14 training duties across 13 instruments binding Construction & Engineering, plus 10 that bind you whatever your sector — statute, rulebook, statutory guidance and licence conditions. Every one traced to its clause, its date and its published source, and each one labelled with what makes it a training duty.
The manual handling training everyone cites has no regulation behind it. The asbestos syllabus almost nobody quotes has eleven subjects in it.
Construction’s training duties are unusually well drafted — and unusually easy to satisfy in the wrong place. Several are prescriptive about content, not merely about the act of training, so a generic awareness module can be delivered, recorded and audited without discharging the duty it was bought to discharge.
The other pattern is reach. Three of the duties below extend past the person doing the work — to those who supervise it, to those who plan it, and to workers who are not employees. Training matrices built from a job-title list miss all three.
Each clause carries a label saying why it is a training duty. Where the instrument does not use the word, we cite the guidance or the case that makes training the way you discharge it. Where we cannot cite anyone, it is not listed as a training duty at all.
| Clause | Who must be trained or assessed | What is required | Interval | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 | ||||
| Regulation 9(1) and 9(2) says train | named role — every person who uses work equipment, and separately every employee who supervises or manages its use | Quoted, 9(1): "Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken." 9(2) applies the same duty to "any of his employees who supervises or manages the use of work equipment". | None specified — the measure is adequacy, not interval. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 | ||||
| Regulation 12(1) and 12(2) says train | named role — every employee liable to be exposed to a substance hazardous to health | Quoted, 12(1): "Every employer who undertakes work which is liable to expose an employee to a substance hazardous to health shall provide that employee with suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training." 12(2) then enumerates what it must include — the names of the substances and the risk they present, any relevant workplace exposure limit, access to the safety data sheet, the significant findings of the risk assessment, the precautions and actions to be taken, and the results of any exposure monitoring. | None specified. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 | ||||
| Regulation 10(1) and 10(2) says train | named role — employees exposed at or above the lower exposure action value, AND their representatives | Quoted, 10(1): "Where his employees are exposed to noise which is likely to be at or above a lower exposure action value, the employer shall provide those employees and their representatives with suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training." 10(2) enumerates eight required topics including the exposure limit and action values, how to detect and report signs of hearing damage, and the entitlement to health surveillance. | None specified. The trigger is the lower exposure action value. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 | ||||
| Regulation 8(1) and 8(2) says train | named role — employees at risk from, or exposed at or above the action value to, vibration, and their representatives | Quoted, 8(1): the employer must provide information, instruction and training where "(a) the risk assessment indicates that there is a risk to the health of his employees who are, or who are liable to be, exposed to vibration; or (b) employees are likely to be exposed to vibration at or above an exposure action value". Note the disjunctive: a risk identified by assessment triggers the duty even BELOW an action value. | None specified. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 | ||||
| Regulation 9(1) and 9(2) says train | named role — every worker provided with PPE | Quoted, 9(1): where PPE must be provided, "the employer shall also ensure that [the worker] is provided with such information, instruction and training as is adequate and appropriate to enable [the worker] to know— (a) the risk or risks which the personal protective equipment will avoid or limit; (b) the purpose for which and the manner in which personal protective equipment is to be used; and (c) any action to be taken by [the worker]" to keep it in good repair. 9(2): the information and instruction is not adequate "unless it is comprehensible to the persons to whom it is provided". | None specified. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 | ||||
| Regulation 9(1) and 9(2) says train | named role — employees where a dangerous substance is present at the workplace | Quoted, 9(1): where a dangerous substance is present, the employer shall provide employees with "(a) suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by the employee in order to safeguard himself and other employees at the workplace; (b) the details of any such substance" including its name, the risk it presents, access to the safety data sheet and the relevant legislative provisions; "and (c) the significant findings of the risk assessment." 9(2) requires it to be adapted to significant changes in the work. | None specified. 9(2) requires adaptation on significant change in the type or method of work. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 | ||||
| Regulation 3(2) says train | named role — the persons appointed to render first aid | Quoted, 3(2): an employer shall provide "such number of suitable persons as is adequate and appropriate in the circumstances for rendering first-aid to his employees if they are injured or become ill at work; and for this purpose A PERSON SHALL NOT BE SUITABLE UNLESS HE HAS UNDERGONE SUCH TRAINING AND HAS SUCH QUALIFICATIONS as may be appropriate in the circumstances of that case." | None specified in the regulation. The interval commonly cited (3-yearly requalification) comes from HSE guidance, not from reg 3. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 | ||||
| Regulation 10(1) says train | named role — employees exposed or liable to be exposed to asbestos, and those who supervise them | Quoted, 10(1): "Every employer must ensure that any employee employed by that employer is given adequate information, instruction and training where that employee— (a) is or is liable to be exposed to asbestos, or if that employee supervises such employees", so that they are aware of eleven enumerated matters: the properties of asbestos and its effects on health including its interaction with smoking; the types of products or materials likely to contain asbestos; the operations which could result in exposure and the importance of preventive controls; safe work practices, control measures and protective equipment; the purpose, choice, limitations, proper use and maintenance of RPE; emergency procedures; hygiene requirements; decontamination procedures; waste handling procedures; medical examination requirements; and the control limit and the need for air monitoring. | None specified in reg 10 itself. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Work at Height Regulations 2005 | ||||
