Risk assessment is a fundamental part of an organisation's health and safety management system.
The requirement for employers to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments exists under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The concept of risk management is developing in business, with health and safety being just one of the many risks an organisation has to manage. The focus is on developing systems that minimise and prevent risks.
Other health and safety legislation also has an implied or direct reference to risk assessment:
• Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have to provide and maintain plant and systems of work, so far as is reasonably practicable, so they are safe and without risks to health
• specific risk assessments are required in other regulations such as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
Legal requirements
The MHSW regulations require:
• every employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of: the risks to the health and safety of employees while at work; and the risks to the health and safety of people who are not employees, but who may be affected by the employer’s operations
• risk assessments to be reviewed and amended to reflect changes in operations. For example, when there is reason to suspect that the risk assessment is no longer valid because a particular task is no longer carried out, or the task is done in a different way, or a new task is carried out. If changes are required following a review, the employer must make them.
• specific risk assessments to be carried out for young people and new or expectant mothers
• recording of significant findings of the risk assessment (if the business has five or more employees) and identifying any group of employees who are shown to be especially at risk.. Recording includes publishing the assessment and bringing it to the attention of all employees.
Penalties
It is an offence for an employer to contravene a provision in the MHSW regulations. The offence can be tried in either the magistrates’ or crown court. On conviction, an employer would be liable to the following penalties:
• in a magistrates’ court, to a fine of up to £5,000
• in a crown court, to an unlimited fine.
How to carry out a risk assessment
The approved code of practice to the MHSW regulations sets out general principles that should be followed when undertaking risk assessments. These are:
1. Evaluating the Risk
Risk is a combination of the hazard and the frequency with which a person is exposed to the hazard. In evaluating the risk, the effectiveness of controls needs to be considered.
2. Recording the Assessment
The record should represent an effective statement of the hazards and the risks that lead management to take relevant actions to protect health and safety. For any significant findings there should be:
• a record of preventative and protective measures in place to control the risks
• a record of any further action needed to control the risk
• evidence that a suitable and sufficient assessment has been made.
3. Review and Revision
The Health and Safety Executive states that it is good practice to review assessments regularly. The Health & Safety Executive's publication "Successful Health and Safety Management (HSG 65)" provides guidance on when to review and revise risk assessments. In addition, the approved code of practice suggests risk assessments be reviewed following accidents or incidents and includes the following points:
• the level of detail in the risk assessment should be proportionate to the risk. The risks depend on the size of the organisation
• employers are expected to refer to guidance and trade association publications to assist in identifying the risks
• records of risk assessments should include a note as to how long they remain valid.
The person undertaking the risk assessment should be "competent", that is, have appropriate training and experience.
Risks in the catering industry
Information on health and safety management specific to the catering industry can be found in the Health & Safety Executive’s catering information sheets. Common risks in the catering industry identified from patterns of injuries and accidents include:
• slips and trips
• manual handling
• exposure to steam and chemicals
• being struck by moving or falling objects
• ill health from chronic musculo-skeletal disorders
• dermatitis.
Roy Tozer is a Partner in the Regulatory Group of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary UK LLP. roy.tozer@dlapiper.com
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