Risk assessments



A central requirement is that employers must carry out a risk assessment. Regulation 3 of the regulations requires employers to carry out a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the health and safety risks their employees and others are exposed to at work. “Relevant” self-employed people must also make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to their own health and safety and the health and safety of others who may be affected by their undertaking (see page 12 on the change to the way health and safety applies to the self-employed). The risk assessment should address what happens in the workplace and must consider all groups of workers and others who might be affected.



The TUC and unionlearn guide, Risk assessment — a guide for safety representatives, says that although there is no single correct way of doing risk assessments, whatever process is used, the risk assessments must be “systematic and thorough” and must look at “what actually happens in the real workplace, rather than just at what the employer thinks happens”.



The risk assessment must identify groups of workers who might be particularly at risk, such as young workers. To be “suitable and sufficient” it must:


• correctly and accurately identify hazards;



• determine the likelihood of injury or harm;


• identify any specific legal duty relating to the hazards;


• remain valid for a period of time; and



• enable decisions to be made about appropriate control measures.



A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm or injury. A risk is the likelihood of harm or injury arising from a hazard.



The case of Allison v London Underground [2008] IRLR 440 reinforced the importance of risk assessment. The Court of Appeal emphasised that risk assessments “are meant to be an exercise by which the employer examines and evaluates all the risks entailed in his operations, and takes steps to remove or minimise these risks”.



The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guide, Risk assessment: a brief guide to controlling risks in the workplace, sets out a step-by-step approach to risk assessment.



The most important thing to remember about risk assessments is that they must be acted upon and updated regularly. In this guide, the HSE advises employers to:


• Identify hazards: Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment, look back at your accident and ill-health records, take account of non-routine operations (eg maintenance, cleaning operations or changes in production cycles), consider long-term hazards to health (eg high levels of noise or exposure to harmful substances), and visit the HSE website to find practical guidance on hazards and how to control them;


• For each hazard, decide about who might be harmed and how: Consider particular groups of workers like new and young workers, migrant workers, new or expectant mothers or people with disabilities who may be particularly at risk. Include cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance workers, who may not be in the workplace all the time, members of the public and, in shared workplaces, those employed by others who could be affected;



• Evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done. If something needs doing, either remove the hazard altogether or, if this is not possible, control the risks.



• Involve workers in the process;


• Record significant findings; and



• Regularly review the assessment and revise it if necessary to make sure it stays up to date.



Case law has shown that a generic list of risks and their possible effects is not a risk assessment, although it is a tool for carrying out a risk assessment. A risk assessment requires a consideration of the particular hazards in a particular workplace (Home Farm Trust Ltd v Nnachi [2007] UKEAT/0400/07).



It is the employer’s duty to ensure that whoever carries out the risk assessment is competent to do so. He or she should also have suitable training and the time and resources to carry out the assessment. The TUC says it is better that the competent person is employed directly by the organisation rather than being an outside consultant. Indeed, Regulation 7(8) states: “Where there is a competent person in the employer’s employment, that person shall be appointed … in preference to a competent person not in his employment.” The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (www.oshcr.org) provides a searchable database of qualified consultants. Reps can use the database to check the credentials of any external safety consultant engaged by the employer. In June 2017, there were 1,587 consultants on the register.


Regulation 4a of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 requires employers to consult safety reps in good time about arrangements to appoint competent people to assist with health and safety and implementing procedures for serious and imminent risk.



Some employers have asked safety reps to sign risk assessment records as the competent person. The TUC advises that risk assessments should only ever be signed by management or the workplace safety officer. This is because the legal responsibility is that of the employer. Safety reps should, however, be involved from the earliest stages of the risk assessment process.