Frequently asked questions

To do a risk assessment, you need to understand what, in your business, might cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent that harm. Once you have decided that, you need to identify and prioritise putting in place, appropriate and sensible control measures.

Start by:

• identifying what can harm people in your workplace;
• identifying who might be harmed and how;
• evaluating the risks and deciding on the appropriate controls, taking into account the controls you already have in place;
• recording your risk assessment;
• reviewing and updating your assessment.

Please see five steps to risk assessment.

We have also produced:

• Microsoft Word and Open Document Format templates to help you record your assessment.
• example risk assessments. You can adapt these for your own workplace.
• online risk assessment tools. These are quick and easy tools for low risk environments (e.g. offices, shops and classrooms). See interactive tools.

This is not the only way to do risk assessment as there are no fixed rules about how a risk assessment should be carried out. However, we believe that the Five Steps guidance provides the most straightforward way for most businesses.

Your risk assessment should include consideration of what in your business might cause harm and how and, the people who might be affected.  It should take into account any controls which are already in place and identify what, if any, further controls are required.

You should be able to show from your assessment that:

• a proper check was made;
• all people who might be affected were considered;
• all significant risks have been assessed;
• the precautions are reasonable, and
• the remaining risk is low.

You do not need to include insignificant risks. You do not need to include risks from everyday life unless your work activities increase the risk.

Any paperwork that is produced should help with communicating and managing the risks in your business.

We have produced:

• Microsoft Word and Open Document Format templates to help you record your assessment.
• example risk assessments. You can adapt these for your own workplace.
• online risk assessment tools. These are quick and easy tools for low risk environments (e.g. offices, shops and classrooms). See interactive tools.

You should carry out an assessment before you do work which presents a risk of injury or ill-health.

You only need to do a risk assessment if you are an employer or a self employed person. 

Voluntary organisations

Health and safety legislation does not, in general, impose duties upon someone who is not an employer, self-employed or an employee. If you are a voluntary organisation, our Health and safety made simple site takes you through the basic steps you need to follow to ensure you comply with the law in relation to your employees. You can also visit the Voluntary organisations section.

Your risk assessment should cover all groups of people who might be harmed by your business. 

• Think about workers affected because of risks associated with the particular jobs they do, such as setting, production and breakdown/ repair and maintenance. Contractors and shift-workers may not be familiar with what you do and the controls you have in place.
• Think about new and young workers and migrant workers. They may be inexperienced, and/ or lack maturity/ experience to recognise risks. They may not be familiar with your workplace culture – what is and what isn’t acceptable.
• Think about workers with poor literacy skills  and both migrant and indigenous workers. If staff can't read, write or add up, this can affect their ability to read, understand and follow guidance and instructions.
• Think about new or expectant mothers and young people who may be more prone to health related risks (physical, biological or chemical risks).
• Think about people with disabilities whose disability may mean that reasonable adjustments are needed to enable them to do the work and minimise risks.

Additionally, think about any other groups, such as members of the public and groups of people who share your workplace.

Your staff will be able to help you decide if there is anyone else you need to consider.

You only need to record your risk assessment if you employee 5 or more people.

You need to record:

• the significant findings - what the risks are, what you are already doing to control them and what further action is needed;
• details of any particular groups of employees who you have identified as being especially at risk.

We have produced Microsoft Word and Open Document Format templates to help you record your assessment. The template can also be used to record your health and safety policy.

You don't have to use the template if you prefer a different format. Just make sure that you include the relevant information.

Remember that any paperwork that is produced should help with communicating and managing the risks in your business.

Yes. We have produced:

• Microsoft Word and Open Document Format templates to help you record your assessment.
• example risk assessments. You can adapt these for your own workplace.
• online risk assessment tools. These are quick and easy tools for low risk environments (e.g. offices, shops and classrooms). See interactive tools.

This is not the only way to record your assessment. You can record the assessment in any convenient way so long as it is retrievable.

Remember that you only need to record your risk assessment if you employ 5 or more people and any paperwork that is produced should help with communicating and managing the risks in your business.

Yes if you are an employer or self employed. It is a legal requirement for every employer and self-employed person to make an assessment of the health and safety risks arising out of his work. The purpose of the assessment is to identify what needs to be done to control health and safety risks. Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. 

You only need to record the assessment if you have 5 or more employees. See 'What do I need to record?' above.

As an employer (and/or building owner or occupier) you are required to carry out and maintain a fire safety risk assessment.  This is under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies in England and Wales, and under Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act. The fire safety assessment can be carried out either as a separate exercise or as part of a single risk assessment covering other health and safety risks.

You need to make sure that, based on the findings of the assessment, you take adequate and appropriate fire safety measures to minimise the risk of injury or loss of life in the event of a fire.

More information and guidance can be found at the firesafety community.

As an employer or a self-employed person, you are responsible for health and safety in your business.

You can delegate the task, but ultimately you are responsible. You will need to make sure that whoever does the risk assessment:

• is competent to do so. See 'What training/qualifications do I need to do a risk assessment?' below.
• Involves your workers in the process
• understands when specialist help might be needed. See 'Do I need to use a consultant?' below.

You do not necessarily need specific training or qualifications to carry out a risk assessment. 

 As an employer, however, you must appoint someone competent to help you meet your health and safety duties.  A competent person is someone with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience.

