Risk Assessment
Last updated:The Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1999 (MHSW Regs) require every employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk his/her work activities may present to:
- Employees
- Non-Employees.
A risk assessment is a careful examination of the aspects of work activities (i.e. hazards) which could cause harm to people, so that an assessment can be made whether enough precautions (control measures) have been taken or whether more should be done to prevent harm (i.e. risk).
The purpose of the risk assessment is to minimise the risk of anyone becoming ill or getting hurt as a result of a work activity and to comply with the law.
(See Section 2.1 of BCC Policies and Procedures for detailed information on risk assessment.)
Health and Safety Enforcement
Health and safety law is enforced either by Local Authority Environmental Health Officers (EHO's) or Health and Safety Executive Inspectors (HSE Inspectors of Health and Safety). It depends on what the undertaking is as to who enforces, but in the majority of cases within the County Council, enforcement will be by the HSE. In some cases involving environmental health issues, e.g. kitchens, enforcement may be by EHO's.
Inspectors have considerable powers including the right of entry at any reasonable time. They also have the following sanctions available to them.
Bucks Fire and Rescue Service are the enforcing authority for Fire Regulations in the Workplace (see Section 3.3).