How to complete a risk assessment (with a free Word template)

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Written by Chris Clark, chartered health and safety professional, 3Sixty Health & Safety

A risk assessment is the foundation of health and safety in any business. Done well, it’s a short, practical record of what could hurt people in your workplace and what you’re doing about it. Done badly, it’s a generic document that sits in a drawer. This guide walks you through doing it properly, and there’s a free Word template to download at the end.

Do you need one?

Yes. Every employer and self-employed person must carry out a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the risks to their workers and anyone else affected by their work. That duty comes from regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. If you employ 5 or more people, you must also write down the significant findings.

“Suitable and sufficient” doesn’t mean exhaustive. It means you’ve identified the significant hazards, thought about who could be harmed, and put sensible controls in place. A small office will have a short assessment. A construction site or workshop will need more detail.

The five steps

HSE sets out five steps. Here’s what each one looks like in practice.

1. Identify the hazards

A hazard is anything that could cause harm. Walk around your workplace and look at it with fresh eyes. Think about:

• the work activities people carry out, including cleaning, maintenance and deliveries
• equipment and machinery, vehicles and tools
• chemicals, dusts and fumes
• the premises: stairs, floors, lighting, access, work at height
• how work is organised: lone working, long hours, stress and workload

Ask your staff. They do the work every day and usually know where the problems are. Accident records, near misses and manufacturers’ instructions are also useful sources.

2. Decide who might be harmed and how

For each hazard, note which groups of people could be affected and what the injury or ill health could be. Don’t forget people who aren’t there all the time, such as contractors, visitors, cleaners and members of the public. Some people need extra thought, including new and young workers, expectant mothers and people with disabilities.

3. Assess the risks and decide on controls

Start by writing down what you already do. Then ask whether it’s enough. Many businesses use a simple scoring system: rate the likelihood of harm and its severity from 1 to 5, and multiply them. Our template includes a scoring guide, but scoring is a tool, not a legal requirement. The real question is whether you’ve done everything reasonably practicable to control the risk.

When you choose new controls, work down this order:

• Remove the hazard altogether if you can.
• Replace it with something less hazardous, such as a safer chemical.
• Engineer it out with guards, barriers or extraction.
• Change how the work is done through safe systems of work, training and supervision.
• Use personal protective equipment as the last line of defence.

4. Record your findings and act on them

Write down the hazards, who’s at risk, the controls in place and any further action. Give every action an owner and a target date, so it actually happens. Keep it short and specific to your workplace. Then share it with the people it affects, because an assessment nobody has read doesn’t protect anyone.

5. Review and update

Workplaces change. Review your assessment regularly, at least once a year is good practice, and straight away after an accident or near miss, or a significant change such as new equipment, new premises or a new type of work.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Copying a generic assessment from the internet without tailoring it to your work.
• Listing hazards but no actions, or actions with no owner or date.
• Forgetting people who aren’t your employees, such as contractors and visitors.
• Never reviewing it, so it no longer matches how you work.
• Not telling anyone what it says.

Other assessments you may need

A general risk assessment doesn’t cover everything. Depending on your work, you may also need a fire risk assessment, COSHH assessments for hazardous substances, display screen equipment (DSE) assessments, manual handling assessments, and specific assessments for young workers and new or expectant mothers. Our free health and safety self-check will help you spot any gaps.

Download the free template

Want a second pair of eyes?

If your work involves higher risks, or you’d simply like a professional to check your assessment, our chartered consultants can carry it out for you or review what you have. Book a free review, or find out about retained support.

Sources

• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Managing risks and risk assessment at work (HSE)