You could appoint one or a combination of:

• yourself;
• one or more of your workers;
• someone from outside your business.

You may need extra help or advice if you do not have sufficient experience or knowledge in house. You may also need extra help if the risks are complex. See;

• Get competent advice
• The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR)

No. In most cases, you can do the assessment yourself with the help of your staff.

You may need extra help or advice if you do not have sufficient experience or knowledge in house. You may also need extra help if the risks are complex. See;

• Get competent advice
• The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR)

You must consult your staff or their representatives in the risk assessment process. They will have useful information about how work is done which will help you understand the actual risks.

For advice on how to involve employees visit HSEs worker involvement web pages.

You may find that there are a number of issues which need action, so you need decide on your priorities for that action.  In thinking through your priorities, think about the biggest or most serious risks first.
Having identified the priorities, you need to decide on the controls which you will put into place. In doing so, think about the following:

• long-term solutions to those risks with the worst potential consequences
• long-term solutions to those risks most likely to cause accidents or ill-health
• whether there are improvements that can be implemented quickly, even as a temporary solution until more reliable controls are in place.

Remember the greater the risk the more robust and reliable the control measures will need to be.

Risks, which are significant, are those that are not trivial in nature and are capable of creating a real risk to health and safety which any reasonable person would appreciate and would take steps to guard against.

What can be considered as "insignificant" will vary from site to site and activity to activity depending on specific circumstances. However, we have highlighted some areas which can be considered as insignificant through our Myth of the Month e.g. conkers, toothpicks, hanging baskets etc.

You should review your risk assessment:

• if it is no longer valid; or
• if there has been a significant change.

Your workplace will change over time. You are likely to bring in new equipment, substances and procedures. There may be advances in technology. You may have an accident or a case of ill-health. You should review your assessment if any of these events happen.

Remember to amend your assessment as a result of your review.

There is no set frequency for carrying out a review. 

You will need to review your risk assessment to check whether you need to make any changes in the measures you take to control risk.  This is particularly important when people return to work following surgery etc, with new or expectant mothers or if an employee develops a disability.

Most employers will be able to find a way to make adjustments to work that are suitable for their employees.

For more information visit the following:

• people with disabilities
• people returning to work after an absence

No.  There is no legal requirement for you to sign your risk assessment.

There is no set amount of time that you need to keep your records relating to general risk assessment. It is good practice, however, to keep them whilst they remain relevant.

No. We are an independent regulator and act in the public interest to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain's workplaces. We also provide advice through our website and publications which are freely available to download.

If you need external help or advice, please go to the following sections:

• Get competent advice
• The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR)

Employees also have responsibilities under health and safety law:

• to take care of the health and safety of themselves and others;
• to co-operate with you to help you comply with health and safety legislation;
• to follow any instructions and training you give regarding the measures you have in place to control health and safety risks;
• let you know of work situations that present a serious and imminent risk; and
• let you know of any other failings they identify in your health and safety arrangements.

Assess the risks you can reasonably expect to find. When you take on work or go to a new site cover any new or different risks with a specific assessment.

If you share a workplace with another employer, or self-employed person, you will both need to:

• tell each other about the specific risks in your business that may affect the other employer; and
• co-operate and coordinate with each other to control the health and safety risks.

Our website has guidance on specific topics and/or industry sectors to help you decide whether you are already doing enough or if further action is needed.  Alternatively, use the search box to find guidance containing keywords.

A hazard is anything that may cause harm e.g. chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, noise etc.

Risk is the chance, high or low, of somebody being harmed by the hazard, and how serious the harm could be.

This means that you have to take action to control the health and safety risks in your workplace except where the cost (in terms of time and effort as well as money) of doing so is "grossly disproportionate" to the reduction in the risk.

More information can be found in the ALARP "at a glance" section.

Most businesses will not need to use risk matrices. However, they can be used to help you work out the level of risk associated with a particular issue. They do this by categorising the likelihood of harm and the potential severity of the harm. This is then plotted in a matrix (please see below for an example). The risk level determines which risks should be tackled first.

Using a matrix can be helpful for prioritising your actions to control a risk. It is suitable for many assessments but in particular to more complex situations. However, it does require expertise and experience to judge the likelihood of harm accurately.  Getting this wrong could result in applying unnecessary control measures or failing to take important ones.

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 enough precautions or whether you should do more.

As an employer or self employed person, you must do a risk assessment but you only need to record it if you employee 5 or more people.

A safety method statement is not required by law. It describes in a logical sequence exactly how a job is to be carried out in a safe manner and without risks to health. It includes all the risks identified in the risk assessment and the measures needed to control those risks. This allows the job to be properly planned and resourced.

Safety method statements are most often found in the construction sector.  They are particularly helpful for:

• higher risk complex or unusual work (e.g. steel and formwork erection, demolition or the use of hazardous substances);
• providing information to employees about how the work should be done and the precautions to be taken;
• providing the principal contractor with information to develop the health and safety plan for the construction phase of a project.

Whether safety method statements are used or not, it is essential to make sure that risks are controlled.

If you have a complaint about your employer or any other work activity please go to our complaints and concerns webpage for further information.

HSE is the national independent regulator for work-related health, safety and illness. Other concerns may be dealt with by other government departments, local authorities or organisations. For example, food safety is regulated by the Environmental Health Department of your local council. A more detailed list of concerns and who is responsible can be found on the complaints and concerns webpage.