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COVID-19: CLC withdraws updated construction site operating procedures
Practical Law UK Legal Update w-024-8452 (Approx. 3 pages)
COVID-19: CLC withdraws updated construction site operating procedures
| Published on 03 Apr 2020 • England, Wales |
The Construction Leadership Council has withdrawn the second version of its site operating procedures.
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has withdrawn the second version of its Site Operating Procedures, within hours of its publication.
The second version was published on 2 April 2020 (see Legal update, COVID-19: CLC updates construction site operating procedures). Among other things, it stated that work should not be carried out unless workers could distance themselves from each other by two metres. This was a departure from the first version, which did not state that a site should close if the two-metre rule could not be observed. Press reports indicate that concern about this change triggered the second version's withdrawal.
The CLC has updated its website, stating:
"There has been significant feedback on the updated site operating procedures version 2. Whilst the feedback is reviewed the CLC has re-issued version 1 which the document the industry should be complying with."
The government has encouraged the construction industry to comply with the CLC's Site Operating Procedures, with employers and contractors consulting them when deciding whether to close their sites. Uncertainty about the guidance will only increase the already widespread confusion about whether sites can and should remain open.