Across UK construction sites, the workforce is increasingly international. Some projects report that up to 50% of operatives are non-native English speakers. When language barriers go unaddressed, the consequences are predictable: safety incidents, rework, and schedule delays.

Under the Building Safety Act (BSA), those issues also translate into compliance and competence risks.

In this article, we look at how language barriers create compliance and safety risks — and the practical steps principal contractors and duty holders can take to meet Building Safety Act competence requirements.

1. Why Language Barriers Undermine Building Safety Act Compliance

   
   

• Miscommunication becomes dangerous
  When toolbox talks, inductions or technical instructions are delivered only in English, many workers may only catch the gist (if that). Research by Morwenna Fellows found that multilingual construction crews often rely on informal, volunteer translators whose accuracy is unverified — especially when technical jargon is involved. 

• Ad-hoc translators carry hidden risk
  Bilingual operatives often end up interpreting for their peers. But this role is rarely formalized, trained or audited. That means critical safety details may be misinterpreted, omitted, or delivered inconsistently, undermining Building Safety Act competence standards.

• Compliance and legal exposure multiply

  Employers in the UK are legally obliged to communicate health & safety information in a way operatives can understand. When that fails, contractors face not only regulatory non-compliance but also difficulties proving competence and due diligence under the BSA framework.

• The operational cost is real

  Language barriers force repeated clarifications, rework, and on-site corrections, adding cost, friction, and delays while eroding morale and trust among crews.

  
  

2. How Principal Contractors Can Manage Competence Under the Building Safety Act

   
   

• Baseline your language mix
  Survey every site to find out how many languages are in use, and where comprehension may be weakest, and which teams handle high-risk tasks.

• Translate high-risk training content first
  Prioritize fire safety, barrier installation, emergency protocol, critical fixings — get those multilingual. This directly supports Building Safety Act compliance and manufacturer warranty requirements.

• Embed translations into induction & daily briefings
  Incorporate translated inductions, pictograms, short videos, and native-language toolbox talks into everyday site communication.

• Validate competence, not just attendance
  Under the BSA, competence means demonstrating skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours (SKEB) — not just completing a session. Use practical assessments or scenario-based tasks in the worker’s native language to confirm genuine understanding.

• Document everythingLog who trained, in which language, when refresher is due. Tie it into your golden thread and safety records to demonstrate continuous competence management.

  
  

3. How Werk’s Competence Management System Supports You

Werk’s construction training and competence management software is built to help principal contractors and manufacturers ensure every worker meets Building Safety Act competence requirements in any language.

With Werk, you can:

• Turn product manuals, PDF specs, or system instructions in English into multilingual interactive training modules
  
  

• Assess real competence, not just theoretical knowledge, through behavioural and scenario-based evaluations.
  
  

• Maintain digital, audit-ready records of training, reassessments, and gap closure by trade, project, and language.
  
  

• Identify skill gaps early, before operatives arrive on site, to support safe deployment and resource planning.

Using a system like Werk means you don’t rely on informal translators or chance. You get a consistent, compliant, and scalable system for competence management in construction.

4. Why Multilingual Construction Training Strengthens Compliance

Language risk is not a “nice-to-fix.” It’s a live safety, quality, and reputation issue for every site. The Building Safety Act requires organisations to demonstrate competence and capability at every level.
That proof depends on whether workers genuinely understand the information they’re given.

Multilingual construction training enables principal contractors to meet Building Safety Act competence requirements, protect project quality, and strengthen safety culture

If you want to see how multilingual, auditable training aligned with SKEB standards can improve safety and compliance on your projects, book a demo with Werk.

Let’s make sure every operative — in every language — understands what safe workmanship really looks like.