What Is a Method Statement? UK Construction Guide
A principal contractor has asked for your method statement. Or a client has mentioned they need a "safe system of work" before you can start. You know roughly what they want — a document describing how you'll do the job — but how detailed does it need to be? Is it a legal requirement? And how is it different from a risk assessment?
This guide answers those questions with the specifics that matter for UK construction work.
What is a method statement?
A method statement is a document that describes, step by step, how a piece of work will be carried out safely. It's the "how" document — covering the sequence of operations, the equipment and resources needed, and the safety measures in place at each stage.
It's typically submitted alongside a risk assessment as part of a RAMS package (Risk Assessment and Method Statement). The risk assessment identifies what could go wrong. The method statement describes how the work will actually proceed, incorporating the control measures from the risk assessment into each step.
If you're unclear on RAMS as a whole, see our guide on what RAMS are in construction.
Is a method statement a legal requirement?
There is no single UK regulation that says "you must write a method statement" by name. But several regulations create duties that a method statement fulfils:
CDM 2015, Regulation 15(1): Every contractor must plan, manage, and monitor construction work carried out by them so that it is carried out without risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable. A method statement is the standard way to demonstrate that planning.
CDM 2015, Regulation 15(10): If you are the only contractor on a project, you must draw up a construction phase plan. A method statement is typically part of that plan.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 4: Employers must implement preventive and protective measures identified by the risk assessment through "appropriate procedures." A method statement is one such procedure.
The practical reality: every principal contractor in UK construction requires method statements from their subcontractors. Most commercial clients require them. Even private homeowners increasingly ask for them. Whether or not legislation names the document specifically, you need one.
Method statement vs risk assessment
These two documents are often confused, but they serve different purposes:
| Risk assessment | Method statement | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Identifies hazards and evaluates risks | Describes how the work will be done safely |
| Approach | Analytical — "what could go wrong?" | Procedural — "here's how we'll do it" |
| Structure | Hazard tables with risk ratings | Sequential steps in chronological order |
| Legal basis | MHSWR 1999 Regulation 3 (explicit) | CDM 2015 Regulation 15 (implicit in planning duties) |
| Example content | "Working at height — risk of fall — edge protection required" | "Step 3: Before commencing roof work, erect temporary guardrails to all open edges above 2m. Double guardrail at 950mm with mid-rail and toe board." |
A risk assessment without a method statement identifies problems without describing solutions in context. A method statement without a risk assessment describes a process without demonstrating that hazards have been considered. Principal contractors expect both.
What a method statement should include
Standard sections
1. Project details — site address, client, principal contractor (if applicable), your company details, document reference, revision number, date.
2. Scope of works — a clear description of the work covered by this method statement. What you're doing, where, and over what period.
3. Sequence of operations — the step-by-step method. This is the core of the document. Each step should describe what activity is carried out, what safety measures are in place during that activity, what plant/equipment is used, and who is responsible.
4. Resources — number and competence of operatives. State qualifications and training relevant to the work (ECS card grades, PASMA, IPAF, CSCS, trade-specific certifications).
5. Plant and equipment — list everything you'll bring to site. This helps the PC coordinate logistics and assess whether your equipment creates risks for other trades.
6. Safety measures per step — integrated into the sequence, not listed separately. The reader should see the control measure at the point in the work where it applies.
7. Emergency procedures — what happens if something goes wrong. First aid arrangements, nearest A&E, fire procedure, specific emergency responses for your trade (electrical shock, gas leak, chemical spill).
8. Welfare — confirmation that adequate welfare facilities are available per CDM 2015 Schedule 2.
9. Permits to work — identify any activities requiring permits (hot works, electrical isolation, confined space entry, roof access) and state who issues them.
10. Communication — how operatives will be briefed on the method statement. Toolbox talk record with signatures showing workers have read and understood the document.
How detailed does it need to be?
Proportionate to the risk. HSE's position is that documentation should be proportionate — a straightforward domestic task doesn't need a 30-page method statement. But proportionate doesn't mean vague.
