Risk assessment - an overview

Introduction

As an employer, you must assess and manage health and safety risks - whether you are a big business, a small business or just a one-person operation. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and damage your business. You are not expected to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as 'reasonably practicable'.

A risk assessment is an important tool in protecting your workers and your business. It helps you focus on those risks that have the potential to cause harm. Most of these can be readily controlled by straightforward measures.

Once you have completed the assessment it is important to put your results into practice. If you need to make a number of improvements, you should produce an action plan to deal with the most important first. You should review your assessment on an ongoing basis to make sure that it remains up to date and effective. 

This guide details the risk assessment you're required to carry out under health and safety law.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Your legal obligations
• Broaden the scope of your risk assessment
• Identify hazards in your workplace
• Checklist: watching out for workplace hazards
• Evaluate the risks
• Take steps to control workplace risks
• Keep records of your risk assessments
• Review your risk assessment regularly
• Here's how I conducted a risk assessment

Print options - What are my print options - Opens in a new window

• Add guide to my print portfolio (print later as PDF)

Email options - What are my email options - Opens in a new window

• Tell a friend about this page
• Send me an email alert when this guide changes