Risk assessment, done properly
A good risk assessment isn't paperwork for its own sake. It's how you show you've thought about what could hurt people on your jobs, and done something sensible about it.
- steps in HSE's approach
- 5
- steps in HSE's approach
- employees: write it down
- 5+
- employees: write it down
- the legal duty
- Reg 3
- the legal duty
What the law says
Every employer has to assess the risks to their employees and to anyone else affected by their work, like customers, householders and the public.
“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 ...”
In plain EnglishLook at your work, work out what could harm people, and decide what you'll do about it. 'Suitable and sufficient' means proportionate to your risks, not as long as possible.
Write it down
With five or more employees, you must record the significant findings and who's especially at risk (Reg 3(6)).
Keep it current
Review it if it may no longer be valid or there's been a significant change (Reg 3(3)).
Tell your people
Employees must get understandable information on the risks and the controls (Reg 10).
The five steps
HSE's approach breaks risk assessment into five steps. It's a cycle: the last step feeds straight back into the first.
- 1
Identify the hazards
Walk the job. Talk to the people doing it. Check accident records, manufacturers' instructions and safety data sheets. Think long-term health too, like dust, noise and vibration.
- 2
Assess the risks
For each hazard, decide who could be harmed and how, how likely it is, and how bad it could be. Include people who aren't your employees.
- 3
Control the risks
Do everything reasonably practicable to remove the hazard or reduce the risk, working down the hierarchy of control.
- 4
Record your findings
Write down the significant hazards, who's at risk and what you're doing about it. Keep it short, specific and checkable.
- 5
Review the controls
Check the controls are actually used and working. Review after an accident or near miss, or when people, kit or the work changes.
Spot the hazards
Step one is the hardest: plenty of hazards hide in plain sight. Pick a workplace and tap the numbers.
Scaffold
Inspect it before first use, after bad weather and at least every 7 days. No tag, no climb.
Rating risk
The law doesn't require a scoring system, but a simple one helps you prioritise and shows your controls make a difference. Try this example matrix.
Possible × Major
Serious injury, RIDDOR reportable
Act before work starts or carries on. Add controls to bring the risk down.
- Low1–4
- Medium5–9
- High10–16
- Very high17–25
Choosing controls
Not all controls are equal. Work from the top down: the higher the control, the less it relies on people getting it right every time.
People at higher risk
Some people need specific thought, and in some cases a separate assessment, before they start.
Young workers and apprentices
Under 18s need an assessment before they start that covers their inexperience and immaturity (Regs 3(4) and 19). Some work is off-limits.
New and expectant mothers
Assess the risks to women of childbearing age, and act on them when an employee tells you she's pregnant or breastfeeding (Reg 16).
Lone workers
Think about how they get help, check-in arrangements, and work that shouldn't be done alone.
Members of the public
Householders, children, visitors and passers-by. On domestic jobs they're often right next to the work.
Common mistakes
These are the things we find most often when we review risk assessments.
- A bought-in template that describes someone else's business
- Every hazard rated the same, all the way down the page
- Controls like 'staff trained' or 'where possible' that can't be checked
- Promises nobody keeps: face fit testing, PAT records, permits
- Leaning on PPE when better controls are available
- No owner, no version number and no review date
- Young workers ticked as 'at risk' and never mentioned again
- Nothing on the work done most often
Quick check
With 4 employees, do you need a risk assessment?
How we help
As your competent person, this is part of your package or available as an add-on.
Risk assessment review
An honest review of what you've got: a scorecard, findings ranked by priority, and a list of promises to check.
Written for your work
Risk assessments built around the jobs you actually do, short enough to be read and specific enough to be checked.
Young person assessments
Specific assessments for apprentices and under-18s, with clear limits and supervision arrangements.
Kept up to date
As your competent person we review them when things change, so they never go stale again.
Guidance reviewed October 2026. A plain-English summary of the law in England, Scotland and Wales, not legal advice. Always check the full text on legislation.gov.uk and the latest HSE guidance.
Is your risk assessment up to it?
Book a free compliance check. We'll look at what you've got and tell you honestly how it holds up.
- Same consultant every time
- Software included
- Fixed monthly fee