Written risk assessments for business

This depends on the size of your business and the nature of the work, but in almost all cases the answer is that you need to carry out risk assessments, and in many cases they must be in writing.

Legal position:

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (Regulation 3) require every employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees and anyone else affected by the undertaking. This obligation also applies to self-employed persons in relation to risks to themselves and others.

The key distinction on whether the assessment must be recorded in writing is this: if you employ five or more people, you are required by Regulation 3(6) to record the significant findings of the assessment and any group of employees identified as being especially at risk. This is a hard legal requirement, not merely good practice.

If you employ fewer than five people, there is no strict legal obligation to put the risk assessment in writing, but it is still strongly advisable to do so for several practical reasons.

Why you should have written risk assessments even if you have fewer than five employees:

1. If you ever face an enforcement visit from the Health and Safety Executive or your local authority, a written risk assessment demonstrates that you have actually turned your mind to the risks and taken steps to manage them. Without one, you are relying on verbal explanations, which carry far less weight.

2. If an employee, contractor, visitor, or member of the public is injured and brings a civil claim, the existence or absence of a written risk assessment will be highly relevant. It may be the first document a claimant's solicitor requests on disclosure.

3. If you are prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 or the 1999 Regulations, a written risk assessment is strong evidence that you took your duties seriously. Its absence can be used against you.

4. Certain types of work trigger additional, specific risk assessment requirements that must be recorded regardless of business size. Examples include work involving hazardous substances (COSHH Regulations 2002), manual handling (Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992), display screen equipment, noise, vibration, work at height, fire (the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005), and activities involving young workers or new and expectant mothers.

What a risk assessment should cover:

It does not need to be a lengthy or complex document. The HSE guidance makes clear that it should be proportionate to the risks involved. The essential steps are to identify the hazards, consider who might be harmed and how, evaluate the risks and decide on precautions, record the significant findings, and review and update the assessment regularly or when circumstances change.

Common pitfalls:

Many businesses either have no risk assessments at all, or have generic template documents that were completed once and never reviewed. Both approaches create legal exposure. A risk assessment that is clearly out of date, or that does not reflect the actual working conditions, can be worse than useless because it suggests a tick-box approach rather than genuine engagement with workplace safety.

Practical recommendation:

Regardless of your business size, prepare written risk assessments tailored to your actual activities and workplace. Review them at least annually and whenever there is a significant change in working practices, equipment, premises, or personnel. Keep records of reviews and any actions taken as a result. If your work involves any of the specific regulated activities mentioned above, make sure you have the corresponding specific assessments in place as well.

The HSE website provides free templates and guidance which are a perfectly acceptable starting point for most small businesses, but they should always be adapted to your own circumstances rather than used as a generic fill-in-the-blanks exercise.

If you can tell me more about the nature of your business and how many people you employ, I can give more targeted guidance on exactly which assessments you are likely to need.