| Regulation 5 competence | named role — anyone engaging in work at height, expressly including those organising, planning or supervising it | Quoted in full: "Every employer shall ensure that no person engages in any activity, including organisation, planning and supervision, in relation to work at height or work equipment for use in such work unless he is competent to do so or, if being trained, is being supervised by a competent person." NOTE: this is a COMPETENCE duty with a supervision alternative — it is not phrased as a duty to train. Training is the ordinary route to competence, and the regulation expressly contemplates a person 'being trained' working under supervision. | None specified. | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 | ||||
| Regulation 15(7) competence | named role — every person the contractor employs or appoints to work on a construction site | Quoted in full: "A contractor must not employ or appoint a person to work on a construction site unless that person has, or is in the process of obtaining, the necessary skills, knowledge, training and experience to carry out the tasks allocated to that person in a manner that secures the health and safety of any person working on the construction site." | None — this is a gate on appointment, not a recurring duty. | Not specified in the regulation. |
| Regulation 15(8) and 15(9), in particular 15(9)(a) says train | all staff on site — every worker under the contractor's control | Quoted, 15(8): "A contractor must provide each worker under their control with appropriate supervision, instructions and information so that construction work can be carried out, so far as is reasonably practicable, without risks to health and safety." 15(9): "The information provided must include— (a) a suitable site induction, where not already provided by the principal contractor; (b) the procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger to health and safety; (c) information on risks to health and safety— (i) identified by the risk assessment under regulation 3 of the Management Regulations; or (ii) arising out of the conduct of another contractor's undertaking and of which the contractor in control of the worker ought reasonably to be aware; and (d) any other information necessary to enable the worker to comply with the relevant statutory provisions." | None stated. The site induction is triggered by the worker arriving on the site. | Not specified in the regulation. |
| Regulation 8(1), with 8(6) competence | named role — appointed designers and contractors, and where they are an organisation, the organisation itself | Quoted, 8(1): "A designer (including a principal designer) or contractor (including a principal contractor) appointed to work on a project must have the skills, knowledge and experience, and, if they are an organisation, the organisational capability, necessary to fulfil the role that they are appointed to undertake, in a manner that secures the health and safety of any person affected by the project." NOTE: 8(1) names skills, knowledge and experience — it does NOT use the word 'training'. The training word in CDM appears at 15(7). 8(6) adds that any information or instruction required by these Regulations "must ensure the information or instruction is comprehensible and provided as soon as is practicable". | None — a condition of appointment. | Not specified in the regulation. |
| Directive 2009/104/EC concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work | ||||
| Article 9, with Article 6(b) says train | named roles — (a) workers given the task of using work equipment; and (b) separately, the workers specifically designated under Article 6(b) to carry out repairs, modifications, maintenance or servicing of equipment involving a specific risk | Quoted, Article 9: "Without prejudice to Article 12 of Directive 89/391/EEC, the employer shall take the measures necessary to ensure that: (a) workers given the task of using work equipment receive adequate training, including training on any risks which such use may entail; (b) workers referred to in Article 6(b) receive adequate SPECIFIC training." Article 6(b), which defines that second group: "in the case of repairs, modifications, maintenance or servicing, the workers concerned are specifically designated to carry out such work." | None. Note the opening words — this sits ON TOP of Framework Directive Article 12, which supplies the four triggers and the free/working-hours requirements. | Not specified in Article 9. |
| Directive 98/24/EC on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work | ||||
| Article 8(1) says train | named population — workers and/or their representatives, where hazardous chemical agents occur in the workplace | Quoted, Article 8(1): "Without prejudice to Articles 10 and 12 of Directive 89/391/EEC the employer shall ensure that workers and/or their representatives are provided with: — the data obtained pursuant to Article 4 of this Directive, and further informed whenever a major alteration at the workplace leads to a change in these data, — information on the hazardous chemical agents occurring in the workplace, such as the identity of those agents, the risks to safety and health, relevant occupational exposure limit values and other legislative provisions, — TRAINING AND INFORMATION ON APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS AND ACTIONS to be taken in order to safeguard themselves and other workers at the workplace, — access to any safety data sheet provided by the supplier". It further requires that the information is "provided in a manner appropriate to the outcome of the risk assessment... This may vary from oral communication to individual instruction and training supported by information in writing, depending on the nature and degree of the risk" and is "UPDATED TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES". | No interval, but two standing requirements: re-inform on a major alteration changing the Article 4 data, and keep the information updated for changing circumstances. | Not specified in Article 8. |
10 further obligations sit outside Construction & Engineering regulation and bind you as an employer or as a deployer of AI. They are the ones a sector-by-sector review misses, because nobody who reads only their own rulebook ever reaches them.
