Covid-19
(Construction Work) (Jersey) Regulations 2020
1 Interpretation
(1) In
these Regulations –
“Health and Safety Regulations”
means the Health and
Safety (Management in Construction) (Jersey) Regulations 2016;
“Medical Officer of
Health” means a person appointed as such under Article 10 of the Loi (1934) sur la Santé
Publique;
“Minister” means the
Minister for Health and Social Services;
“publish” means publish
online or in any other manner appearing to the person publishing to be likely
to bring the matter published to the attention of those whom it concerns;
“restriction Order” means
an Order under Regulation 3;
“restriction period” means
a period specified under Regulation 3(4);
“specified” means
specified in a restriction Order.
(2) In
these Regulations the following expressions have the same meaning as in the
Health and Safety Regulations –
(a) “commercial client” and “domestic
client”;
(b) “construction project”, “major
construction project” and “minor construction project”;
(c) “construction site”;
(d) “construction work”;
(e) “contractor” and
“relevant contractor”;
(f) “in the course or
furtherance of a business”.
2 Application of Regulations
(1) These
Regulations apply to construction work (“relevant construction work”) if –
(a) it is undertaken during a
restriction period; and
(b) it does not fall within either
or both of paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) Construction
work falls within this paragraph if, by virtue of Regulation 6 of the Health
and Safety Regulations, those Regulations do not apply to it.
(3) Construction
work falls within this paragraph if it is undertaken by a single individual at
a construction site at which no other person is present.
3 Order to restrict construction work
(1) This
Regulation applies if the Minister, after consulting the Medical Officer of
Health, is satisfied that, in relation to construction work, the risk to public
health caused by Covid-19 has reached a level at which it is proportionate and
necessary to make a restriction Order.
(2) The
Minister must, before making a restriction Order, consult the Council of
Ministers, and in particular the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism,
Sport and Culture.[2]
(3) The
Minister may, by Order, prohibit or restrict relevant construction work.
(4) The
Order must specify a restriction period by declaring that it starts on a
specified date, being no sooner than the coming into force of the Order, and
ends –
(a) at the end of a period of
restricted movement under a specified Order under Regulation 5 of the Covid-19 (Screening,
Assessment and Isolation) (Jersey) Regulations 2020, as that Order may be
amended from time to time; or
(b) at the end of a specified
day, being no later than 14 days after the start of the period.
(5) Despite
Article 17 of the Interpretation
(Jersey) Law 1954, a provision specifying the end of a period under
paragraph (4)(b) may not be amended other than –
(a) to declare an earlier
end; or
(b) to declare a later end,
being no later than 14 days after the commencement of each Order making
such an amendment.
(6) Paragraphs
(7) to (10) do not limit the application of Article 11(4) of the Interpretation (Jersey)
Law 1954 to the power conferred by paragraph (3).
(7) A
restriction Order may include provision to –
(a) prohibit all relevant
construction work;
(b) prohibit all relevant
construction work other than –
(i) specified work or a specified class of
work,
(ii) work complying with
guidance published by the Minister, the Medical Officer of Health or any other
specified person appearing appropriate to the Minister for the purpose,
(iii) work complying with any
other specified condition; or
(c) prohibit only specified relevant
construction work or only a specified class of relevant construction work.
(8) Work,
or a class of work, may be specified for the purpose of
paragraph (7)(b)(i) or 7(c) by reference to –
(a) the person undertaking
the work, including whether that person is a contractor, a principal
contractor, a relevant contractor or any other person;
(b) the person for whom the
work is undertaken, including whether that person is a commercial client, a domestic
client or any other person;
(c) the nature or location of
the work, including whether it is undertaken in the course or furtherance of a business,
is undertaken at a person’s residence, or otherwise;
(d) any construction project
to which the work relates, including whether it relates to a major construction project, a minor construction project
or any other project;
(e) the purpose of the work,
including whether the purpose is related to dealing with the outbreak of
Covid-19, or to any other interest of Jersey, or to any other matter;
(f) a criterion published by
the Medical Officer of Health, as that criterion may be from time to time; or
(g) any other criterion
appearing relevant to the Minister.
