Health and Safety

5. Hazards

Risk assessment is a key part of health and safety. In addition to the general need to assess hazards, there are particular regulations to consider.

5.1 You must minimise the risks from work equipment.

• Special regulations apply to dangerous equipment.
• Electrical equipment must be properly inspected and maintained.
• Procedures must be in place to ensure that employees do not suffer excessive exposure to VDUs without rest breaks.
• Suitable equipment and training must be provided to avoid unnecessary manual handling of heavy loads.
• When purchasing equipment or machinery, you must satisfy yourself that it is safe.

5.2 You must ensure that your premises are healthy and safe.

• Workstations should be suitable for the people using them and seating should provide adequate support.
• The workplace layout should allow people to move about safely.
• The workplace must also provide for employee welfare (see 6).

5.3 Under the COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations, you must assess and control the risks from hazardous substances.

• In a normal office environment risks are low. However, some substances such as printer toner can be hazardous and must be appropriately used, labelled and stored.