| Clause | Who must be trained or assessed | What is required | Interval | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU AI Act (Reg (EU) 2024/1689) | ||||
| Article 4 (AI literacy) says train | defined population — quoted from the pre-amendment text: "their staff and other persons dealing with the operation and use of AI systems on their behalf" | AS ENACTED: providers and deployers were to take measures to ensure, to their best extent, a sufficient level of AI literacy of their staff and other persons dealing with the operation and use of AI systems on their behalf, taking into account technical knowledge, experience, education and training, the context of use, and the persons on whom the systems are used. AS AMENDED from 2026-07-27 by the Digital Omnibus on AI: AI literacy remains an obligation on providers and deployers, but no specific or 'sufficient' level is mandated; the Commission and Member States take a stronger role in promoting AI literacy. The obligation on deployers of HIGH-RISK AI systems to ensure staff are trained for human oversight remains in place. | none specified | none specified |
| Article 26(2) says train | named population — the natural persons assigned to exercise human oversight | Quoted: "Deployers shall assign human oversight to natural persons who have the necessary competence, training and authority, as well as the necessary support." | none specified | none specified in this paragraph |
| Employment Rights Act 2025 | ||||
| Whole Act — training provisions at s.65 and related says train | named role — trade union equality representatives, not the general workforce | The Act's training provisions concern whether a trade union equality representative has undergone sufficient training to carry on those activities, with notice requirements on the union and reference to a relevant ACAS or Secretary of State Code of Practice. It is not a mandatory workforce training duty of the kind the rest of this map records. | none specified | Written notice from the trade union to the employer |
| Equality Act 2010 | ||||
| Section 109(4), with section 109(1) case law Allay (UK) Ltd v Gehlen [2021] UKEAT/0031/20 — stale or inadequate training defeats the s.109(4) 'all reasonable steps' defence, making training the operative discharge. | all staff — the defence turns on steps taken to prevent employees doing discriminatory acts | An employer is liable for anything done by a person in the course of their employment. Quoted from 109(4): "In proceedings against A's employer (B) in respect of anything alleged to have been done by A in the course of A's employment it is a defence for B to show that B took all reasonable steps to prevent A—(a) from doing that thing, or (b) from doing anything of that description." | none specified | The employer must SHOW the steps taken. The burden sits with the employer. |
| UK GDPR | ||||
| Article 24, read with Article 5(2) guidance UK GDPR Article 39(1)(b) — read at source 2026-08-12 — names staff training as an element of compliance with the Regulation: the data protection officer must "monitor compliance with this Regulation... including the assignment of responsibilities, awareness-raising and training of staff involved in processing operations, and the related audits". LIMIT OF THIS CITATION, stated plainly: Article 39 applies only where Article 37 requires a DPO to be appointed, so it does not by itself establish a training duty for every controller. It establishes that the Regulation treats staff training as part of compliance. The unconditional citation would be the ICO Accountability Framework, which has NOT been read — see not_yet_searched. | not specified — training is not expressly named in Article 24 | Quoted: "the controller shall implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure and to be able to demonstrate that processing is performed in accordance with this Regulation." Those measures must be reviewed and updated where necessary, and are to include appropriate data protection policies where proportionate to the processing activities. Article 5(2) supplies the accountability principle itself: "The controller shall be responsible for, and be able to demonstrate compliance with, paragraph 1" — that is, with all six data protection principles: lawfulness, fairness and transparency; purpose limitation; data minimisation; accuracy; storage limitation; and integrity and confidentiality. | measures to be reviewed and updated where necessary — no interval | The controller must be able to DEMONSTRATE compliance. This is the accountability limb. |
| The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 | ||||
| Article 21, with articles 3 and 6 says train | all staff — quoted: "his employees" | Quoted, 21(1): the responsible person "must ensure that his employees are provided with adequate safety training (a) at the time when they are first employed; and (b) on their being exposed to new or increased risks because of" transfer or change of responsibilities, new or changed work equipment, new technology, or a new or changed system of work. 21(2): that training must "(a) include suitable and sufficient instruction and training on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by the employee in order to safeguard himself and other relevant persons on the premises; (b) be repeated periodically where appropriate; (c) be adapted to take account of any new or changed risks; (d) be provided in a manner appropriate to the risk identified by the risk assessment; and (e) TAKE PLACE DURING WORKING HOURS." | Trigger-based, not periodic: on first employment AND on each of four listed changes. "Repeated periodically where appropriate" — no interval stated. | none specified in the article |
