A health and safety risk assessment is a systematic process to identify workplace hazards, evaluate the likelihood of harm, and put controls in place to protect employees, contractors, residents, and visitors. It is a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
At Ark Workplace Risk, we specialise in carrying out comprehensive health and safety risk assessments across the UK, ensuring organisations are fully compliant, audit-ready, and able to demonstrate their duty of care.
In the UK, every employer, landlord, and duty holder must ensure that suitable and sufficient health and safety risk assessments are carried out. While a “responsible person” can attempt this themselves, most organisations appoint a competent health and safety consultant to ensure assessments meet HSE requirements.
Ark’s qualified practitioners provide independent, regulator-ready health and safety assessments, protecting over 10,000 buildings and 200 clients nationwide.
A workplace risk assessment should cover:
- Hazard identification (e.g. slips, trips, manual handling, fire, Legionella, asbestos, work at height)
- Assessment of who may be harmed and how
- Evaluation of existing safety controls
- Recommendations for additional controls and corrective actions
- A prioritised action plan with clear evidence trails
Ark’s reports go beyond compliance; we integrate findings into our QUOODA® risk management platform, giving clients live visibility of risk status across their portfolios.
The HSE requires that risk assessments be regularly reviewed and kept up to date. Best practice is:
- Annually
- After material changes to the workplace (processes, layouts, or equipment)
- Following an accident, incident, or near miss
- When new hazards or legislation are introduced
Ark builds reviews into continuous compliance programmes, ensuring clients stay audit-ready, risk-aware, and compliant with UK health and safety law.
Failure to carry out a compliant health and safety risk assessment can lead to:
- HSE enforcement notices and prosecution
- Unlimited fines or imprisonment of responsible persons
- Civil claims from injured employees or residents
- Reputational damage and loss of stakeholder trust
With over 30 years’ experience, an industry-leading NPS score of 61 (vs. industry average 35), and winners of the ACE Award for Outstanding Customer Service, Ark is the trusted partner for health and safety compliance across the UK.