The British Institute of Fitted Interiors Specialists (BIFIS) is urging fitted interiors retailers, designers, installers and project coordinators to familiarise themselves with updated guidance and legal expectations relating to Construction Phase Plans, following renewed focus from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the planning, management and monitoring of construction work.
Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, a Construction Phase Plan must be prepared before the construction phase begins. The plan should set out the project’s health and safety arrangements, site rules and specific measures for managing significant risks. HSE guidance makes clear that the responsibility for preparing the plan rests with the principal contractor where more than one contractor is involved, or the contractor on single-contractor projects.
For fitted interiors retailers, this is particularly important because kitchen, bedroom and bathroom projects often involve several trades working in occupied homes, retail premises or commercial environments. Activities such as electrical work, plumbing, extraction, structural alterations, work at height, cutting materials, dust control, waste handling and service isolation can all create risks that must be considered before work starts.
Recent enforcement shows the cost of poor planning
Recent HSE prosecutions underline the consequences of failing to plan, manage and monitor construction work properly. In January 2026, VNP Constructions Limited and its director were fined after inspectors identified repeated safety failings at a London residential conversion site, including work-at-height risks, inadequate site management and a failure to comply with multiple enforcement notices. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15(2) of CDM 2015 and was fined £7,200, while the director was fined £10,800.
In December 2025, Stockport Development Limited was fined £45,000 after HSE found multiple failings at a Manchester construction site, including missing edge protection, poor site security, inadequate fire precautions, obstructed walkways and poor welfare provision. HSE reported that the company had repeatedly failed to fulfil its principal contractor duties and had failed to act on previous warnings.
These cases demonstrate that enforcement is not limited to large infrastructure schemes. Smaller construction and refurbishment projects can attract regulatory scrutiny where duty holders fail to take basic steps to identify risks, coordinate trades and put safe systems of work in place.
Retailers must understand where responsibility sits
BIFIS is advising retailers not to assume that health and safety responsibilities sit solely with installers once a sale has been made. Where a retailer designs, specifies, coordinates, appoints or manages installation work, it may have duties under CDM 2015 depending on the structure of the project and the contractual relationships in place.
Even where the domestic customer is the client, CDM duties normally transfer to the contractor on single-contractor projects or to the principal contractor where more than one contractor is involved. This means retailers who arrange, manage or coordinate installation work should be clear about who is acting as contractor, principal contractor and principal designer, and how information is passed between the customer, designer, retailer, installer and any specialist trades.
Damian Walters, CEO of BIFIS, said: “Construction Phase Plans should not be seen as paperwork for major building sites only. In the fitted interiors sector, many installations involve multiple trades, live services, occupied homes, vulnerable customers and changing site conditions. Retailers have a vital role in making sure the right questions are asked before work starts, responsibilities are understood, and installers are supported with the information they need to work safely and professionally.”
Walters added: “Good compliance protects people, strengthens consumer confidence and supports the professional reputation of our sector. BIFIS will continue to encourage practical, proportionate guidance that helps retailers and installers meet their obligations without unnecessary complexity.”
Newly published guidance can be found here: https://bifis.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Information-factsheet-for-installers-CPP-CDM.pdf
