2.1 Construction Work Permits, Notifications & Client Duties
Key Takeaways
CR 3(1) as published requires a client to apply for a Construction Work Permit at least 30 days before work over 180 days, over 1 800 person-days, or of R13 million / CIDB grade 6 value.
The Chief Inspector's exemption GN 850 of 17 August 2018 now requires a permit only where work exceeds 365 days and 3 600 person-days, or the tender value is CIDB grade 7, 8 or 9.
CR 4(1) requires the contractor to notify the provincial director on Annexure 2 at least 7 days before work involving excavation, work at height with a risk of falling, demolition or explosives.
CR 5(1)(o) and (p) require client audits at least once every 30 days and a copy of each audit report to the principal contractor within seven days.
On permit projects the client must appoint an agent (CR 5(5)) registered with the SACPCMP (CR 5(7)); on notification projects an agent is optional (CR 5(6)).
2.1 Construction Work Permits, Notifications & Client Duties
Legislative Framework & Scope of Construction Regulations 2014
The Construction Regulations 2014 (CR 2014) were made under Section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 and published on 7 February 2014 as Government Notice R. 84 in Government Gazette No. 37305. In June 2017 the Department published guidelines (Government Notice 489 of 2 June 2017) that reproduce the regulations with explanatory notes. Those notes are useful exam material because they record the Department's interpretation.
The regulations apply to all persons involved in construction work (CR 2(1)). Regulations 3 and 5 do not apply where the work is a single-storey dwelling for a client who intends to live in it on completion (CR 2(2)).
Under CR 1, "construction work" means any work in connection with the construction, erection, alteration, renovation, repair, demolition or dismantling of, or addition to, a building or similar structure. It also covers bridges, dams, canals, roads, railways, runways, sewers and water reticulation systems, and the moving of earth, clearing of land, making of an excavation, piling, or similar civil engineering work. A client is any person for whom construction work is being performed.
Note
On 12 March 2025 the Department published Draft Construction Regulations for public comment (Government Gazette 52267). They are intended to replace CR 2014 and propose new permit triggers, but as at October 2026 they remain a draft. Answer exam questions on CR 2014 unless told otherwise.
Construction Work Permits (Regulation 3)
The Regulation as Published
Under CR 3(1), a client who intends to have construction work carried out must, at least 30 days before the work starts, apply in writing to the provincial director of the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) for a construction work permit if the work will:
- (a) exceed 180 days;
- (b) involve more than 1 800 person-days of construction work; or
- (c) have a works contract value equal to or exceeding R13 million or Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) grading level 6.
The Chief Inspector's Temporary Exemption (GN 850 of 2018)
Using Section 40 of the Act, the Chief Inspector phased the permit requirement in. Government Notice 641 of 24 July 2015 first applied it only to very large contracts (above R130 million or CIDB grade 9 from 7 August 2015, then above R40 million or CIDB grade 8 from 7 February 2017). That notice was repealed and replaced by Government Notice 850 of 17 August 2018. For work starting from 7 August 2018, a permit is required where the work will:
- exceed 365 days and involve more than 3 600 person-days of construction work; or
- have a tender value limit of CIDB grade 7, 8 or 9.
The two duration tests are now combined with "and", so a 300-day project with 5 000 person-days does not need a permit on duration alone. Always state which test you are applying: examiners may quote the regulation as published or the exemption.
Application, Permit Number and Display
- Form: the application is made in a form similar to Annexure 1 (CR 3(2)).
- Supporting documents: a permit may be granted only if the baseline risk assessment and the health and safety specification (CR 5(1)(a) and (b)) have been submitted, with written proof that the client has appointed an agent under CR 5(5), that the principal contractor is registered and in good standing with the Compensation Fund or a licensed insurer (CR 5(1)(j)), and that CR 5(1)(c) to (h) have been complied with (CR 3(5)).
- Decision: the provincial director must issue the permit in writing within 30 days of receiving the application and assign a site-specific number (CR 3(3)). The guideline notes add that the 30 days runs only once complete documents are lodged, and that an aggrieved applicant may appeal to the Chief Inspector under Section 35.
- Display and filing: the number must be conspicuously displayed at the main entrance to the site (CR 3(4)), and the principal contractor must keep a copy of the permit in the health and safety file (CR 3(6)).
- No early start: no permit-triggering work may start before the permit and number have been issued (CR 3(7)), and a site number is not transferable (CR 3(8)).
| Project | Duration | Person-days | Tender value / CIDB | Permit under CR 3(1) as published? | Permit under GN 850 (2018)? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warehouse | 220 days | 4 500 | R95 million, CIDB 8 | Yes (all three triggers) | Yes (CIDB 7–9 tender value) |
| School block | 300 days | 5 000 | CIDB 5 | Yes (duration) | No (not over 365 days) |
| Road upgrade | 400 days | 6 000 | CIDB 6 | Yes | Yes (over 365 days and over 3 600 person-days) |
Notification of Construction Work (Regulation 4)
Where a permit is not required, CR 4(1) obliges the contractor to notify the provincial director in writing, in a form similar to Annexure 2, at least 7 days before the work starts, if the work will include:
- (a) excavation work;
- (b) working at a height where there is a risk of falling;
- (c) the demolition of a structure; or
- (d) the use of explosives.
