Free template
Construction site diary template for UK sites
No regulation names a site diary, yet it is the document every delay claim, every accident investigation and every final account comes back to. Here is a one-page daily sheet you can print, what it should capture, and the point at which a diary kept on paper stops protecting you.
Updated
What the law does and does not ask for
CDM 2015 names the documents a project must have. The principal contractor must draw up a construction phase plan before the site is set up and keep it reviewed and revised as the work changes (regulation 12), and a health and safety file goes to the client at the end. RIDDOR 2013 adds a record of every reportable injury, disease and dangerous occurrence, kept for at least three years. A site diary is on neither list: it is the contractor's own record, required by most main contracts rather than by statute, and it is what you reach for when any of the statutory documents is questioned.
What to record every day
Weather and ground conditions. People on site by company and trade, with numbers, and names if you have no clock-in record. Plant on site and deliveries received. Work done, by area. Instructions received and who gave them. Delays and stoppages with the reason. Visitors and inspections. Accidents, near misses and first-aid cases. Photographs, referenced by number so the entry and the image stay tied together. The person in charge of the site that day signs it that day.
Why the date and the signature matter
A note written the same day is contemporaneous evidence. A note written up later, however honest, is a reconstruction, and the other side will say so. Disputes under a contract can be brought up to six years after the cause of action arose under the Limitation Act 1980, and twelve years when the contract was signed as a deed, so the diary has to survive the whole of that period, in order, with its dates intact.
Labour on site: the entry most diaries get wrong
The headcount is usually copied from the sign-in book, which is wrong by mid-morning on any site with more than one gang. In a claim the diary's labour figure is compared with the timesheets and with payroll. When the three disagree, all three lose weight. Tie the diary to the record you actually pay from, and make sure that record is made by the worker at the gate, not by the supervisor on Friday.
When the diary moves off paper
With more than one site, or more than about ten people, the labour section writes itself in Obrelier from verified clock-ins: who was on site, from when to when, per company. Each worker can leave a short voice note and photos at clock-out, and the office gets a written summary to review. The diary becomes a page per site per day that nobody fills in from memory, and the labour line always matches the hours you pay.
Download
- Daily site diary, A4 PDF
One page per site per day. No sign-up, no watermark.
Sources
- CDM Regulations 2015, regulation 12: construction phase plan and health and safety file (legislation.gov.uk)
- HSE L153, Managing health and safety in construction: guidance on CDM 2015
- RIDDOR 2013, regulation 12: recording and record keeping (legislation.gov.uk)
- Limitation Act 1980, section 5: actions founded on simple contract (legislation.gov.uk)
Let the labour page write itself
Thirty minutes on a real job: who is on site, what is running low, and what the office sees. Pick a slot that suits you.
FAQ
Is a site diary a legal requirement in the UK?
No statute requires one. CDM 2015 requires a construction phase plan and a health and safety file, and RIDDOR requires accident records. Most main contracts require the contractor to keep records of progress, labour and plant, and a daily diary is how that duty is usually met.
Who should fill it in?
The person in charge of the site that day, a site manager or foreman, on the day and signed. Each subcontractor keeps its own diary for its own work; the principal contractor's diary records the site as a whole.
How long should I keep site diaries?
At least six years after the project, twelve if the contract was executed as a deed, plus any defects period that runs beyond that. RIDDOR records must be kept for three years. Keeping the diaries with the rest of the project file for twelve years is the simple rule.
Can photos replace the written entry?
No. A photo shows a state, not who was there, what was instructed or why work stopped. Number the photos and refer to them in the day's entry so each one has a date, a place and a reason.
Is this legal advice?
No. This page summarises the rules as at 27 October 2026, with links to the sources. For your own contract and project, check with your contract adviser or solicitor.
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