Building Regulations 2023

The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 were created and laid before Parliament in August 2022, they come into force on 1^st October 2023.  They have serious ramifications for all those acting as principal contractors.

It is therefore crucial to understand the definition of a principal contractor and how that might affect you.

Per the regulations (link below), if you are the only individual / company working on a project, you will soon be classed as the principal contractor and will therefore assume all the legal responsibilities that come with that role:

“Where there is only one contractor working on a project that contractor is to be treated as appointed as the principal contractor and must fulfil the duties of the principal contractor set out in these Regulations.”

The regulations go on to stipulate (multiple times):

“Any person carrying out any building work or any design work must have…the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary”

If you think this will apply to you / your company, you may want to learn more about the responsibilities of principal contractors from the PAS 8672 document, commissioned by the UK Government and produced by the BSI (British Standards Institution).

This document, a competency standard, outlines the expected skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours and ethics, additional competences for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) and limits of competence for principal contractors.

One of the document’s key stipulations is that Principal Contractors should ensure compliance with building regulations for themselves, and those under their supervision.

You can download a free copy of PAS 8672 from the BSI website, but here are some of the key takeaways:

• “The Principal Contractor shall be able to recognize the drivers of compliance and the consequent legal duties and obligations in regard to building and life safety.”

• “Skills are typically developed through carrying out a range of tasks to pre-determined standards, while learning through experience includes reflection on performance. Assessment regimes include National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) for skills and knowledge”

• “National Occupational Standards (NOS) are statements of performance for individuals to achieve when carrying out workplace functions“

• “The Principal Contractor is expected to monitor the validation and periodic revalidation of individual workforce competences, including their own. The validation process should assess the competences of the individual for the role, and the revalidation assessment should provide assurance that the individual’s skills, knowledge, experience and appropriate behaviours have been sufficiently maintained or developed.”

All Paddeco’s (NVQ Level 2 / 3 equivalent) qualifications ensure our candidates meet the skills and knowledge requirements of being a principal contractor. All are based on the relevant National Occupational Standards and as such have clear measurable and achievable skills (workplace performance) and knowledge elements.

For more information on any of our qualifications (https://paddeco.com/our-qualifications/) or to simply learn more about your legal obligations, please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 02920 105312.