(9) A
restriction Order may include provision –
(a) imposing a condition on
the undertaking of the work;
(b) requiring a person,
having a specified connection to the undertaking of the work, to obtain a
permit from the Minister for that work;
(c) empowering the Minister
to attach a condition to such a permit, or to attach conditions to a class of
permit by published notice; or
(d) empowering the Minister
to cancel such a permit.
(10) A
condition imposed under paragraph (9) may include –
(a) a requirement as to the
space between persons undertaking the work, including as to whether each such
person is reasonably able to maintain a specified distance between himself or
herself and any other person on the construction site;
(b) a requirement to have
regard to any relevant guidance issued, before or after the commencement of
these Regulations, by the Minister or by the Medical Officer of Health;
(c) a requirement to display
a permit or other notice; or
(d) any other requirement
appearing appropriate to the Minister.
4 Offence of undertaking restricted construction work
(1) A
person commits an offence, and is liable to a fine, if the person undertakes
restricted construction work.
(2) Construction
work is “restricted construction work” if –
(a) it is relevant
construction work; and
(b) it is undertaken in
contravention of a restriction Order, or of a condition imposed by or under a
restriction Order.
(3) For
the purpose of paragraph (2)(b) a requirement for any person (whether or
not the person undertaking the work) to obtain a permit under Regulation 3(9)(b)
for the work is to be treated as a condition imposed by or under the
restriction Order.
5 Offence of allowing restricted construction work or failing
to take reasonable steps to prevent it
(1) A responsible person commits an offence, and is liable to a
fine, if the person –
(a) allows another person to
undertake restricted construction work; or
(b) fails to take reasonable
steps to prevent another person from undertaking restricted construction work.
(2) A
person is a “responsible person” if the person is, in relation to the
construction work or to the construction project to which the construction work
relates –
(a) a commercial client; or
(b) a relevant contractor.
(3) In
this Regulation “restricted construction work” has the same meaning as in
Regulation 4.
(4) A
person assessing the question of whether a step is reasonable, for the purpose
of paragraph (1)(b), must have regard to any guidance that –
(a) is or was issued, before
or after the commencement of these Regulations, by the Minister or by the
Medical Officer of Health; and
(b) is relevant to the
question.
6 Offence of giving false or misleading information
A person commits an
offence, and is liable to imprisonment for a term of 2 years and to a
fine, if the person knowingly gives false or misleading information in
connection with an application for a permit under a restriction Order.
7 Offences by bodies corporate and others
(1) In
this Regulation –
“relevant offence” means
an offence under these Regulations that is committed by a limited liability
partnership, a separate limited partnership, an incorporated limited
partnership or another body corporate;
“relevant person” means –
(a) if the relevant offence
is committed by a limited liability partnership, a partner of the partnership;
(b) if the relevant offence
is committed by a separate limited partnership or an incorporated limited partnership –
(i) a general partner, or
(ii) a limited partner who is
participating in the management of the partnership;
(c) if the relevant offence
is committed by a body corporate other than an incorporated limited partnership –
(i) a director, manager, secretary or other
similar officer of the body corporate, and
(ii) if the affairs of the
body corporate are managed by its members, a member who is acting in connection
with the member’s functions of management; and
(d) a person purporting to
act in any capacity described in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) in relation to
the partnership or body that commits the relevant offence.
(2) If
a relevant offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or
connivance of a relevant person, that relevant person is also guilty of the
offence and liable in the same manner as the partnership or body corporate to
the penalty provided for that offence.
(3) Paragraph (4)
applies if a relevant offence –
(a) is an offence that may be
committed by neglect; and
(b) is proved to be
attributable to any neglect on the part of a relevant person.
(4) The
relevant person is also guilty of the offence and liable in the same manner as
the partnership or body corporate to the penalty provided for that offence.
8 Citation, commencement and expiry
(1) These
Regulations may be cited as the Covid-19 (Construction Work) (Jersey)
Regulations 2020 and come into force on the day after they are made.
(2) These
Regulations expire at the end of 30th April 2022.[3]