Identifying hazards in your workplace

A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm. The risk is the likelihood that someone could be harmed by that hazard together with an indication of how serious the harm could be. The law doesn't require you to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as is 'reasonably practicable'.

The first stage of a risk assessment is to look for hazards. A hazard can be something easily seen, such as a trailing cable, a worn carpet or exposed wiring. Or it can be something less obvious - a slippery surface, for example.

It can be something general, such as poor lighting. Or it can be something specific to your business, such as the particular hazardous substances you use. See our guides on how to manage harmful substances safely and your responsibilities for health and safety.

A hazard can be something directly affecting your employees, such as exposure to bacteria - or something affecting the environment in general, such as your waste materials.

You should distinguish between:

workplace hazards, such as a workshop's layout
activity hazards, such as using grinding machinery in your workshop
environmental hazards, such as the dust created when using grinding machinery

When looking for hazards it can be helpful to:

walk around your business
talk to employees who may be more aware of your business' hazards than you
look at safety data sheets and manufacturers' instructions to identify potential problem areas
examine accident and health records to identify existing problem areas