Employers in every industry are legally required to protect employees, contractors, customers, and site visitors from harm under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. A crucial part of this is carrying out a risk assessment.
The purpose of risk assessments is ultimately to improve workplace health and safety. A specific risk assessment process needs to be followed to identify workplace hazards and reduce or eliminate their risks.
Risk assessments should identify hazards and risks, suggest measures for controlling risks as needed, and communicate health and safety information to workers. You should record the findings of a risk assessment to achieve and demonstrate compliance with health and safety legislation.
Related reading: learn the five steps to risk assessment.
In this blog, we’ll cover the following topics:
- What is a risk assessment?
- Who can complete a risk assessment?
- Who needs to complete a risk assessment?
- How to download a free risk assessment template
- What are the four main aims of a risk assessment?
What Is A Risk Assessment?
A risk assessment is a process that identifies potential hazards and risks in the workplace and develops strategies to minimise or eliminate them. It is a legal requirement for employers to conduct a risk assessment for their workplace and to ensure that any identified risks are minimised.
A competent person should carry out a risk assessment and it should be recorded in a physical or digital document (ideally both). The risk assessment should include the following key details:
- The name of the assessor and the assessment date
- A description of the activities being assessed
- A list of hazards identified, as well as who might be affected and how
- A description of the risk level
- A description of existing control measures in place
- A description of additional control measures that are required
- The names of the people responsible for each additional control method
- A completion date for the additional control measures
- A description of the new risk level
- Confirmation that the information has been given to employees/contractors.
Risk assessments must be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure the workplace remains safe for employees. We will provide you with a risk assessment template that you can use later on in this blog post.
Who Can Complete A Risk Assessment?
You don’t necessarily need specific qualifications to carry out a risk assessment. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specifies that you should assign a competent person to conduct the assessment. Think about your specific work environment. If it’s a simple environment with low risks, you may be able to appoint a competent employee without specific training to carry out the risk assessment.
However, if it’s a highly technical environment, a complicated environment, or one with a higher level of risk, it’s important to appoint someone who has been trained and has the knowledge, experience, and authority to do a thorough risk assessment. This could include health and safety professionals, supervisors, managers, and other employees.
Who Needs To Complete A Risk Assessment?
Both employers and self-employed people are legally required to complete risk assessments. If you are an employer, it’s your responsibility to keep your employees safe from harm, and you should complete a risk assessment to help you do so.
If you are self-employed, you must also complete a risk assessment. You should think about the potential risks associated with your usual business activities. In addition, if you move from site to site, you may need to complete a specific risk assessment for each site or project that you work on. If you are being hired by someone, you should cooperate with that person to complete a risk assessment.
As part of your general risk assessment, you should assess the specific risks posed to new or expectant mothers. This is a legal requirement and applies when you have been informed, in writing, that someone is pregnant, breastfeeding or has given birth in the last six months. You should talk to the affected worker and assess if they face any additional risks due to their condition.
Download A Free Risk Assessment Template
Downloading a free risk assessment is simple. Use the form below and provide your email address. We’ll email you a risk assessment template you can use to carry out your risk assessment. Our risk assessment template can be downloaded either in PDF or as a Word Doc.
Are you unsure how to do a risk assessment? You can read our blog, which takes you through the process of running a risk assessment. If you’re a CHAS member, you can get free, over-the-phone HR and legal advice from an expert to discuss your case. You can find out how to join CHAS here.
Free Risk Assessment Template
Take the stress and confusion out of creating a risk assessment with our free template.
Enter your details, and we’ll email you a risk assessment template that’s both compliant and comprehensive to use.
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Key Aims of a Risk Assessment
This section will take you through the main steps of completing a risk assessment.
1. Identify Hazards
The first stage is identifying anything in the workplace that could cause harm. This might include machinery, hazardous substances, electrical equipment, work at height, or routine tasks such as manual handling. Employers should also consider who could be affected, such as employees, contractors, visitors, or members of the public, and how they might be exposed to danger.
This stage raises awareness of potential health and safety risks and provides the foundation for taking action to eliminate or reduce them.
2. Assess Risks
After hazards are identified, employers must assess the risk level associated with each one. This involves judging the likelihood of harm occurring and the severity of the possible outcome. For example, a cleaning chemical spill may present a lower risk than a fault in heavy machinery, but both require careful consideration.
Assessing risks helps employers prioritise the most serious hazards and direct resources to where they are needed most.
Related Reading: Guide to Hazardous Substance Control.
3. Control Risks
The next step is to introduce measures that either eliminate hazards completely or significantly reduce the likelihood of them causing harm. Where elimination is not possible, risk control may include safer equipment, restricted access, personal protective equipment (PPE), or safe systems of work.
Controls should always be proportionate to the level of risk. Hazards that could result in serious injury or fatality require robust measures, while lower-level risks can often be managed with simpler precautions.
4. Record Findings
For organisations with five or more employees, recording the risk assessment results is a legal requirement. This record should outline the hazards identified, the risks evaluated, and the control measures selected.
Documenting findings also informs employees about the risks they may face and the steps to protect them. Sharing this information promotes awareness and helps staff follow the proper safety procedures in their daily work.
5. Review and Update
Risk assessments are ongoing responsibilities rather than one-off tasks. They need to be reviewed regularly to confirm they remain relevant and effective. Changes in the workplace, such as new equipment, processes, or materials, can introduce new hazards or alter existing risks.
Regular reviews and updates enable employers to adjust control measures promptly, maintain compliance with legislation, and ensure that health and safety standards reflect current working conditions.
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