Pre-construction notification: What is an F10 notification?

An F10 notice, or F10 notification, is commonly used in the UK construction industry for large projects where certain criteria and more stringent measures need to be met, particularly where building safety is paramount. Besides building work, designs and planning, an F10 notice prioritises construction health and safety and demonstrates compliance with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. It involves notifying the Health and Safety Executive of the intended project and persons involved – but with very specific requirements, such as what must construction stakeholders do to comply with the regulations? 

In this blog, we’ll outline what an F10 notice is and when it’s required, how it’s used in construction, plus how and who to notify when it becomes a HSE ‘notifiable’ project. 

 

What is an F10 notification in the construction industry? 

An F10 notice, or F10 form in construction, is used to notify the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) about a notifiable construction project, prior to work starting. Often used for larger projects, it demonstrates the competence of parties involved that appropriate measures are in place to reduce risk, prioritise safety and make sure works are completed to the agreed plans and standard from the client, principal designer and principal contractors.

 

F10 form vs F10 notification: is there a difference? 

No, there is no difference between an F10 form and F10 notification. 

The term is used interchangeably within the construction industry, although the Health and Safety Executive refers to this as ‘form F10’.

 

Why are F10 notifications important? 

When a construction project reaches a certain size with multiple people involved, the HSE needs to be informed. Once completed by the client and approved by the HSE, the F10 form must be on display on the construction site noticeboard. This is to inform anyone visiting or working on the site, HSE inspectors, or anyone working on the project, so they’re aware that it’s a notifiable project. 

Consequently, it is recommended that the F10 notice is included in a project documentation folder as part of the Golden Thread, introduced to the Building Safety Act as a result of the Hackitt report and in accordance with compliance of the CDM Regulations. 

 

How does it link to CDM Regulations 2015? 

As per the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015), it’s important that all building work meets legal health and safety measures. The CDM Regulations links to every single construction project in the UK (note that Northern Ireland has similar regulations; The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016), where building work should be proportionate to the risk, and tick the criteria as stated by the regulations. 

What are the F10 notification requirements? 

When completing the F10 form on the HSE website, dutyholders will need to submit: 

• Basic information 
• Address of where the work is taking place 
• Contact details for dutyholders 
• Brief description of the project 
• Number of people involved in the notifiable project 
• Declarations from dutyholders to abide by CDM 2015 

(Please note, the above is not an extensive list) 

Once this information has been submitted, it helps the HSE determine inspection needs, possible warnings and guidance, emerging risks, as well as promote accountability among dutyholders.

 

When is an F10 Required? 

Once planning shows a project will exceed a certain size or number of people, notification must be given in order to complete work. For example, when contractors work on a construction project, sometimes it becomes ‘notifiable’, meaning the HSE needs to be informed about the upcoming construction work. 

When is a construction project ‘notifiable’? 

A construction project becomes notifiable if the project:

Lasts more than 30 working days AND has more than 20 workers working at the same time OR involves more than 500 person days.

What’s an example of a notifiable project? 

If the construction project is large, for instance, where an extension is being added to a school, it’s likely this will become ‘notifiable’. 

A person day is one person working for one day. For example, if 10 workers are on site every day for 50 days: 10 workers X 50 days = 500 person days. 

 

Who submits an F10 notification and to whom? 

The Health and Safety Executive2 states an F10 notice must be submitted by the client if they are a commercial and domestic client: 

• Commercial client: they must notify the HSE 
• Domestic client: notification must be carried out by the: 
  • Contractor (or principal contractor if there is more than one contractor) 
  • Principal designer where there is a written agreement that they will carry out the client’s duties 

The client must do this to inform the HSE about an in-depth project that will last for an extended period of time. As a result, the work may be subject to inspections from the HSE to make sure everyone on site is doing everything as agreed by the initial dutyholders when notice was given.

 

Is the F10 notice applicable to the UK only? 

Whilst the Health and Safety Executive uses F10 notices in the UK, Ghana uses a similarly named form within construction. However, they are different and not linked to the UK’s building regulations, nor are the UK’s linked to Ghana’s building regulations. 

In Ghana, F10 notices are submitted after building works have been completed (for building work in Ghana), and used as part of the building permit process under the National building process 1996 LI1630.

 

Key takeaways 

It’s important your team members are trained and have the right skills to work on construction projects where health and safety is paramount. By following the necessary steps to carry out construction work, completing forms like an F10 notification will inform the HSE of your intentions to carry out work.

 

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