H & S Templates UK - Risk Assessments

H&S Insights

What I've seen go wrong with Workplace Risk Assessments:

"We've got an experienced employee, so they don't need training"

Experience can be valuable, but it should not be treated as a substitute for appropriate training.

We have encountered situations where employees have been expected to carry out tasks because they had performed similar work in a previous job. That does not necessarily mean they have been trained in the employer's particular equipment, procedures or working environment.

Where a task presents a foreseeable risk, employers should consider what instruction, information and training is actually required.

The risk assessment says there is a safe walkway — but there isn't

A risk assessment may identify the need for employees and others to use designated walkways or keep pedestrians away from vehicles and machinery.

The important question is whether that arrangement actually exists.

For example, we have investigated incidents where there was no clearly defined pedestrian route despite the risk assessment referring to one. In those circumstances, the existence of the document does not necessarily demonstrate that the risk was properly controlled.

The workplace needs to reflect the arrangements described in the assessment.

Employees carrying out tasks they haven't been trained to perform

Another recurring issue is employees being asked to carry out tasks involving equipment or machinery without adequate training or instruction.

A risk assessment may identify the hazard and even state that training is required. However, if nobody has actually received that training, the control exists only on paper.

This can become particularly important following an accident, when the investigation needs to establish not only what the employer's procedures were, but whether those procedures were actually implemented.

The problem was identified — but nothing was done

Sometimes the risk is already known.

We have encountered situations where a workplace risk assessment identified a particular hazard, but the underlying problem remained unresolved.

For example, a risk assessment may state that floors should be kept clear and dry, while there is an ongoing problem with water entering the workplace because of a leaking roof.

Simply telling employees to keep the floor dry does not necessarily address the underlying cause.

Where a hazard is identified, consideration should be given to whether the control measures are actually effective and whether further action is reasonably required.