Version	Date	Approved by	Amendments
1.0	02/21	Health & Safety	New Unitary council policy.
1.1	02/25	Health & Safety	Review, updated risk assessment template, risk matrix and hyperlinks.

It is a legal requirement to carry out a risk assessment as outlined within:

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
‘It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees’.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
‘Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of -

• The risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and

• The risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking.'

Risk assessment is a structured method of:

• Identifying hazards (a hazard is something with the potential to cause harm, e.g. chemicals, electricity, working at height, exposure to violence and aggression)
• Evaluating the risk (risk is the likelihood of, and the severity of harm caused, by an undesirable event occurring).

Once the level of risk has been identified, then the following principles should be applied, if possible, in this order:

• Eliminate the hazard.
• Reduce the hazard by substituting the hazard with a less harmful substance, product or article.
• Prevent contact with the risk (by use of guards, barriers, remote operation, etc.).
• Safe systems of work such as permits to work, suitable information, instruction, training and supervision.
• Personal protective equipment (such as gloves, boots, hard hats, etc.) only as a last resort because they only protect the individual.

The assessment must be “suitable and sufficient.”

The key points are:

• Insignificant risks and risks arising from routine activities associated with life in general can usually be ignored.
• The detail and sophistication of the assessment must be in proportion to the level and complexity of the risk. This is essential to produce a sufficient
• The precautions should be reasonable, suitable and appropriate to the level of risk.
• The assessment must consider all those who might be affected by the undertaking.

The assessment can cross-reference to other sources of information, for instance, guidance from safety policies and procedures, manufacturer’s instructions or nationally accepted guidelines.

The risk assessments must be recorded either electronically or in writing. 

A standard record form has been devised to assist in this process. See Appendix 1. This form can be altered to suit local needs.

Within the Council the responsibility for ensuring that risk assessments and safe working practices are in place rests with Service Directors and within Schools it is the duty of the Headteacher. The adequacy of these arrangements will be checked through monitoring and auditing.

Within services, establishments and teams the task of carrying out risk assessments will be delegated by the Service Director to relevant Managers and members of staff. The arrangements for carrying out these tasks must be clarified in the service area arrangements 5.1 model-health-and-safety-responsibilities. Schools should use the 16-model-health-and-safety-policy-for-schools-reviewed to clarify risk assessment responsibilities. Risk assessment arrangements should be reviewed as part of the annual health and safety service performance and action plan process.

Anyone required to carry out a risk assessment must be competent (sufficient skills, knowledge and training). Details of training is available on Health and Safety training.

Managers are responsible for:

• Ensuring that any task or activity which could affect the health, safety and welfare of their employees or anyone else (clients, member of the public, etc.) has been subject to risk assessment.
• Ensuring their employees are aware of any risk assessment related to their work and are provided with any specific training or equipment required.
• Reviewing the job risk assessment at appraisal or as appropriate e.g. if the nature of the job changes or the person experiences any health problems which could affect their ability to carry out the job safely.
• Ensuring, where necessary, in addition to the job-based risk assessment any other written safe systems of work are prepared and brought to the attention of all relevant employees.
• Ensuring that employees who may be required to carry out risk assessments are adequately trained or have access to a nominated risk assessor within their service area to carry out risk assessments.
• Ensuring that any new activities/jobs/events are risk assessed before they take place for the first time.

Employees are responsible for:

• Ensuring there is a written risk assessment and if necessary safe working practices for any activity they undertake where there is a risk of injury to themselves, other staff, or non-employees.
• Inform their line manager of any changes in their health that could affect their safety at work.
• Read and follow the control measures set out in the risk assessment for any activity they undertake.
• Report to their Manager any instances where they think a risk assessment is required, or where an existing assessment requires updating.

5.1 Job-Based Risk Assessment

Job based risk assessment, although not appropriate for all risks, should be used as the primary method of risk assessment.

A risk assessment should be carried out for each job role within the service/establishment/team e.g. Highway Technician, Social Worker, Teaching Assistant.

The main findings of the assessment should be recorded using the form in Appendix 1 (or equivalent alternative). See also example job risk assessment in Appendix 2.

A new job-based risk assessment must be carried out whenever a new post is created; this will highlight any specific training, equipment or systems which need to be in place. This must form part of the pack given to new employees and match their job description.

The assessment for a job type may need to be changed or added to for specific individuals as appropriate.

It is good practice to review the job-based risk assessment on an annual basis with each individual employee at appraisal and signed and dated by both parties, ensuring that the person has read, understood and will follow the risk assessment.

It may be necessary where employees are exposed to risks covered by specific legislation to cross-reference the job-based risk assessment to a more detailed risk assessment, for example, where there is significant risk of a manual handling injury.

5.2 Other Types of Risk Assessment

There are some circumstances when job-based risk assessment alone is not appropriate, in which case there are a number of alternative strategies available, including:

• Premises or site-based – looking at the problems associated with a particular area or workplace.
• Activity based – looks at a particular task, activity or aspect of a job, used to assess activities where non-employees may be at risk. e.g. visitors, clients.
• Person centred – looks at the particular needs of an individual, used in a social care setting or for individuals with an increased risk of injury or ill health.

Risk assessments should not be seen in isolation and will often overlap. The flow diagram in Appendix 3 shows the risk assessment process and how the different risk assessment types fit together.

In addition, there are a number of types of risk assessment required by specific pieces of legislation, which will apply to the Council’s activities. Guidance on these is available in the appropriate Health and Safety Policies and Procedures section of Health and safety policies - BucksNet and Health and safety policies | SchoolsWeb. Although not an exhaustive list, these include: -

• New and Expectant Mothers at Work
• Employment of Young Persons
• Fire and emergencies
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
• Moving and Handling of Objects
• Display Screen Equipment (DSE)
• Noise at Work
• The Safe Use of Work Equipment
• Working at Height
• Personal Protective Equipment

Generic risk assessment templates for some common hazards can be found on Risk assessment templates - BucksNet for adaptation to specific sites, projects or staff.

These assessments should be used to supplement the general job risk assessment where necessary.

Email healthandsafety@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Visit www.hse.gov.uk

Visit Model Risk Assessments

Appendix 1 – General Risk Assessment Form (blank)

Appendix 2 – General Risk Assessment Form (Sample)

Appendix 3 – Risk Assessment Process