| The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 | ||||
| Regulation 13(2), with 13(1) and 13(3) says train | all staff — every employee, on recruitment and again on each triggering change | Quoted, 13(2): "Every employer shall ensure that his employees are provided with adequate health and safety training— (a) on their being recruited into the employer's undertaking; and (b) on their being exposed to new or increased risks because of— (i) their being transferred or given a change of responsibilities within the employer's undertaking, (ii) the introduction of new work equipment into or a change respecting work equipment already in use within the employer's undertaking, (iii) the introduction of new technology into the employer's undertaking, or (iv) the introduction of a new system of work into or a change respecting a system of work already in use within the employer's undertaking." 13(1) separately requires the employer, "in entrusting tasks to his employees, [to] take into account their capabilities as regards health and safety." | No fixed interval. The duty is TRIGGER-BASED — on recruitment, and on each of the four changes listed in 13(2)(b). | Not specified in the regulation itself. |
| Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 | ||||
| Section 2(2)(c), with section 2(1) says train | all staff — scoped by what is 'necessary to ensure' their health and safety | Quoted, s.2(2)(c): the employer's general duty extends in particular to "the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees." This is the primary-legislation parent of the MHSWR reg 13 duty. Note the double qualifier: training is owed only so far as it is BOTH 'necessary to ensure' health and safety AND 'reasonably practicable'. | None. The measure is necessity, not interval. | Not specified in the section. |
| Council Directive 89/391/EEC (the Framework Directive) on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work | ||||
| Article 12(1) and 12(4) says train | all staff — 'each worker' | Quoted, 12(1): "The employer shall ensure that each worker receives adequate safety and health training, in particular in the form of information and instructions specific to his workstation or job: — on recruitment, — in the event of a transfer or a change of job, — in the event of the introduction of new work equipment or a change in equipment, — in the event of the introduction of any new technology. The training shall be: — adapted to take account of new or changed risks, and — repeated periodically if necessary." Quoted, 12(4): "The training referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 MAY NOT BE AT THE WORKERS' EXPENSE... The training referred to in paragraph 1 MUST TAKE PLACE DURING WORKING HOURS." | No fixed interval. Trigger-based on four named events, PLUS two standing qualities the UK implementation does not spell out as clearly: adapted to new or changed risks, and "repeated periodically if necessary". | Not specified in Article 12. |
| Article 12(2) says train | named population — workers from OUTSIDE undertakings and/or establishments engaged in work in your undertaking. Contractors, agency staff, visiting engineers, maintenance crews. | Quoted in full: "The employer shall ensure that workers from outside undertakings and/or establishments engaged in work in his undertaking and/or establishment HAVE IN FACT RECEIVED appropriate instructions regarding health and safety risks during their activities in his undertaking and/or establishment." | None — triggered by the outside workers being engaged in work in your undertaking. | Not specified, but note the wording: the employer must ensure they "have in fact received" the instructions. That is a verification duty, not a provision duty — it is not discharged by having issued something. |
1 provisions that sit alongside the duties above without themselves requiring training. They are here because they are the ones most often mistaken for training duties, or most often missed when scoping them. We separate them rather than pad the count.
| Clause | Who it concerns | What is required | Interval | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 | ||||
| Regulation 4(1)(b)(ii) and 4(3)(c), with 4(1)(b)(iii) related | not directly specified — training enters as a risk-reduction step and as a mandatory factor, not as a named population | MHOR does not contain a standalone duty to train, but it is NOT silent on training, and the two limbs together are why manual handling training is genuinely expected. Reg 4(1)(b)(ii) requires the employer to "take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to those employees... to the lowest level reasonably practicable". Reg 4(3) then provides that "in determining the appropriate steps to reduce that risk regard shall be had in particular to— ... (c) his knowledge and training". So the employee's training is a factor the employer MUST weigh, and training is capable of being one of the 'appropriate steps' the employer is required to take. Separately, 4(1)(b)(iii) requires "general indications and, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, precise information on— (aa) the weight of each load, and (bb) the heaviest side of any load whose centre of gravity is not positioned centrally" — that limb is an information duty. Schedule 1 also asks, as an assessment factor, whether the job requires "special information or training for its safe performance". | None. The measure is the risk-reduction outcome, not an interval. | Not specified in regulation 4. |
There is no provision in the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 that reads “you must train”. That absence is often mistaken, in both directions, for an answer.