Under CR 4(2), a contractor building a single-storey dwelling for a client who will live in it must also notify the provincial director at least 7 days beforehand. There is no duration or person-day trigger for notification: a five-day trenching job needs a notification, while a long project with none of the four activities does not. A notification is not a permission; keep proof of submission in the health and safety file.
| Parameter | Construction Work Permit (CR 3) | Notification of Construction Work (CR 4) |
|---|---|---|
| Who acts | Client | Contractor |
| Form | Annexure 1 | Annexure 2 |
| Timing | At least 30 days before work starts | At least 7 days before work starts |
| Triggers | Size and value tests (CR 3(1), as modified by GN 850 of 2018) | Excavation, work at height with a risk of falling, demolition, or explosives |
| DEL action | Issues permit and site-specific number within 30 days | Receives the notification |
| Start condition | No start before permit and number are issued | May start after the 7-day period |
| Agent | Client must appoint an agent (CR 5(5)) | Client may appoint an agent (CR 5(6)) |
Duties of the Client (Regulation 5)
CR 5(1) requires the client to:
- (a) prepare a baseline risk assessment for the intended project;
- (b) prepare a suitable, sufficiently documented and coherent site-specific health and safety specification based on it;
- (c)–(e) give the specification to the designer, ensure the designer takes it into account during design, and ensure the designer carries out all CR 6 duties;
- (f) include the specification in the tender documents;
- (g) ensure that potential principal contractors have made adequate provision for the cost of health and safety measures;
- (h) ensure the principal contractor to be appointed has the necessary competencies and resources;
- (i) take reasonable steps to ensure co-operation between all contractors it appoints;
- (j) ensure, before work starts, that every principal contractor is registered and in good standing with the Compensation Fund or a licensed compensation insurer;
- (k) appoint every principal contractor in writing;
- (l) discuss and negotiate the principal contractor's health and safety plan and then finally approve it for implementation;
- (m) make a copy of that plan available on request to an employee, inspector or contractor;
- (n) take reasonable steps to ensure each contractor's plan is implemented and maintained;
- (o) ensure that periodic health and safety audits and document verification are conducted at agreed intervals, but at least once every 30 days;
- (p) give the principal contractor a copy of each audit report within seven days after the audit;
- (q) stop any contractor executing an activity that threatens health and safety and is not in accordance with the specification and the principal contractor's plan;
- (r) make sufficient safety information and resources available when the design or construction work changes; and
- (s) ensure the principal contractor keeps and maintains the health and safety file.
CR 5(2) adds that where the client requires extra work because of a design change or a construction error caused by the client, it must make sufficient safety information and resources available. Under CR 5(3), where a fatality or permanent disabling injury occurs, the client must ensure that the contractor gives the provincial director a Section 24 report (made under General Administrative Regulations 8 and 9) that includes the measures the contractor will implement. CR 5(4) requires co-operation where there is more than one principal contractor.
Appointing an Agent (CR 5(5)–(8))
- Permit projects: the client must appoint a competent person in writing as its agent (CR 5(5)).
- Notification projects: the client may appoint an agent; where it is unclear whether an agent is necessary, an inspector's decision is final (CR 5(6)).
- In both cases the client's duties then apply, as far as reasonably practicable, to the agent, without derogating from the client's own responsibilities or liabilities.
- CR 5(7): the agent must manage health and safety on the project for the client and be registered with a statutory body approved by the Chief Inspector as qualified to perform those functions. That body is the SACPCMP.
- CR 5(8): the Chief Inspector must publish any such approval in the Gazette.
The 2017 guideline note to CR 5 adds that a client may appoint a Construction Health and Safety Agent or a Construction Health and Safety Manager, depending on the scope and risk profile of the work; where it is unclear whether an agent or manager is necessary, the inspector's decision is final. The Professional Construction Health and Safety Agent (Pr.CHSA) is the SACPCMP category designed to represent clients, so permit-sized projects normally use one.
A commercial developer plans a warehouse in Midrand with a tender value of R95 million (CIDB grade 8), an estimated duration of 220 days and 4 500 person-days of labour. Work is due to start on 1 November. Applying the Chief Inspector's current temporary exemption for Construction Regulation 3 (GN 850 of 2018), what must the developer do?
Submit only an Annexure 2 Notification of Construction Work to the local municipal council seven days before work begins, because a permit is needed only when all three CR 3 triggers are met.
Start on 1 November without a permit, because under the exemption a permit is required only where the work exceeds 365 days and also involves more than 3 600 person-days.
Apply for a construction work permit at least 30 days before 1 November and wait for the permit and site number, because the tender value is CIDB grade 7 to 9.
Claim exemption from the permit requirement because the appointed principal contractor holds CIDB grade 9 registration and ISO 45001 certification.
During a competitive tender evaluation for a major civil reservoir project, the client's quantity surveyor notes that Contractor X submitted a bid that is 20% lower than all competitors by pricing zero financial allocation for PPE, scaffolding inspections, and on-site medical fitness examinations. Under Construction Regulation 5(1)(g), what is the Client's statutory obligation?
Accept Contractor X if it signs a Section 37(2) agreement absolving the client.
The client must ensure tenderers have provided adequately for health and safety costs and must not award on deflated safety pricing.
The Client is legally prohibited from evaluating safety line items during procurement as this is deemed anti-competitive under the Competition Act.
The Client must award the contract to the lowest bidder and deduct the safety costs from the contractor's monthly progress payment certificates.
A civil contractor is appointed to repair a municipal water main in Durban. The job will take 22 days and 90 person-days, but it requires trench excavations 2.4 metres deep. No construction work permit is required. Under the Construction Regulations 2014, what must the contractor do?
Notify the provincial director on Annexure 2 at least 7 days before starting, because the work includes excavation.
Publish a public notice in the Government Gazette 14 days before excavating, because the work affects a municipal service.
Apply for a full Construction Work Permit under CR 3 at least 30 days before work, because all excavation work needs a permit.
Nothing, because notification applies only to permit-sized projects.
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.