Risk Assessments

A risk assessment is an important step in protecting your workers and your business, as well as complying with the law.

Assess all of your Health & Safety risks

Assessments helps you focus on the risks that really matter in your workplace – the ones with the potential to cause real harm. In many instances, straight forward measures can readily control risks, for example ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip, or trip hazards such as boxes or raised steps are kept to a minimum so people do not trip or fall. For most, that means simple, cheap and effective measures to ensure your most valuable asset – your workforce – is protected.

The law does not expect you to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as ‘reasonably practicable’. This guide tells you how to achieve that with a minimum of fuss.

This is not the only way to do a risk assessment, there are other methods that work well, particularly for more complex risks and circumstances. However, we believe this method is the most straightforward for most organisations.

What is risk assessment?

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 taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures.

Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect your business too if output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or you have to go to court. You are legally required to assess the risks in your workplace so that you put in place a plan to control the risks.