What Welfare Facilities Are Required on a Construction Site?
If you work on a construction site in Great Britain, you have a legal right to basic welfare facilities. That means suitable toilets and washing facilities, wholesome drinking water, and suitable places to change, eat and rest. These are not optional extras - they are legal requirements under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015). Northern Ireland has separate Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, which also place duties on construction dutyholders to provide welfare facilities.
This guide explains the main construction welfare requirements for sites in England, Scotland and Wales, who is responsible for providing them, and what workers can do if facilities are poor. A short Northern Ireland note is included because the legal framework there is separate.
Why Welfare Facilities on Site Are a Legal Requirement
Construction is hard, physical work. People get dirty, wet, cold and tired. Without proper welfare facilities on site, workers cannot wash off harmful substances like cement, dust or oils, cannot warm up or rest properly, and are more likely to get ill or have accidents.
That is why the law makes welfare a duty, not a choice. Under CDM 2015 in Great Britain:
• The principal contractor (or the contractor, on smaller sites with only one contractor) must make sure suitable welfare facilities are provided before work starts and kept in good condition for the whole project.
• The client (the person or company the work is being done for) must check that these arrangements are in place before the project begins.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) enforces these rules in England, Scotland and Wales. Where welfare facilities do not meet the required standard, HSE can take enforcement action, including serving improvement notices and prosecuting serious or repeated breaches. A prohibition notice may be used where an activity involves a risk of serious personal injury.
The detailed minimum welfare requirements for Great Britain are set out in Schedule 2 of CDM 2015. Let's go through them in plain English.
Construction Site Toilets and Washing Facilities
Toilets
Every site must have suitable and sufficient toilets. That means:
• Enough toilets for the number of people on site, so nobody has to queue for a long time.
• Toilets must be ventilated, lit and kept clean and in working order.
• Flushing toilets connected to mains water and drainage are best. If that is not possible, chemical toilets are acceptable — but they must be emptied and cleaned regularly.
• Men and women can share toilets as long as each toilet is in a separate lockable room that one person can use in private.
A single dirty portable toilet for a large workforce is unlikely to be suitable and sufficient. Simply telling workers to use a nearby cafe is not enough unless there is a proper arrangement and the facilities are readily accessible, available whenever workers need them, clean and suitable.
Washing facilities
Washing facilities must be provided next to the toilets and also near any changing areas. They must include:
• Hot and cold (or warm) running water — a cold-water tap on its own is not enough.
• Soap or other means of cleaning.
• Towels or another way to dry your hands, such as paper towels or a dryer.
• Basins big enough to wash your face, hands and forearms — important in construction, where workers handle cement, dust and chemicals that damage skin.
• Showers, if the work is particularly dirty or workers are exposed to hazardous substances that need washing off.
Washing facilities must also be ventilated, lit and kept clean.
Drinking Water, Rest Areas and Changing Facilities
Drinking water
Clean drinking water must be:
• Provided free of charge and at readily accessible, suitable locations.
• Clearly marked as drinking water if there is any chance of confusion with other water supplies.
• Provided with cups or another way to drink, unless it comes from a fountain.
Workers should not have to pay for drinking water. The supply must be wholesome, readily accessible and protected from contamination.
Rest facilities
Every site needs a rest area where workers can take breaks and eat meals. It must have:
• Tables and enough seats with backs for the number of people using it at any one time.
• A way to boil water for tea and coffee (a kettle is fine).
• Suitable facilities to prepare and eat food. Depending on the site arrangements, this may include a microwave or another suitable food-heating facility.
• Heating, so the room is warm enough during breaks.
• A weather-protected space kept at an appropriate temperature. An ordinary unequipped work van is not enough, although a properly designed and equipped welfare van can provide acceptable rest facilities.
Where necessary, rest facilities must also include suitable arrangements for a pregnant worker or nursing mother to rest lying down.
Changing rooms, lockers and drying facilities
If workers have to wear special clothing (like overalls or PPE) and cannot reasonably be expected to change elsewhere, the site must provide:
• Changing rooms — separate rooms for men and women where needed for privacy.
• Somewhere to store personal clothing not worn on site, and to store site clothing (lockers or hooks).
• Drying facilities where necessary - for example, somewhere suitable to dry wet work clothing before the next shift.
