risk assessments

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WHAT IS A RISK ASSESSMENT?

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of workplace factors which could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures.

Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect your business too if output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or you have to go to court.  You are legally required to assess the risks in your workplace and to put in place a plan to control the risks.

A risk assessment is an important step in protecting your workers and your business, as well as complying with the law.  It helps you focus on the risks that really matter in your workplace – the ones with the potential to cause real harm.  In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control risks, for example ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip, or cupboard drawers are kept closed to ensure people do not trip.  For most, that means simple, cheap and effective measures to ensure your most valuable asset – your workforce – is protected.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT RISK ASSESSMENTS

The law does not expect you to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as ‘reasonably practicable’. The following is taken from the States of Jersey booklet “Guidance on Risk Assessment”

“Article 3 of the Health & Safety at Work (Jersey) Law, 1989, sets out the general duty on employers to ensure their employees are not exposed to risks to health and safety, with Article 5 setting out the general duty placed on employers to ensure that persons other than their employees are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

Although you will not find the term risk assessment included in the Law, the duties set out in both Article 3 and Article 5 are limited by the phrase “so far as is reasonably practicable”. This phrase has been interpreted by the Courts as a need to balance the sacrifice, either in money, time or trouble, on the one hand, against the nature of the risk involved on the other hand. Where the sacrifice is grossly disproportionate to the risks involved, it is not considered to be “reasonably practicable”.

This balancing of the sacrifice against the risk has evolved into the process of risk assessment, in line with the legal interpretation of “reasonably practicable”. Carrying out a risk assessment approach to managing health and safety is therefore seen to be an effective way of meeting the legal requirements placed on you as an employer under the Law.”

HOW TO ASSESS THE RISKS IN YOUR WORKPLACE

Five steps enable you to comply:

Step 1.   Identify the hazards

Step 2.   Decide who might be harmed and how

Step 3.   Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

Step 4.   Record your findings and implement them

Step 5.   Review your assessment and update if necessary

Don’t overcomplicate the process.  In many organisations, the risks are well known and the necessary control measures are easy to apply.  You probably already know whether, for example, you have employees who move heavy loads and so could harm their backs, or where people are most likely to slip or trip.  If so, check that you have taken reasonable precautions to avoid injury.

If you run a small organisation and you are confident you understand what’s involved, you can do the assessment yourself.  You don’t have to be a health and safety expert.

If you work in a larger organisation, you could ask a health and safety advisor to help you.  If you are not confident, get help from someone who is competent.  In all cases, you should make sure that you involve your staff or their representatives in the process.  They will have useful information about how the work is done that will make your assessment of the risk more thorough and effective.  But remember, you are responsible for seeing that the assessment is carried out properly.

When thinking about your risk assessment, remember:

• A hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer, etc;
• The risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be.

Sources HSE

States of Jersey booklet “Guidance on Risk Assessment”