Whether you are an individual employee or part of a management team, this chapter will give you information on:

• ∎ how a risk assessment should be carried out

• ∎ what happens at each step

• ∎ some Frequently Asked Questions.

How a risk assessment should be carried out

As discussed in Chapter 4, the purpose of a risk assessment is to help the employer or self-employed person determine what measures should be taken to comply with their duties under the ‘relevant statutory provisions’. This phrase covers the general duties in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) and the more specific duties in the various Acts and Regulations associated with the HASAWA.

Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations does not itself stipulate the measures to be taken as a result of risk assessment. The measures taken in each workplace will derive from compliance with other health and safety duties as described above, taking carefully into account the risk assessment. In essence, the risk assessment guides the judgement of the employer or the self-employed person as regards the measures they ought to take to fulfil their statutory obligations.

What happens at each step

Being able to make a judgement about the hazards in your daily life is useful, and the following advice may help when assessing the workplace. An initial risk assessment should always include any known information (e.g. data collected).

Step 1: Identify the hazards

If you are doing the assessment yourself, walk around your workplace and look afresh at what could reasonably be expected to cause harm. Ignore the trivial and concentrate only on significant hazards which could result in serious harm or affect several people.

Ask your fellow employees or their representatives what they think. They may have noticed things that are not immediately obvious, including irrational behaviour, a ‘poor atmosphere’, lack of co-operation, unwelcome visitors and occurrences of bullying.

A risk assessment for aggression etc. aims to identify the causes of stressors or potential stressors that may be harmful to the health and wellbeing of staff members. Remember that some stressors, once identified, can be removed.

The HR department may have reports of what is causing ill-health within the organization which could be used to identify any trends.