Site shutdowns prompted by health and safety legislation, lawyer says

By Tom Lowe2020-03-27T06:00:00

Health and Safety Act trumps government advice, Fenwick Elliott partner adds

This week’s widespread shutdown of building sites across the UK has probably triggered by contractors realising their insurance does not cover claims for breaches of health and safety law, a leading construction lawyer has said.

Jon Miller, a partner at law firm Fenwick Elliott, said firms were more concerned with complying with the Health And Safety At Work Act than the government’s social distancing advice to keep sites open as long as workers could keep 2m apart at all times.

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