Health and Safety inspections

Risk assessment

Some key elements of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment are:

• worker involvement;
• a hazard identification process (which will entail data gathering and analysis);
• gap analysis; and
• solution development.

HSE and Local Authority inspectors recommend following the Management Standards to assess the risks of work related stress in your organisation. There is more information about assessing your own approach

Inspection

Your organisation may be visited by an inspector or team of inspectors. Inspectors may ask to speak to a range of people in your organisation, which may include representatives from:

• the Board of Directors (Chief Executive, HR Director)
• Health and Safety
• Personnel/Human Resources
• Occupational Health
• recognised trades union/staff-side representatives

We have developed an Inspection Pack [PDF, 122KB] to help inspectors assess whether organisations are taking appropriate action to manage work related stress effectively.  It also explains HSE’s policy on investigating complaints about work related stress.

Management commitment to – and employee involvement in – the stress risk assessment process are essential. Inspectors will use these two key performance indicators to assess the suitability of your organisation’s risk assessment.

At the end of the initial visit, a follow-up visit may be scheduled. Inspectors will agree with you the progress they expect you to have made by the next inspection.

Enforcement

Enforcement action, in the form of an Improvement Notice, may be considered where organisations fail to show sufficient commitment to – or make sufficient progress in – assessing the risks from work related stressors, unless the organisation can demonstrate that employees are not exposed to risks to their health and safety from exposure to stressors at work.