Manage the risks in your business

You must manage the health and safety risks in your workplace. To do this you need to think about what, in your business, might cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent that harm. This is known as a risk assessment. Once you have identified the risks, you need to decide how to control them and put the appropriate measures in place. 

 

A risk assessment is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork, but rather about identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace. The law does not expect you to remove all risks, but to protect people by putting in place measures to control those risks. You are probably already taking steps to protect your employees, but your risk assessment will tell you whether you should be doing more.

How do I assess the risks in my workplace?

A good starting point is to walk around your workplace and look for any hazards - a hazard is anything that may cause harm.

Then think about the risks - a risk is the chance, high or low, of somebody being harmed by the hazard, and how serious the harm could be.

Think about how accidents could happen and who might be harmed. Ask your employees what they think the hazards are, as they may notice things that are not obvious to you and may have some good ideas on how to control the risks. Concentrate on the real risks – those that are most likely to cause harm.

Consider the measures you are already taking to control the risks and ask if there is anything you should do to make your workplace safer.

Once you have identified the risks and what you need to do to control them, you should put the appropriate measures in place. 

Then record your findings. If you have fewer than five employees you don’t have to write anything down but it is good practice to keep a record. An easy way to record your findings is to use the risk assessment template . This template also includes a section for your health and safety policy so you can record everything in one place.

Take a look at our selection of example risk assessments. They show you what a completed risk assessment might look like for your type of business. You can use these as a guide when doing your own. We are also developing online risk assessment tools, which will help some businesses complete and print off their own records.

You can get more help and ideas on ways to control your risks by going to the risk management pages on our website.

Few workplaces stay the same and sooner or later you will bring in new equipment, substances or procedures that could lead to new hazards. It makes sense to review your risk assessment on a regular basis. If anything significant changes, check your risk assessment and update it.

Stop check!

Don’t forget to consider everyone who could be harmed

• Some workers may have particular requirements, for example new and young workers, new or expectant mothers, and people with disabilities.  You can get more help on our diversity pages.
• Think about homeworkers, and people who might not be in the workplace all the time, such as visitors, contractors and maintenance workers.
• Take members of the public into account, if they could be hurt by your work activities.
• If you share a workplace with another business, you will need to consider how your work affects others and how their work affects you and your staff. Talk to each other and work together to make sure controls are in place.

Specific risks

• For some risks there are particular control measures that are required by law. The HSE website homepage has information on topics and industries to help you decide what you need to do about many common types of risk.
• A few examples of activities that carry a recognised risk of harm are working at height, working with chemicals, machinery, gas, electricity and asbestos. Depending on the type of work you do, there may be other risks that are relevant to your business.
• If you carry out a high-risk activity, check whether you need to obtain a licence or notify someone before you start work. See our website for further information and all the necessary notification forms.