PJEndicott

The Management Standards and the 5 Steps to Risk Assessment

The Health and Safety Executive have produced Management Standards on dealing with stress in the workplace and require every employer to conduct a risk assessment for health and safety hazards, including work-related stress.

The HSE recommends a five-step approach to risk assessment:

1. Identify the hazards

2. Decide who might be harmed, and how.

3. Evaluate the risk and take action

4. Record the findings

5. Monitor and review


In order to carry out the risk assessment it will be necessary to carry out the following:

• Secure commitment from management, employees and their representatives.

• Review or compile a Stress Policy

• Identify problem areas using existing data, the HSE tools and other surveys

• Evaluate the risks and address these using a range of methods which may include running focus groups and inviting solutions to specific problems

• Communicate the results and providing feedback to all employees, including dealing with individual concerns

• Develop an action plan

• Monitor the action plan regularly

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken