Professional Practice, Ethics and Health and Safety
Professional standards and safety duties
You must understand the ethical and legal duties of a building surveyor:
- Professional competence and integrity: acting within competence, declaring conflicts of interest, confidentiality, and providing impartial advice.
- Professional indemnity (PI) insurance and the importance of clear terms of engagement, scope and limitations.
- Health and safety: CDM 2015 roles, risk assessment, method statements, PPE, working at height, asbestos and confined spaces.
- Reporting: accurate, evidence-based reports; distinguishing fact from opinion; recording limitations.
Key concepts:
- Duty of care to clients and, in some cases, third parties.
- Conflicts of interest must be declared and managed, not hidden.
- Competence boundaries: refer to specialists when outside your expertise.
- Site safety: surveyors visiting sites have duties under HASAWA and must follow site rules.
Traps in questions
- Acting outside competence without specialist input - an ethical and liability risk.
- Failing to declare a conflict (e.g., recommending a contractor you have an interest in).
- Giving oral advice with no record; always confirm in writing.
- Assuming PI insurance covers everything - it does not cover deliberate wrongdoing or uninsured activities.
Worked rule of thumb
Apply the competence–conflict–confirm test: (1) Am I competent for this? (2) Do I have a conflict to declare? (3) Have I confirmed advice in writing? If any answer is unsatisfactory, pause and address it.
Example: Asked to specify structural works beyond your expertise, you should recommend a structural engineer, record the referral in writing, and not sign off the design yourself.