Minimum viable detail: Each step should be specific enough that a competent operative who hasn't been on this site before could read it and understand how the work should proceed safely.
Too vague: "Install pipework to plant room." — This tells the reader nothing about how, what hazards exist, or what controls are in place.
Proportionate: "Step 4: Install LTHW flow and return pipework from boiler to manifold position. Copper pipework to be brazed — hot works permit obtained from building manager before brazing begins. CO2 extinguisher and fire blanket within 2m. Fire watch for 60 minutes after final joint. Isolation of adjacent pipe runs confirmed before breaking any joints."
For trade-specific examples showing the right level of detail, see our method statement examples by trade.
Common mistakes in method statements
Writing it like a risk assessment
A method statement is not a list of hazards. It's a work sequence. If your method statement reads like a table of hazards with control measures and risk ratings, you've written a risk assessment in the wrong format. The method statement should read chronologically — step 1, step 2, step 3 — with safety measures woven into each step.
Being too generic
"Install electrical distribution" is not a method statement step. "Step 5: Install new 18-way consumer unit to position marked on wall. Isolate incoming supply at DNO cutout. Lock off with personal padlock. Prove dead at consumer unit tails using GS38-compliant voltage indicator. Connect tails to new unit. Connect circuits in sequence per circuit chart" is a method statement step.
If the same text could apply to any project in the country, it's not specific enough.
Forgetting the interfaces
On multi-trade sites, your method statement should address how your work interacts with other trades. Does your noisy work affect the trade working next to you? Does your scaffolding block another trade's access? Does your electrical isolation affect services that other trades need? The PC coordinates this, but your method statement should show you've considered it.
No sequence — just a list
Steps should be numbered and chronological. If someone could rearrange your steps in any order without it mattering, you haven't described a method — you've described a set of activities. The order matters: you isolate before you work on circuits, you erect scaffold before you work at height, you suppress dust before you start cutting.
Missing the review trigger
A method statement is a living document. If the scope changes, the sequence changes. If the site conditions change, the safety measures may need updating. State when the method statement will be reviewed — and actually review it when those triggers occur.
Frequently asked questions
Who writes the method statement?
The contractor carrying out the work. This should be someone with enough trade knowledge to describe the work method accurately and enough health and safety awareness to identify the right controls. For most small firms, that's the business owner or the lead operative. On larger projects, the firm's health and safety advisor may draft it with input from the site team.
How long should a method statement be?
Long enough to cover the scope adequately, short enough to be readable. A domestic kitchen installation might need 2-3 pages. A complex commercial fit-out with multiple phases might need 10-15 pages. Nobody benefits from a 40-page method statement padded with boilerplate that nobody reads.
Can I use the same method statement for similar jobs?
You can use a base document as a starting point, but every method statement must be reviewed and adapted for the specific project. Different sites have different conditions, different access arrangements, different hazards. HSE and principal contractors look for site-specific detail — and they're experienced at spotting copy-paste.
What happens if I don't follow the method statement on site?
If you deviate from the agreed method and someone is harmed, the method statement becomes evidence against you — it shows you knew the safe method and chose not to follow it. If conditions change and the method needs adapting, update the document, brief the team, and notify the PC. Planned changes are fine. Undocumented deviations are not.
Do method statements need to be signed?
There's no legal requirement for signatures, but principal contractors almost universally require them. As a minimum: signature of the person who prepared it, and a sign-off record showing operatives have been briefed. Some PCs also require their own review signature before you start work.
Making method statements practical
The purpose of a method statement isn't to produce a document. It's to think through how the work will be done safely, communicate that plan to everyone involved, and create a record that demonstrates the planning took place.
If you're finding it difficult to write trade-specific method statements, our free Method Statement Template Builder generates a structured outline for your trade and project type. For a full RAMS package that produces both the risk assessment and method statement from your project details, TradeRAMS is built for exactly that — we're taking names for early access.