The duty is structural. Regulation 4(1)(b)(ii) requires the employer to “take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury… to the lowest level reasonably practicable”. Regulation 4(3) then requires that, in determining those steps, “regard shall be had in particular to… (c) his knowledge and training”.
So training is both a step the employer may be obliged to take, and a factor they are obliged to weigh. An employer who has never asked whether training would reduce the risk has not discharged 4(1)(b)(ii). What does not follow is an annual refresher — MHOR sets no interval, and neither does the duty it hangs from.
We scanned the whole instrument — 15,159 characters of revised text — and found exactly two references to training: regulation 4(3)(c), and Schedule 1’s assessment factor asking whether the job requires “special information or training for its safe performance”. Regulation 4(3) was inserted by amendment in 2002, which is why reading regulation 4(1) alone gives the wrong answer.
Regulation 15(7) bars a contractor from employing or appointing anyone to work on a construction site unless they have “the necessary skills, knowledge, training and experience” for the tasks allocated — or are in the process of obtaining them. That second limb matters: it is not a bar on the untrained, it is a bar on the neither-trained-nor-training.
Regulation 15(9)(a) then requires a suitable site induction — but only “where not already provided by the principal contractor”. On a multi-contractor site that conditional is where inductions go missing, because each party can reasonably believe the other owns it.
And 15(9)(c)(ii) reaches risks arising from another contractor’s undertaking which this contractor ought reasonably to be aware of — an information duty about work you do not control.
The UK provisions here implement EU directives, so the duties look interchangeable. Two of them are not.
Work equipment. PUWER reg 9(2) extends the training duty to employees who supervise or manage the use of work equipment. Directive 2009/104/EC Article 9(b) instead extends it to workers designated under Article 6(b) to carry out “repairs, modifications, maintenance or servicing” of specific-risk equipment — and asks for specific training, not merely adequate.
Chemical agents. COSHH reg 12(2) prescribes the content. Directive 98/24/EC Article 8(1) prescribes the delivery method too: information must be “provided in a manner appropriate to the outcome of the risk assessment… from oral communication to individual instruction and training supported by information in writing, depending on the nature and degree of the risk”. One e-learning module for everyone is not automatically compliant on the EU side.
Run one matrix across both estates and you satisfy the supervisor limb in Britain while missing the maintenance limb in Germany — and vice versa.
Directive 89/391/EEC Article 12(4): the training “may not be at the workers’ expense” and “must take place during working hours”. Neither is qualified by reasonable practicability.
Asking staff to finish an e-learning module in their own time, unpaid, is a breach however good the content is.
Article 12(2) then reaches people you do not employ: the employer must ensure workers from outside undertakings working on their premises “have in fact received” appropriate health and safety instructions. MHSWR reg 13 has no equivalent — it is confined to “his employees”. And “have in fact received” is a checking duty, not a providing one, over a population whose records you do not hold.
Regulation 10(1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is the most prescriptive training syllabus in UK health and safety law. It names eleven matters the employee must be made aware of — from the interaction between asbestos and smoking, through decontamination and waste handling, to the control limit and the need for air monitoring.
It applies to employees who are “liable to be exposed” and to those who supervise them. Any refurbishment or maintenance work on a pre-2000 building can bring a worker into scope without anyone deciding that it has.
Regulation 5 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 binds every person engaging in any activity “including organisation, planning and supervision” in relation to work at height.
It is also a competence duty rather than a training duty — it is satisfied by competence or, for someone being trained, by supervision from a competent person. A planner who never goes near a height is inside regulation 5; a trainee under proper supervision is not in breach of it.
This map states what it did not check as well as what it did. A map that quietly omits its own gaps is worth less than one that marks them.
14 obligations across 13 instruments, each read directly from the published source on 2026-08-12.
Recorded because “we searched and found nothing” is a different fact from “we did not search”.
Their absence is not evidence that they contain no training duty.
Ten minutes on where your obligations actually sit. Fifteen watching a module built live from your own source documents. Five on whether there is a next step. Nothing to prepare and nothing to send beforehand.