
Compliance Pack Checklist Coming soon. The 12-item paperwork pack as a print-and-keep site checklist.
Coming soon

Module 6 Quiz

10 questions. Pass mark is 80% (8 out of 10 correct).

1Under WAH 2005 reg.12, scaffold inspections must take place at intervals not exceeding:

2The Written Statement of Particulars must be issued:

3An over-7-day incapacity must be reported under RIDDOR within:

4Toolbox talks should be held:

5Under CDM 2015 a scaffolding subcontractor is usually classified as:

6A specified injury (for example a fractured forearm) must be reported on form F2508 within:

7A right-to-work share-code profile page must be kept for:

8Under the NASC Scaffolding Contract 2018, compliance with NASC Health, Safety and Technical guidance is:

9Which of these does NOT belong in the first hour after a serious accident?

10An operative leaves 20 weeks after completing a course covered by a Training Cost Agreement signed before training started. Under the NASC CG23:21 sliding scale you can recover:

Module 6
Complete.

You know why every HSE breach is a contract breach, what belongs in the compliance paperwork pack, how to run toolbox talks and right-to-work checks that hold up, when RIDDOR bites, and how to run the first 24 hours after an accident. Module 7 picks up project controls: cost tracking, CVR and the records that protect your margin.

Coming Next
  • Module 7: Project Controls
  • Module 8: Risk, Delays and Payment Rights
Continue to Module 7

References

Harvard-style referencing applies throughout the course.

NASC Commercial Guidance

  • NASC (2021) CG16:21 Employment Contracts. London: National Access and Scaffolding Confederation.
  • NASC (2021) CG21:21 An Employer's Guide to Right to Work Checks. London: National Access and Scaffolding Confederation.
  • NASC (2021) CG23:21 Training Costs Agreements. London: National Access and Scaffolding Confederation.
  • NASC (current edn) SG4 Preventing Falls in Scaffolding Operations. London: NASC.
  • NASC (current edn) SG34 Guidance on Protection of the Public. London: NASC.
  • NASC (current edn) TG20 A Comprehensive Guide to Good Practice for Tube and Fitting Scaffolding. London: NASC.

Standard Forms of Contract

  • Construction Industry Publications Ltd (2018) Scaffolding Contract 2018: Form of Contract for the Erection, Hire and Dismantling of Scaffolding. Birmingham: Construction Industry Publications Ltd.
  • Joint Contracts Tribunal (2016) Standard Building Sub-Contract Conditions (SBCSub/C 2016). London: Sweet and Maxwell.
  • NEC (2013) NEC3 Engineering and Construction Subcontract (ECS). London: Institution of Civil Engineers.

RICS

  • RICS (Black Book current edn) Health and Safety. London: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
  • RICS (Black Book current edn) Insurance and Risk. London: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

CIOB

  • Chartered Institute of Building (2022) Code of Practice for Project Management for the Built Environment, Health and Safety chapter. 5th edn. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Chartered Institute of Building (current edn) Code of Quality Management. Bracknell: CIOB.

Industry Reports and Research

  • Building Engineer (n.d.) 80% of scaffold accidents due to manual handling, slips, trips and falls. Available at: buildingengineer.org.uk.
  • Health and Safety Executive (2025) Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025. London: HSE.
  • Health and Safety Executive (current edn) Managing Health and Safety in Construction (L153). Bootle: HSE.
  • NASC (2024) Safety Report 2024. London: National Access and Scaffolding Confederation.

Legislation

  • Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, c. 37. London: HMSO.
  • Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/51. London: TSO.
  • Work at Height Regulations 2005, SI 2005/735. London: TSO.
  • Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, SI 1999/3242. London: TSO.
  • Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, SI 2013/1471. London: TSO.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996, c. 18. London: HMSO.
  • Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020, c. 20. London: TSO.
  • Building Safety Act 2022, c. 30. London: TSO.

Case Law

  • R v Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services Ltd [2006] EWCA Crim 1586.