Risk Assessments

Risk Assessment is perhaps the most important part of Health and Safety. It allows you to find out about what could cause harm to people in your Church or workplace. Treat it as a fact-finding exercise which can then be used to help you reduce the risks in the building.

Risk Assessment is not about pen-pushing or creating reams of paperwork for the sake of it. Done correctly, it is beneficial — it determines what could cause harm to who, and what can be done to prevent it happening or limit the severity of the harm.

The Five Steps Method

There is no single set format to Risk Assessment, but there are some key elements to the process. The simplest and most widely used form is known as the "Five Steps" method:

What We Do

We will attend your business or place of worship, carry out a thorough Risk Assessment, and then go through the findings with you. We will compile a written report and send it to you within 7 days. Where required, we can return after you have received the report to check the changes have been implemented before signing off the paperwork.

Do You Need a Risk Assessment?

In most cases, yes. Any employer must carry out a Risk Assessment regardless of size. Organisations that manage premises open to the public, volunteers or visitors — including churches, charities and care homes — also have a duty to assess the risks their premises create. You only need to record the significant findings in writing if you employ five or more people, but we always recommend keeping a written record regardless.

Generic Risk Assessments available online are not an acceptable substitute. You are required to make suitable and sufficient Risk Assessments tailored to your specific premises, activities and people.