Implement risk assessment actions, says HSE

Employers need to spend less time on paperwork and more on implementing practical actions arising from risk assessments, according to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) deputy chief executive.

Launching a revised and simplified edition of the HSE guidance document Five steps to risk assessment in July, Jonathan Rees said: “We want to save lives, not tie businesses up in red tape. Risk assessment should be a practical way of protecting people from real harm and suffering, not a bureaucratic back-covering exercise.”

The revised guidance was welcomed by TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson, who said that it “shows clearly what employers need to do to obey the law [and] shows the need to involve workers in the process”.

“Risk assessment is not rocket science,” he added. “Sadly, many employers have still done no risk assessment, and we hope this publication will be used by all sectors where the basic approach is relevant.”

Five steps to risk assessment can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg163.pdf