Part four: Health and safety regulations

As already mentioned, The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require an employer to conduct risk assessments in relation to ALL work activities, with a view to identifying which other more specific regulations may need to be considered. .

Such regulations may also require employers to undertake more detailed risk assessments. Sometimes this can create confusion on whether more than one assessment needs to be carried out.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 are "all-embracing" and require employers to examine what could cause harm to employees or members of the public. The employer is responsible for assessing the risks and making sure the assessment is done properly, although a "competent source" may be used to actually carry out the process.

The assessment provisions of the Management Regulations are "superimposed" over all other workplace health and safety legislation, say the HSE. The risk assessment provisions of other regulations tend to be more specific and require employers to do certain things for particular groups of people.

For example, the Display Screen Regulations require employers to assess workstations for health and safety risks to workers. These Regulations clearly establish what an employer must do for its workers. At the same time, the Management Regulations make it clear that risks to members of the public who may use display screen equipment must also be assessed, without being prescriptive.

Other regulations which explicitly require detailed risk assements include (but are not restricted to) regulations relating to the the following:

> Manual Handling

> Confined Spaces

> Working at Height

> Noise at Work

> Hazardous Substances

> First Aid

In its guide "Five steps to risk assessment" the HSE makes clear that if an employer has already assessed the risks under a specific regulation then it can be considered as "checked", without the need to carry out a further assessment.