For designers
Am I automatically the CDM principal designer if the client appoints nobody?
Short answer
On a domestic project, yes, if you are the designer in control of the pre-construction phase. Regulation 7(2) of CDM 2015 says that where a domestic client fails to make the appointments, the designer in control of the pre-construction phase is the principal designer. On a commercial project, no: regulation 5(3) leaves the duties with the client instead. Either way the answer is the same in practice, which is that the appointment should be made properly rather than left to a default.
Domestic and commercial are different
| Domestic client | Commercial client | |
|---|---|---|
| If nobody is appointed | Regulation 7(2): the designer in control of the pre-construction phase is the principal designer | Regulation 5(3): the client must carry the principal designer duties in regulations 11 and 12 |
| Who carries the client duties | Regulation 7(1): the principal contractor, or the principal designer by written agreement | The client, in full. Not transferable |
| Practical effect on you as designer | You may be holding a statutory role you never discussed | You hold your own regulation 9 designer duties, and nothing more, unless you are appointed |
Because most small practice work is domestic, the domestic column is the one that matters day to day.
What in control of the pre-construction phase means
There is no definition in the regulations, and no register. In practice it means the designer actually leading and coordinating the design: producing the drawings the project is built from, holding the package together, and dealing with the client on design.
On a normal domestic job that is the architectural practice or architectural designer. A structural engineer designing one element inside somebody else's package is a designer with regulation 9 duties, but is not usually the one in control of the phase.
What it does not mean
Two clarifications, because the default is often described more dramatically than it deserves.
It does not make you liable for the site. The principal designer role is about the pre-construction phase. Running the construction phase safely is the principal contractor's duty under regulations 12 to 14.
It does not make you the client. On a domestic project the client duties pass to the principal contractor under regulation 7(1), not to the principal designer, unless the principal designer has specifically agreed in writing to take them. So do not sign that agreement without meaning to.
What it does mean is that regulation 11 and 12 duties are yours: planning, managing and monitoring the pre-construction phase, coordinating the other designers, helping the client assemble and issue the pre-construction information, liaising with the principal contractor, and preparing the health and safety file.
The two clean ways out
- Take the role properly
Agree it with the client in writing, price it, and be set up to do it: a way of collecting information from the other designers, a way of recording risk decisions, and something that produces a pre-construction information pack and a health and safety file.
- Get it appointed elsewhere, in writing
Help the client appoint a specialist principal designer. Once there is a written appointment, regulation 7(2) has nothing to allocate. You keep your design appointment and your regulation 9 duties, and the coordination work sits with somebody resourced for it.
What does not work is an exclusion clause plus silence. Why an exclusion does not move the role.
What ClearCDM does about it
We take the CDM principal designer appointment as a standalone service, appointed directly by your client. You keep the design appointment and the client relationship. Your involvement is one short form per project, telling us how your design handles the risks it creates.
You can build the client's quote yourself in about two minutes and send them the link to check and send on, so the appointment is theirs and the admin is not yours. How that works.
Sources
- CDM 2015, regulation 5: appointment of the principal designer and the principal contractor legislation.gov.uk
- CDM 2015, regulation 7: application to domestic clients legislation.gov.uk
- CDM 2015, regulation 9: duties of designers legislation.gov.uk
- CDM 2015, regulation 11: duties of a principal designer legislation.gov.uk
- HSE: principal designers, roles and responsibilities hse.gov.uk
- HSE: designers, roles and responsibilities hse.gov.uk
Hand us the CDM principal designer role
You keep the design appointment. Build your client's quote in about two minutes and send them the link to check and send on, so the appointment is theirs and the admin is not yours.
Build your client's quote →Not sure yet? read how it works for practices.