Construction Site Safety During Coronavirus Pandemic

Employers and contractors in the building and construction sector must now make sure workers can arrive, work and leave the site in a socially distanced way. But it’s vital that any steps taken to enable social distancing at work don’t compromise safety on site.

If you work in the construction industry, have had an accident at work and believe it could be because long-standing health and safety rules are being overlooked due to the current Covid-19 regulations, our specialist Personal Injury Solicitors can help you.

Get in touch for a free consultation and legal advice.

What Must Employers Consider?

Employers in the construction industry have been issued with guidance to make sure workers are safe on site as the coronavirus pandemic continues. But being Covid-secure shouldn’t be the only priority over the coming weeks and months, as there are many other key issues to think about to keep building and construction sites safe.

Duty of Care as Occupier

Depending on their level of control over the site, your employer and/or contractor may be deemed to be the occupier. That means they may owe you a duty to take reasonable steps to make sure you’re reasonably safe while working on site.

Working at Height

English law states that your employer must avoid work at height where reasonably practical. If not, your employer should take reasonable measures to prevent a fall accident from happening, such as carrying out risk assessments and providing scaffolding and safety helmets and harnesses.

Personal Protective Equipment

Depending on the specific risk on site, your employer and/or contractor may be responsible for providing suitable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as:

• Masks
• Hard hats
• Gloves
• Non-slip footwear
• Hi-Vis clothing
• Body protection, such as kneepads, safety goggles and ear defenders

Regular Inspections

Your employer must make sure that the site is kept safe, in good order, in a reasonable state of cleanliness and carry out adequate inspections of the site.

Health and Safety

The law states that building contractors must carry out their activities in a manner which secures the health and safety of any person affected by the project.

They should make sure that so far as is reasonably practicable, the construction work was carried out without any risk to health and safety and to ensure that the site is kept in good order.

Staying Covid-Secure

Building and construction site employers are having to adapt their systems to make sure the risk of Covid-19 to workers is reduced as much as possible.

For instance, many firms are staggering start and finish times, limiting how many people can work on a site at any one time, and providing alcohol-based hand sanitisers or wipes, as they can’t guarantee the availability of running water on site for regular handwashing.

But while adapting to a world with Covid-19 has been vitally important, the safety regulations that were already in place remain just as important as ever.

If you suffer an accident on a building and construction site, and believe your employer didn’t do enough to keep you safe, get in touch with our Personal Injury Solicitors. We have a strong track record of recovering compensation for people who’ve had an accident at work and helping them get the care, rehabilitation and support they need. For example:

• £400,000 Compensation for Accident at Work
• £110,000 Compensation for Amputation after Accident at Work
• £100,000 Compensation Awarded in Accident at Work Claim

We deal with many claims on a No Win, No Fee basis.

Simpson Millar Solicitors are a national law firm with over 500 staff and offices in Billingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Catterick, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester.