Construction and remediation works during the coronavirus pandemic – key guidelines

Comment08 Apr 2020Mark London

The government has emphasised that building safety works remain a priority during the coronavirus pandemic. Mark London of Devonshires sets out the key points housing associations and contractors need to know

Mark London

Mark London is a partner at Devonshires

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The UK government’s position on how the construction industry should go about its business during the current COVID-19 crisis has been relatively clear for both public safety-critical work and ordinary site-based work.

The government has said that fire safety works critical to public safety should continue. Ministers’ hope is that those projects under way and contemplated for external wall remediation works should continue. By logical extension, it follows that other remediation projects or works where public safety is the focus can also continue.

The government is also clear that ordinary construction work can continue. At no stage has it said that site-based construction work should stop. However, for all works, there are a number of key provisos, some of which have been expressly stated by the government and some that have not.

For example, the Construction Leadership Council has published Site Operating Procedures (SOP) to support the implementation of the government’s social distancing recommendation in construction.

In a letter dated 31 March 2020 to the UK’s construction sector, business secretary Alok Sharma confirmed that the SOP align with guidance from Public Health England and that, in future, the SOP will reflect any changes to the health guidance. As such, the SOP has become a primary point of reference.

The most important proviso is that site-based operatives must observe social distancing requirements (including when travelling to and from work). While that may be possible at the very beginning or end of a project, it is a significant challenge to do so while running a multi-trade construction site.

A great deal of the work that occurs on a construction site requires close supervision (for both quality control and health and safety reasons), the use of one or more people to carry out a task, and often takes place in confined spaces.

While some trades will be able to observe social distancing, it must at all times be done while complying with the over-arching legal duty placed on contractors and other employers to do everything reasonably practicable to protect the health and safety of their workforce and other trades employed by them.

The combination of social distancing requirements along with the need to run a site safely can sometimes be too great a challenge. Many contractors have taken the view that they cannot carry out construction operations safely in such circumstances.

Ultimately, whether construction work can continue will depend on a number of factors. These include the type of work, the number of operatives required on site or within working distance from each other, and the extent to which personal protective equipment and other site-based welfare facilities can be used to reduce the risk of contamination.

Public health is not the only consideration. The availability of materials presents a significant and practical factor. With builders’ merchants and other suppliers now largely closed, sourcing materials and having them delivered can be problematic.

So, in summary, it is up to each contractor to look carefully at the construction operations being undertaken on each site and to determine whether these can continue safely. That is a multi-faceted calculation, and one that cannot be answered generally or simply.

It is one that will in most cases require a sensible dialogue between contractors and employers.

Mark London, partner – head of construction and technology, Devonshires