Every employer must assess the health and safety risks created by their work—even if they employ only one person. A suitable and sufficient workplace risk assessment should identify significant hazards, establish who could be harmed and determine whether existing controls are adequate.
For offices and commercial premises, this could include slips and trips, electrical equipment, manual handling, display-screen work, workplace stress, lone working, contractors and emergency arrangements. The assessment should reflect how the workplace is actually used rather than relying on a generic template.
Businesses with five or more employees must record their significant findings, including the hazards identified and the measures being taken to control them. Smaller employers must still complete an assessment, although they are not generally required to document it.
The process does not need to create excessive paperwork. Its purpose is to identify sensible, proportionate improvements and ensure that agreed actions are completed. Assessments should also be reviewed whenever working practices, equipment, personnel or premises change—or following an accident, near miss or concern that suggests existing controls may no longer be effective.
A good workplace risk assessment gives business owners a clear picture of their most important risks and a practical plan for managing them. Read the HSE’s risk-assessment guidance.
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