No Assessment, No Defence

Every commercial landlord assumes it won't happen on their watch. But the law does not accept assumptions — it demands evidence. A missing or inadequate risk assessment is no longer a paperwork gap; it is the single fact regulators now use to justify record-breaking fines, personal liability, and criminal prosecution.

HSE's legal and policy position is that the offence lies in creating the risk, not in whether that risk went on to cause harm. Enforcement, sentencing, and HSE's own published strategy are all built around this principle.

CDM applies far beyond construction sites. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 are often assumed to concern only building contractors, but the definition of "construction work" is far broader — it covers maintenance, repair, cleaning, refurbishment and fit-out work in any structure, meaning offices, retail units and factories are CDM clients too.