In the UK, every employer has a legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment. What’s more, they have a moral responsibility, too. And it isn’t just workers that deserve protection, but members of the public, too.
One of the most powerful ways to protect everyone is to get a good idea of what potential threats might look like. This can be done with the help of a risk assessment: a formal process which seeks to identify potential risk factors in the workplace and to recommend steps to minimise those risk factors.
When do you need a risk assessment?
All employers are obliged to perform risk assessments as part of their health and safety procedures. If an employee or member of the public becomes ill or injured as a result of activity in the workplace, and it later transpires that risk assessments were not carried out, then the employer in question could be held responsible through the courts.
Ideally, risk assessments should be performed regularly. This means annual checks are the bare minimum. Changes in health-and-safety legislation might also prompt an immediate risk assessment, to ensure that the business is on the right side of the new law.
As a minimum, a risk assessment should identify:
Hazards – these are things which might cause an injury or illness.
Risks – these being the likelihood that a hazard might cause harm to be suffered.
Controls – the actions recommended to lower the risk.
Identifying hazards
Hazards might come in a range of forms. In an office, workers might be vulnerable to back trouble and tendon damage, of the sort that comes from sitting slouched and typing all day. Falling objects on a construction site might present a more acute danger. In all walks of life, there’s the threat of stress – and this, too, should be guarded against.
Assess the risk
The level of risk might vary according to the time of day or year, and the kind of work being done. Certain individuals might be bearing more risk than others, and it’s worth prioritising them accordingly.
Implement controls
Sometimes, a hazard cannot be eliminated entirely. But you can limit the risk through a range of measures. You might offer training to your employees, or mandate the wearing of particular kinds of personal protective equipment. Hi-vis clothing can make a huge difference in certain working environments.
Recording and reviewing
You’ll want to keep a record of the measures you’ve implemented. This will allow you to later judge whether they’ve been successful, and to implement your findings into future risk assessments. Measures which have proven effective might be extended; those which have failed might be abandoned.
