Rank: New forum user 
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We have a homeless person who accesses our site (we are PC) in the evenings and sleeps. Site is a live roundabout which we are upgrading. Client is not sure what to do, we have liaised with the council, Shelter and police with no success, the guy doesn’t want any help and is happy sleeping here. What are our obligations to this person including if he gets injured. It is not feasible and reasonable to fence off the live working roundabout. Thanks
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Rank: Super forum user
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It’s probably down to the duties under the Occupiers liability act 1984 Section 1 says “An occupier of premises owes a duty of care to another person who (not being his visitor ie a trespasser) in respect of any such risk if: - he is aware of the danger or has reasonable grounds to believe that it exists;
- he knows or has reasonable grounds to believe that the other is in the vicinity of the danger concerned or that he may come into the vicinity of the danger (in either case, whether the other has lawful authority for being in that vicinity or not); and
- The risk is one against which, in all the circumstances of the case, he may reasonably be expected to offer the other some protection.”
So is the plant or anything that might reasonably be expected to harm him on the roundabout. If so then you have to take measures to protect him. Alternatively you might try to get a High Court order to have him removed (by a Civil Enforcement Officer rather than the police) along with an injunction preventing them from returning to the site. I they breach the order then they commit a criminal offence. The grounds could be that be that their presence is preventing the work from being carried in safe and timely manner. Get a solicitor to look at this. If they were to be injured while on your site I bet they would try to sue.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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You could rock up one morning before he goes for the day. Offer him a bacon roll and explain your problem and ask if he would be willing to help you for the duration of the project and sleep elsewhere. Perhaps ask if he needs anything to help with that, ie he may move around as the year progresses, so perhaps a lift to his next normal port of call. Just talk, explain and listen, you never know.
Other than that, induct him to the site and put him in charge of night security! Regards Chris
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 2 users thanked chris42 for this useful post.
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Rank: New forum user
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The guy was sleeping under the roundabout before we started works. We have offered to move him on, even found a B&B for him, he doesn’t want any of this, just happy to sleep there. We have placed fencing around his sleeping area as basic segregation from moving plant and made all of the workforce aware of him and to respect his wishes. As always there is risks from live traffic from the roundabout, difficult for us to mitigate live traffic.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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So from his perspective it's his home and you've invaded it?
I am curious on the legal liability point as to whether he would be considered a trespasser or not, I don't think that's clear.
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Rank: Super forum user
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The owner of the roundabout (local authority or highways authority) are probably the owners of the roundabout and you are probably working for them. When you were given the contract to sort of the roundabout then they should have informed you that there was an issue with the site and you probably should have insisted that they sort it out before works started. I think he is a trespasser as he is living on land that does not belong to them without the owner’s permission or licence but of course to be certain of that the owner has to go to court. It looks like the owner has decided to save themselves some legal fees by walking away from this and leaving it for you to sort. I think you need a lawyer on this.
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Rank: Super forum user
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You seemed to have done everything that is reasonable in trying to prevent this person being harmed but he has decided he wants to stay. The Occupiers Liabilty Act does give you some help:"No duty is owed by virtue of this section to any person in respect of risks willingly accepted as his by that person (the question whether a risk was so accepted to be decided on the same principles as in other cases in which one person owes a duty of care to another)." The section referred to is the one relating to people who are not your visitors e.g. trespassers.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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What about your duties and the client duties under CDM?
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