Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 What are the hazards? Who might be harmed What are you already Risk Is anything further Action & review and how? doing? rating needed? Spot hazards by: Identify groups of people, List what is already in You need to make sure Remember to prioritise consider: place to reduce the Trivial, that you have reduced Deal with those hazards walking around your employees likelihood of harm or make low, as is that are high-risk and have risks ‘so far workplace temporary / agency staff any harm less serious, medium, serious consequences reasonably practicable’. asking those doing the task contractors examples include: high or first. what they think volunteers stop An easy way of doing this List: members of the public guarding (please is to compare what you checking manufacturers’ instructions children (including work training see matrix are already doing with actions required considering health hazards experience) procedures, safe below) good practice. If there is a who needs to do them lone workers systems of work difference, list what needs by when pupils personal protective to be done. check actions service users equipment (PPE) completed Risk rating Slightly harmful Harmful Extremely harmful Highly unlikely Trivial risk Low risk Medium risk Unlikely Low risk Medium risk High risk Likely Medium risk High risk STOP Risk level Action and timescale Trivial No action required and no documentary record needs to be kept. Low No additional physical control measures are required, however monitoring is necessary to ensure that the controls are maintained. Efforts should be made to reduce the risk and the reduction measures should be implemented within a defined period. Where Medium the medium risk is associated with extremely harmful consequences, further assessment may be necessary to establish more precisely the likelihood of harm as a basis for determining the need for improved control measures. Work should not be started until the risk has been reduced to an acceptable level. Considerable resources may be allocated to High reduce the risk. Where the risk involves work in progress, urgent action should be taken. Work should not be started or continued until the risk has been reduced. If it is not possible to reduce risk even with unlimited Stop resources, work has to remain prohibited.
Step 1 What are the hazards? Step 2 Who might be harmed and how? Step 3 What are you already doing? Risk rating Step 4 Is anything further needed? Step 5 Action & review Spot hazards by: walking around your workplace asking those doing the task what they think checking manufacturers’ instructions considering health hazards Identify groups of people, consider: employees temporary / agency staff contractors volunteers members of the public children (including work experience) lone workers pupils service users List what is already in place to reduce the likelihood of harm or make any harm less serious, examples include: guarding training procedures, safe systems of work personal protective equipment (PPE) Trivial, low, medium, high or stop (please see matrix below) You need to make sure that you have reduced risks ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. An easy way of doing this is to compare what you are already doing with good practice. If there is a difference, list what needs to be done. Remember to prioritise Deal with those hazards that are high-risk and have serious consequences first. List: actions required who needs to do them by when check actions completed Risk rating Slightly harmful Harmful Extremely harmful Highly unlikely Trivial risk Low risk Medium risk Unlikely Low risk Medium risk High risk Likely Medium risk High risk STOP Risk level Action and timescale Trivial No action required and no documentary record needs to be kept. Low No additional physical control measures are required, however monitoring is necessary to ensure that the controls are maintained. Medium Efforts should be made to reduce the risk and the reduction measures should be implemented within a defined period. Where the medium risk is associated with extremely harmful consequences, further assessment may be necessary to establish more precisely the likelihood of harm as a basis for determining the need for improved control measures. High Work should not be started until the risk has been reduced to an acceptable level. Considerable resources may be allocated to reduce the risk. Where the risk involves work in progress, urgent action should be taken. Stop Work should not be started or continued until the risk has been reduced. If it is not possible to reduce risk even with unlimited resources, work has to remain prohibited.
Volunteer-activity-risk-assessment-guidance.docx