Risk Assessment Template UK: Free Guide for Employers [2026]

Quick Answer: What Is a Risk Assessment?

A risk assessment is a legal requirement for UK employers to identify workplace hazards, evaluate the risks they pose, and put control measures in place. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, every employer must carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments. If you employ five or more people, you must record your significant findings in writing.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends a straightforward 5-step process that any business can follow -- you do not need to be a health and safety professional to complete a risk assessment.

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Why Risk Assessments Matter

Risk assessments are not just a legal obligation -- they are the foundation of workplace safety. The HSE investigates around 80,000 workplace injuries reported under RIDDOR each year, and a significant proportion stem from failures in the risk assessment process.

Legal Duties

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of all employees. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) make risk assessment the mechanism through which this duty is fulfilled.

Key legal requirements:

• Assess risks to employees, contractors, visitors, and members of the public
• Record significant findings if you have five or more employees
• Review and update assessments regularly, or when circumstances change
• Appoint one or more competent persons to assist with health and safety measures
• Provide employees with information about the risks identified and the control measures in place

Penalties for non-compliance can include improvement notices, prohibition notices, and prosecution. Under the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, penalties for health and safety offences range from unlimited fines to imprisonment for up to two years.

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The HSE 5-Step Risk Assessment Process

Step 1: Identify the Hazards

Walk around your workplace and look for anything that could cause harm. Consider:

• Physical hazards: slips, trips, falls, moving machinery, vehicles, working at height
• Chemical hazards: cleaning products, solvents, dust, fumes (covered by COSHH)
• Biological hazards: bacteria, viruses, mould
• Ergonomic hazards: manual handling, repetitive tasks, DSE use
• Psychosocial hazards: stress, workload, lone working, violence

Practical methods for identifying hazards:

• Walk the workplace and observe what people actually do (not just what they should do)
• Check manufacturer instructions and safety data sheets
• Review accident and near-miss records
• Consult employees -- they know their work best
• Check HSE guidance for your industry sector

Step 2: Decide Who Might Be Harmed and How

For each hazard, identify who is at risk. This is not limited to employees:

Consider how each group could be harmed: injury type, severity, and likelihood.

Step 3: Evaluate the Risks and Decide on Precautions

For each hazard, decide:

1. What are you already doing? List existing control measures.
2. Is it enough? Compare your controls against legal requirements, HSE guidance, and industry best practice.
3. What more do you need to do? Identify additional controls needed.

Use the hierarchy of controls (most effective first):

1. Eliminate the hazard entirely
2. Substitute with something less hazardous
3. Engineering controls (physical barriers, ventilation, guards)
4. Administrative controls (procedures, training, supervision, signage)
5. Personal protective equipment (PPE) as a last resort

Step 4: Record Your Findings and Implement Them

If you have five or more employees, you must write down:

• The significant hazards identified
• Who might be harmed
• What controls are in place and what further action is needed
• Who is responsible for implementing each action
• Target dates for completion

Your record should be:

• Simple and focused on controls
• Accessible to employees
• Proportionate to the risks (a small office does not need the same documentation as a construction site)

Step 5: Review and Update Regularly

Risk assessments are living documents. Review them:

• At least annually as standard good practice
• After any accident, incident, or near miss
• When you introduce new equipment, substances, or processes
• When there are changes to legislation or HSE guidance
• When the workforce changes (new starters, changes in working patterns)
• Following employee feedback or concerns

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Risk Assessment Template

Use this structure to document your assessments:

Risk Rating Matrix

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Types of Risk Assessment

General Workplace Risk Assessment

Covers the overall workplace environment -- office layout, corridors, lighting, temperature, welfare facilities. Required for all employers.

Fire Risk Assessment

A specific legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Must be carried out by a competent person and reviewed regularly. Covers escape routes, fire detection, fire-fighting equipment, and emergency procedures.

DSE Assessment

Required under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 for employees who regularly use computers or other display screen equipment. Covers workstation setup, screen positioning, seating, lighting, and breaks.

COSHH Assessment

Required under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 for any workplace using or producing hazardous substances. Covers chemicals, dust, fumes, biological agents, and nanotechnology.

Manual Handling Assessment

Required under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 where employees lift, carry, push, or pull loads. Uses the TILE framework (Task, Individual, Load, Environment).

New and Expectant Mothers

Regulation 16 of the Management Regulations requires a specific risk assessment for new and expectant mothers once the employer has been notified of the pregnancy.

Young Workers

Regulation 19 of the Management Regulations requires a specific assessment for employees under 18, considering their inexperience, lack of awareness of risks, and physical and psychological immaturity.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Treating it as a one-off exercise -- risk assessments must be reviewed and updated regularly
2. Making it too complicated -- focus on significant risks, not every conceivable hazard
3. Not involving employees -- workers closest to the hazard often have the best insight
4. Copying a generic template without adapting it -- your assessment must reflect your actual workplace
5. Failing to implement the controls identified -- an assessment is worthless if the actions are not followed through
6. Not recording the assessment -- if you have five or more employees, the law requires written records
7. Ignoring mental health risks -- stress, bullying, and psychosocial hazards must be included

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Industry-Specific Considerations

Office-Based Businesses

Focus on DSE, slips/trips, fire safety, stress, and lone working. Often underestimate risks because the environment feels safe.

Construction

High-risk sector requiring detailed method statements and risk assessments for each task. CDM Regulations 2015 add specific duties. Falls from height remain the leading cause of fatal injuries.

Manufacturing and Warehousing

Machinery guarding, manual handling, noise, hazardous substances, and transport risks dominate. PUWER 1998 governs work equipment safety.

Care Homes and Healthcare

Manual handling of patients, infection control, violence/aggression, sharps injuries, and COSHH for cleaning chemicals. CQC expects robust risk assessment documentation.

Hospitality and Retail

Slips and trips (wet floors, trailing cables), manual handling (deliveries), burns and scalds, violence from the public, and working alone at night.

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How Grove HR Helps with Risk Assessments

Grove HR helps UK employers manage the people side of health and safety:

• Document storage -- attach risk assessments to employee records for audit trails
• Training tracking -- log health and safety training completion and renewal dates
• Onboarding checklists -- include risk assessment briefings in new starter workflows
• Absence monitoring -- track work-related injuries and illness patterns using Bradford Factor
• Compliance reminders -- set review dates for risk assessments and get automatic notifications

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Key Legislation Reference