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What is a risk assessment template?
A risk assessment template is a structured blank form for recording the significant findings of an assessment. It helps the assessor describe each activity and hazard, identify people who could be harmed, evaluate the controls in use, assign further action to a named person and record when the work will be reviewed. A risk rating can help prioritise action if your organisation uses a defined scale, but a coloured score does not replace an explanation of the hazard and effective control. This page is for the standalone risk assessment form. A method statement describes the work sequence; a combined RAMS document holds both parts.
Who needs one?
Employers need a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks arising from their work. The legal duty applies even where fewer than five people are employed; the five-employee threshold concerns recording significant findings, not whether to assess. A written template is often useful below that threshold too. The 1974 Act and 1999 Regulations cited here apply in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has separate legislation and HSENI guidance with a similar assessment duty. A relevant self-employed person may also have assessment duties depending on the undertaking and risk. The person completing the form must understand the actual work and use competent assistance where needed. Workers should be involved because they know how the task is really done. This general form cannot replace a specialist assessment when the work calls for one.
UK legal basis
- SSCurrent legislation: Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, section 2. Employers must protect employees' health, safety and welfare so far as reasonably practicable.
- SSCurrent legislation: Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3. Employers must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to employees and to others arising from the undertaking.
- SSCurrent legislation: Management Regulations 1999, regulation 3(6). Employers with five or more employees must record significant findings and any employee group identified as especially at risk.
- SSHSE guidance: Managing risks and risk assessment at work explains how to identify hazards, assess risk, control it, record significant findings and review controls. The HSE template page warns against copying an example without adapting it to the business.
- SSIndustry practice: A numbered risk matrix, document version and signature block can support review and communication. The law does not prescribe this exact Complys form or a universal scoring scale. Other topic-specific duties may apply to the work.
Key sections to include
Worked example
Common mistakes
- !Replacing the company name on a generic form without inspecting the actual task and site.
- !Listing hazards but not saying who could be harmed or how.
- !Writing a proposed control in the existing-controls column before it is in place.
- !Using a green risk score to justify work despite an absent essential control.
- !Leaving further action without an owner, due date or stop-work condition.
- !Forgetting non-routine work, contractors, visitors or people with particular needs.
- !Setting an arbitrary annual review and ignoring a change in process, equipment or incident.
- !Treating a signed form as proof that the controls are operating in the workplace.
FAQ
Is a risk assessment legally required?+
Employers must assess work risks under regulation 3 of the Management Regulations 1999. The assessment must be suitable and sufficient for the actual work. A completed generic template, by itself, does not discharge that duty.
Do I need a written risk assessment if I have fewer than five employees?+
The duty to assess still applies. Regulation 3(6) requires employers with five or more employees to record significant findings. A written record can still help a smaller business communicate and review controls.
What should I put in the template?+
Identify the task and hazards, who could be harmed and how, current controls, further action, its owner and due date, and how the assessment will be reviewed. Add a rating only if it genuinely helps your decision.
Can I write my own risk assessment?+
Yes, if you have enough knowledge of the work and risks. HSE says you may do the assessment yourself or appoint a competent person to help. Seek suitable specialist input when the risk is beyond your competence.
How often should I review it?+
Review when controls may no longer work or when the people, process, equipment or site change. Also consider incidents, near misses and worker concerns. There is no single universal annual review rule for this general template.
Is a risk assessment the same as RAMS?+
No. The risk assessment identifies hazards and controls. A method statement sets out the safe work sequence. A combined RAMS document brings both together; this form is only the risk assessment component.
Where can I get the Word or PDF form?+
Download the companion Word or PDF form from this page. Fill it in for the actual workplace and task. You can also use the Complys platform to generate a site-specific document, but review any generated content before use.
Official sources
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