CDM 2015 for Sole Traders — What You Actually Need to Know

If you're a self-employed builder, electrician, plumber, or any other sole trader doing construction work, CDM 2015 applies to you. It's not just for big sites or principal contractors.

Here's the practical breakdown — no jargon, no 40-page guidance documents.

What Is CDM 2015?

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 set out how health and safety must be managed on construction projects in Great Britain. They replaced the 2007 version and apply to virtually all construction work, including domestic projects.

The regulations assign duties to different "duty holders" depending on the project size and complexity.

What Duty Holder Are You?

As a sole trader, you'll typically be either:

A Contractor — you're carrying out construction work directly. You must:

• Plan, manage and monitor your own work
• Comply with health and safety requirements
• Have suitable site rules in place
• Cooperate with others on the project

A Worker — you're doing the physical work under someone else's supervision. Your duties are simpler, but you still have to follow safe systems of work and report risks.

On most domestic jobs where you're working alone or as the main contractor, you're acting as Contractor.

Do CDM 2015 Duties Apply to Domestic Work?

Yes, but with nuance. The regulations apply to all construction work, including domestic projects. However, the domestic client is relieved of most duty holder responsibilities — meaning those responsibilities fall to the contractor (you) by default.

In practice: if you're a sole trader working on a homeowner's kitchen extension, you're probably acting as both Contractor and, in effect, Principal Contractor — even if no one's called it that.

What Documents Do You Actually Need?

For most small domestic jobs, you need:

1. 1RAMS — a Risk Assessment and Method Statement for the main tasks. One document covering the key hazards and how you'll control them.
2. 2Construction Phase Plan — a lightweight document setting out how H&S will be managed on site. It doesn't need to be long — two to four pages is fine for a domestic job.
3. 3F10 Notification — only if the project is notifiable (over 30 working days with 20+ simultaneous workers, or over 500 person-days). Most domestic sole trader work doesn't reach this threshold.

That's genuinely it for most jobs. The HSE's own guidance says documentation should be proportionate to the project.

What If I Don't Bother?

The HSE does carry out site inspections, including on domestic sites. Prohibition and improvement notices are real. And if there's an accident and it comes out that you had no documentation and no risk assessment, the legal consequences can be serious — both in enforcement action and civil liability.

More practically: more and more homeowners, estate agents and managing agents ask contractors for RAMS before work starts. If you can't produce one, you lose the job.

How to Stay Compliant Without the Paperwork Headache

The good news: CDM compliance for a sole trader doesn't need to be complicated. You need a RAMS and a CPP. Both can be generated in minutes if you have the right tool.

The Site Book is built specifically for sole traders and small builders. Answer a few questions about your job, and you'll have compliant, professional documents ready to share with clients.

[Generate your RAMS and CPP now →](/dashboard)