COMPLIANCE & RISK ASSESSMENT RISKY BUSINESS


Owen Brown of Keebles LLP, advises on the legal requirements of risk assessments in the workplace.


Risk assessments are used to identify and control risks and are at the heart of reductions in workplace accident and injuries. With several regulations covering workplaces, construction sites, personal protective equipment and the use of hazardous chemicals it is


important that the process is completed correctly.


The process of risk


assessments in relation to workplace accidents and illnesses has been a specific legal requirement since the introduction of the ‘so-called’ six


pack of regulations in 1992.


The regulations brought into UK law several European guidelines to guarantee a better level of protection of the health and safety of workers. A less formalised approach had been in force since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.


While not all workplace health and safety regulations require risk assessments there has been some legal comment publicised that there is a common law duty for employers to carry out risk assessments.


The process of risk assessments in relation to workplace accidents


and illnesses has been a specific legal requirement since the


introduction of the ‘so-called’ six pack of regulations in 1992.


This is important as a common law duty could apply to work carried out overseas. An example of this relates to British service personnel where a failure by the MoD to carry out adequate risk assessments has been alleged to hold them liable for injuries occurring in overseas deployments.


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RISK ASSESSMENT: Risk assessments identify risks to the health and safety


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of workers, assess the likelihood and potential impact of it materialising and helping to identify measures that can be put in place to remove or reduce that risk.


Although there is no prescribed format for a risk assessment the usual practice is to:


1.


2. 3.


Identify the risk Identify the likelihood of that risk materialising and


Identify the seriousness of the potential consequences if that risk materialises.


A score is then generally formulated based on the likelihood and potential seriousness of it. This assists in identifying the most serious risks and directing resources to reducing the likelihood and severity of them.


Once identified a hierarchy of potential measures is then generally applied:


4. Avoid the risks altogether; 5.


If it cannot be avoided, then evaluate the risk and introduce measures to reduce it;


6. Provide suitable and sufficient personal protective equipment where a risk cannot be controlled by another method.


Training and instruction of employees in both the risks, and measures taken to reduce them, are a vital part of reducing the likelihood and seriousness of those identified.


Court cases have highlighted the importance of these assessments in relation to HSE prosecutions and in relation to the liability, or not, of employers for an accident.


In civil cases the burden is on the injured employee to prove that, on the balance of probability, the employer was liable for their accident. Courts have though held that, where an assessment has not been carried out, the burden then lies on the employer to prove that, even if one had been carried out, any measures identified in that risk assessment would not have been effective in preventing the injury.


Risk assessments for those employing fewer than five people do not necessarily need to be in writing, but it is good practice to do so, both to ensure that the relevant risks are identified properly, and as evidence that the assessment has been done. Risk assessments are, and will continue to be, a vital tool for reducing workplace injuries.


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