LEGAL ASPECTS OF RISK ASSESSMENT ON ELECTRICAL WORKS BASIC INFORMATION

The general duties of employers to their employees in section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 imply the need for risk assessment. This duty was also extended by section 3 of the Act to anybody else
affected by activities of the employer – contractors, visitors, customers or members of the public.

However, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations are much more specific concerning the need for risk assessment. The following requirements are laid down in those regulations: the risk assessment shall be ‘suitable and sufficient’ and cover both employees and non-employees affected by the employer’s undertaking (e.g. contractors, members of the public, students, patients, customers, etc.); every self-employed person shall make a ‘suitable and sufficient’ assessment of the risks to which they or those affected by the undertaking may be exposed; any risk assessment shall be reviewed if there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid or if a significant change has taken place; where there are more than four employees,
the significant findings of the assessment shall be recorded and any specially at risk group of employees identified. (This does not mean that employers with four or less employees need not undertake risk assessments.)

The term ‘suitable and sufficient’ is important since it defines the limits to the risk assessment process. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment should:

➤ identify the significant risks and ignore the trivial ones;
➤ identify and prioritize the measures required to comply with any relevant statutory provisions;
➤ remain appropriate to the nature of the work and valid over a reasonable period of time.

When assessing risks under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, reference to other regulations may be necessary even if there is no specific requirement for a risk assessment in those regulations.

For example, reference to the legal requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations will be necessary when risks from the operation of machinery are being considered. However, there is no need to repeat a risk assessment if it is already covered by other regulations (e.g. a risk assessment involving
personal protective equipment is required under the COSHH Regulations so there is no need to undertake a
separate risk assessment under the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations).

Apart from the duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to undertake a health
and safety risk assessment of any person (employees, contractors or members of the public), who may be affected by the activities of the organization, the following regulations require a specific risk assessment to be made:

➤ Ionising Radiation Regulations
➤ Control of Asbestos Regulations
➤ The Control of Noise at Work Regulations
➤ Manual Handling Operations Regulations
➤ Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment)
➤ The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations
➤ The Confined Spaces Regulations
➤ Work at Height Regulations
➤ The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
➤ The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations
➤ Control of Lead at Work Regulations
➤ Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations.

A detailed comparison of the risk assessments required for most of these and more specialist regulations is given in the HSE Guide to Risk Assessment Requirements, INDG218.