What Is A Health And Safety File

A health and safety file is a file, containing various documentation and records, that needs to be kept in terms of the Construction Regulations, 2014. The Construction Regulations, 2014 requires every principal contractor, contractor (including sub-contractors) to have and maintain a health and safety file containing documentation and records to proof compliance to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 and Construction Regulations, 2014.

Principal Contractor or Contractor?

According to the Construction Regulations, 2014 the definitions are:

• Contractor means an employer who performs construction work
• Principal contractor means an employer appointed by the client to perform construction work

What is Construction work?

The Construction Regulations, 2014 defines it as: Any work in connection with -

1. the construction, erection, alteration, renovation, repair, demolition or dismantling of or addition to a building or any similar structure;
2. the construction, erection, maintenance, demolition or dismantling of any bridge, dam, canal, road, railway, runway or water reticulation system; or the moving of earth, clearing of land, the making of excavation, piling, or any similar civil engineering or type of work