& 
A risk assessment is a careful look at what in your work could harm people, so you can decide whether you are doing enough to prevent it. HSE breaks it into five steps: identify the hazards, decide who might be harmed, evaluate the risks and act, record your findings, and review.
Why you need one
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require every employer to assess the risks to employees and anyone else affected by their work. If you have five or more employees, you must write down the significant findings. It does not need to be complicated; it needs to be suitable and sufficient for your work.
Step 1: Identify the hazards
A hazard is anything that could cause harm: working at height, chemicals, moving vehicles, manual handling, electricity, noise, stress. Walk the workplace, ask the people who do the job, and check accident records and manufacturers’ instructions.
Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
Think about groups, not just names: employees, contractors, visitors, cleaners, the public. Pay attention to people at greater risk, such as new and young workers, new and expectant mothers, lone workers and people with disabilities.
Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
Risk is how likely harm is and how bad it could be. Compare what you already do with good practice and ask whether you can remove the hazard altogether. If not, work down the hierarchy of controls: substitute, engineer it out, change the way the work is done, and use personal protective equipment last.
Step 4: Record your findings and put them in place
Write down the main hazards, who is at risk and what you are doing about it. Keep it short and practical. Share it with the people it affects, then make the actions happen, with a name and a date against each.
Step 5: Review and update
Review after an accident or near miss, when you bring in new equipment, substances or procedures, when staff change, and at regular intervals. A risk assessment that sits in a drawer is not doing its job.
A quick example
| Step | Example |
|---|---|
| Hazard | Lifting boxes of stock onto high shelves |
| Who | Warehouse staff, especially new starters |
| Controls | Heavy stock on middle shelves, step platform provided, manual handling training |
| Action | Reorganise shelving by Friday; train two new starters this month |
| Review | After any handling injury, and every six months |
Common mistakes
- Copying a generic template that does not match your work
- Listing hazards without saying what you will do about them
- Not asking the people who actually do the job
- Never reviewing it
Getting trained
The NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work was developed by NEBOSH with HSE. It is one day, open book, assessed by a practical scenario based exercise rather than a written exam, and suits managers, supervisors, team leaders and safety representatives. We run it at our centres, live online or at your site. For a quick start, our Risk Assessment eLearning takes about 30 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 5 steps to risk assessment?
Identify the hazards; decide who might be harmed and how; evaluate the risks and decide on precautions; record your findings and implement them; review and update.
Do I have to write my risk assessment down?
If you have five or more employees, you must record the significant findings.
How often should a risk assessment be reviewed?
Whenever something changes, after an accident or near miss, and at regular intervals.
Is there a short risk assessment qualification?
Yes. The NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work is one day with a practical assessment.
Read the source
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3242), published on legislation.gov.uk, and the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on risk assessment, Managing risks and risk assessment at work. Facts checked on 5 October 2026.
Find a date that works
Every course, every centre, with live availability and prices.
On your site or ours, and group rates on request.
