Every organisation must carry out workplace risk assessments, and if done effectively this process will help you manage health and safety risks. They help focus on what, in your business might cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent that harm.
The Management of Health and safety Regulation 1999 states that employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings of their risk assessment. This record should represent an effective statement of hazards and risks which should then lead to relevant actions being taken to protect health and safety.
We can undertake these assessments on your behalf by understanding what working practices your business undertakes and identifying the correct control measures you require. This will assist in you working safer, your employees and others being safe from hazards and keeping you legally compliant.
Risk assessments include
- Generic assessments
- Site specific (workplace visit required)
- COSHH assessments
- Manual handling assessments
- PUWER assessments
Popular questions
Is a risk assessment required legally?
Yes, if you are an employer or self-employed. It is a legal requirement for every employer and self-employed person to make an assessment of the health and safety risks arising out of their work. The purpose of the assessment is to identify what needs to be done to control health and safety risks. Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
What is the difference between a Risk Assessment and a method Statement?
A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have enough precautions or whether you should do more.
As an employer or self-employed person, you must do a risk assessment.
Safety method statements are most often found in the construction sector. They are particularly helpful for:
- higher-risk, complex or unusual work (eg steel and formwork erection, demolition or the use of hazardous substances)
- providing information to employees about how the work should be done and the precautions to be taken
- providing the principal contractor with information to develop the health and safety plan for the construction phase of a project
Whether safety method statements are used or not, it is essential to make sure that risks are controlled.
