In the UK, a risk assessment is a legal requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. A risk assessment is a method of controlling risks within your workplace. A risk assessment is the careful examination and evaluation of a task, process or piece of equipment, to determine its potential to cause harm. The risk assessment process can take many forms, but generally follows a format of identifying a hazard, identifying who might be harmed, evaluating the risks and current control measures, deciding on whether these controls are appropriate and adequate, recording your results, and reviewing and updating if necessary.
Risk Assessment Process Diagram

What are the legal requirements for risk assessment?
Risk assessment is legislated for under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Regulation 3.

This is what it says:

Risk assessment
3.—(1) Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of—

(a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and
(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking,
for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.

(2) Every self-employed person shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of—

(a) the risks to his own health and safety to which he is exposed whilst he is at work; and
(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking,
for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions.

(3) Any assessment such as is referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) shall be reviewed by the employer or self-employed person who made it if—

(a) there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or
(b) there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates; and where as a result of any such review changes to an assessment are required, the employer or self-employed person concerned shall make them.

(4) An employer shall not employ a young person unless he has, in relation to risks to the health and safety of young persons, made or reviewed an assessment in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (5).

(5) In making or reviewing the assessment, an employer who employs or is to employ a young person shall take particular account of—
(a) the inexperience, lack of awareness of risks and immaturity of young persons;
(b) the fitting-out and layout of the workplace and the workstation;
(c) the nature, degree and duration of exposure to physical, biological and chemical agents;
(d) the form, range, and use of work equipment and the way in which it is handled;
(e) the organisation of processes and activities;
(f) the extent of the health and safety training provided or to be provided to young persons; and
(g) risks from agents, processes and work listed in the Annex to Council Directive 94/33/EC(1) on the protection of young people at work.

(6) Where the employer employs five or more employees, he shall record—

(a) the significant findings of the assessment; and
(b) any group of his employees identified by it as being especially at risk.

Other Terms

• A hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer etc.
• The risk is the chance high, medium or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be.

If you would like further information on Health and Safety and your responsibilities under Health and Safety law, please contact us to discuss with one of our qualified and registered Health and Safety Consultants and we will be happy to help.

Health and Safety is a term that generally covers the legal requirements that fall under the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974. The term Health and Safety is generally used to describe Occupational Health and Safety, and relates to the prevention of accidents and ill health to employees and those who may be affected by their work.

The standard dictionary definition for Health and Safety is:

‘regulations and procedures intended to prevent accident or injury in workplaces or public environments.’

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is a piece of statutory legislation that came into being following the Robens Report*. It is from this piece of legislation that the term came into more popular use. Prior to the Health and Safety at Work Act, which is 40 years old in 2014, occupational safety was covered under the Factories Act 1961 and the Office, Shops and Railways Premises Act 1963. These pieces of legislation have been largely replaced and repealed over time by the HASAW and subsequent legislation.

Employers and employees both have responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and other pieces of Health and Safety legislation that that have been made under it.

If you would like further information on Health and Safety and your responsibilities under Health and Safety law, please contact us to discuss with one of our qualified and registered Health and Safety Consultants and we will be happy to help.

How to manage display screen equipment workspaces 

Under the Working Time Regulations, employers have safety obligations to ensure that workers receive the minimum rest breaks they are entitled to when using display screen equipment. In order to manage the safety risks, workers should include assessment of display screen equipment as part of their normal risk assessments. 

Once the safety concerns have been spotted, employers must put some steps into place to ensure these risks are minimised. An example of a step you could take is to make sure that employees take regular screen breaks. Alongside this, ensuring all electrical equipment workers use is up to date and that furniture is ergonomically safe is a good way of minimising those health and safety risks. 

Are employers obliged to offer prescription safety glasses? 

Safety legislation states that employers must account for eye tests and possible prescription glasses payment, but there is no safety law obliging them to pay for prescription safety glasses. Although eye accidents are fairly common injuries within certain premises, safety training and protective equipment like safety goggles are thought to be enough to control issues related to health & safety within the workplace. 

Safety policies are required, especially when using dangerous equipment or in certain conditions, depending on the profession and to protect visitor health. As long as steps of risk assessment are in place, prescription safety glasses are not deemed necessary. 

How to keep the workplace free of waste

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, waste is classified as any article that requires to be disposed of or any scrap material or unwanted surplus. Organisations have a duty to ensure their waste is disposed of in a safe way and in a way that follows the law. With Covid-19-related medical treatment becoming one of the most common accident reporting issues, keeping a workplace tidy is key to ensuring employee health and that of unvaccinated guests in particular. 

The first way to keep the workplace free of waste is to identify the waste that the organisation produces. Once there is a clear idea of the type and amount of waste produced, it’s time to look at ways to reduce office waste. With sufficient waste reduction measures, waste can be kept to a minimum. 

How to manage on-site contractors

The first step is to perform a due diligence check to ensure that the contractors are licensed to carry out the work and that they have the right certificates and occupational health and safety steps in place. Covid vaccination status, temperature checks and a negative Covid-19 test from one of the Covid-19 test kits may also be a good idea.

Secondly, their safe work procedures must be reviewed to ensure a risk assessment has been carried out in case of an accident report. Proof of vaccination and Covid-19 testing is something worth considering to consider safe working for everyone concerned, too. Workers must know where fire extinguishers are located and which type of extinguisher to use in the case of a fire: dry powder extinguishers, water extinguishers, chemical extinguishers and carbon dioxide extinguishers.

The workers must be monitored to ensure they’re carrying out their work safely. 

What are the procedures for reporting an accident? 

There are specific procedures for reporting an accident and certain elements that must be included within an accident book to ensure all accident records are correct. The affected person’s key information, job title, details of the accident and corrective actions must all be noted, as well as any medical treatment given. 

Once the accident has been reported, investigate the cause of the accident and collect any eyewitness accounts so your risk assessment can be updated if necessary.