Updated 30 July 2026
Who writes the construction phase plan?
The principal contractor, wherever more than one contractor works on the project: reg 12(1) puts it on them. Alone on the job there is no principal contractor: reg 15(5) hands it to you. On someone else's site you do not draft it.
Whose plan is it, and by when?
| Party | Paragraph | What it asks of them |
|---|---|---|
| The client | Paragraphreg 5(1) | What it asksMore than one contractor foreseeable: appoints a principal designer and principal contractor in writing, as soon as is practicable and before the construction phase begins. reg 5(2) |
| A business client who appointed nobody | Paragraphreg 5(4) | What it asksHolds the duties of the principal contractor, regs 12 to 14. Not on a householder’s job: reg 7(3). |
| The principal contractor | Paragraphreg 12(1) | What it asksDraws the plan up, or has it drawn up, “before setting up a construction site”. |
| The only contractor on the job | Paragraphreg 15(5) | What it asksDraws it up, or has it drawn up, “as soon as is practicable prior to setting up a construction site”. |
| Every other contractor | Paragraphreg 15(3)(b) | What it asksDrafts none of it. Follows “the parts of the construction phase plan that are relevant to that contractor’s work”; reg 8(4) makes them cooperate with the principal contractor. |
Read on legislation.gov.uk, 30 July 2026.
Is your RAMS that plan?
No. Reg 12(2) makes the plan set out the site's health and safety arrangements and rules, plus, where applicable, specific measures for work inside Schedule 3 — ten particular risks, from work near high voltage power lines to work exposing workers to the risk of drowning. Your RAMS covers only your own work. A lone contractor's plan meets the same standard: reg 15(6).
Who keeps it current?
Reg 12(4) puts that on the principal contractor, whose plan must be “appropriately reviewed, updated and revised from time to time” so that it stays sufficient. Reg 15 never repeats it for the lone contractor. Their reg 15(2) duty is to plan, manage and monitor work by them or by workers under their control, without risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable.
Check my RAMS