Building Site Welfare Facilities for Small or Short-Term Projects
A common question is: “We’re only on site for two days — do we still need all this?”
The short answer is yes: welfare must still be provided. The type, scale and location of facilities can be proportionate to the size, duration and nature of the work, but a short job is not an excuse for having no welfare. Some individual requirements, such as providing running water, are qualified by what is reasonably practicable.
For small or transient sites, acceptable building site welfare facilities can include:
• Mobile welfare units or welfare vans — vehicles fitted with a toilet, wash basin with warm water, and a small rest area. These are ideal for short jobs like roadworks or utility repairs.
• An arrangement with nearby premises - for short-duration or transient work, a contractor may arrange for workers to use facilities in a nearby fixed site, office, client building or other premises. There must be a proper agreement with the provider, and the facilities must be readily accessible, available whenever workers are on site, clean, suitable and available at no cost to workers.
What is never acceptable, even on the smallest job:
• No access to a toilet at all.
• No means of washing hands, especially before eating.
• No drinking water.
Short-duration work still needs suitable welfare. The arrangements can be proportionate, but workers must not be left without access to basic toilet, washing, drinking-water and rest facilities.
How to Provide Construction Site Welfare
For employers and contractors, sorting out construction site welfare is usually straightforward. The main options are:
1. Hire welfare units or welfare cabins. These are the most common solution. Static welfare cabins can include toilets, hot water, a canteen area, a drying room and an office. They are delivered to site and connected to services, or run self-contained with a generator and water tank.
2. Mobile welfare units. Towable or van-based building site welfare units suit short-term and moving works such as groundworks, highways and utilities.
3. Use existing buildings. On refurbishment jobs, existing toilets and kitchens in the building can be used if they are kept clean, safe and available to workers.
4. Shared facilities on multi-contractor sites. The principal contractor provides the welfare, and all contractors’ workers use it. Contractors should confirm this in writing before starting.
Whichever option you choose, plan welfare before work starts and include the arrangements in project planning and the construction phase plan. Budget for keeping facilities clean, stocked and serviced throughout the work. A welfare cabin with no soap, no toilet roll or an overflowing chemical toilet does not meet the required standard.
Construction Welfare Facilities Checklist
Use this quick checklist to see if a site meets the basic legal standard:
• Enough clean, lockable toilets for the workforce
• Wash basins with hot and cold, or warm, running water, soap and a suitable way to dry hands
• Showers, if the work is especially dirty or involves hazardous substances
• Wholesome drinking water that is readily accessible, clearly marked where necessary, with cups or suitable drinking vessels unless supplied from a drinking fountain
• A suitable rest area with tables, seats with backs, facilities to prepare and eat food, a means of boiling water, and an appropriate temperature
• Changing rooms and secure storage for clothing where special work clothing is worn
• Drying facilities for wet work clothes where needed
• Facilities available from day one and kept clean for the whole project
• Where necessary, suitable facilities for pregnant workers and nursing mothers to rest lying down
Where these requirements apply, failure to provide suitable and sufficient facilities may mean the site is falling short of CDM 2015.
What Workers Can Do If Facilities Are Poor
If your site does not have proper welfare facilities on site:
1. Raise it with your supervisor or site manager first. Often problems get fixed quickly once reported.
2. Speak to your health and safety rep or union rep if nothing changes.
3. Raise a concern with HSE if the issue is within HSE's remit and has not been resolved. HSE provides an online service for health and safety concerns in England, Scotland and Wales and can help people who cannot use the online service. HSE asks for contact details so it can follow up, but says it will not disclose the reporter's name to the employer.
Workers may also have protection under employment and whistleblowing law when they raise qualifying health and safety concerns, including protection against unfair dismissal or other detriment in relevant circumstances.
Conclusion
Construction welfare facilities are a legal requirement on construction projects in Great Britain, from short jobs to long-term builds. Suitable toilets and washing facilities, wholesome drinking water, and suitable places to eat and rest are basic requirements, with changing, storage, shower and drying facilities provided where the circumstances require them. Dutyholders should have suitable arrangements in place from the start and maintain them throughout the work. Good welfare is not just about compliance: it helps protect workers' health, safety and wellbeing.