How to Use a Template Risk Assessment

by

Published: September 2026
Reading Time: 5–7 minutes
Suitable for: Employers, Managers and Employees
Topics: Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Health and Safety

At a glance

Remember these key points:

  • A template is a starting point, not a finished risk assessment.

  • Look at the work as it is actually carried out.

  • Identify hazards and who could be harmed.

  • Record the controls you already have.

  • Identify any additional actions needed.

  • Make sure those actions are actually implemented.

  • Review your assessment when circumstances change.

Why use a template?

Risk assessments are an important part of managing health and safety, but creating one from a blank page can feel daunting.

A good template provides a structure to work from, helping you consider the key information you need to record. The HSE itself provides risk assessment templates and examples for businesses to use as a starting point.

But there’s an important distinction:

A template is not a completed risk assessment.

You need to adapt it to reflect what actually happens in your workplace.

Step 1: Choose the right template

Start by identifying what you’re assessing.

You might need an assessment for:

  • Manual handling
  • Working at height
  • Workplace transport
  • Hazardous substances
  • Slips, trips and falls
  • Machinery and equipment
  • Lone working
  • Office work
  • A particular task or activity

Choose the template that most closely matches the activity you’re carrying out.

If you can’t find an exact match, don’t worry. The template is there to give you a structure — you can adapt it to suit your particular circumstances.

Step 2: Look at what actually happens

Don’t complete your risk assessment from behind a desk.

Go and look at the work.

Consider:

  • What tasks are actually being carried out?
  • What equipment is being used?
  • What substances are involved?
  • How are people carrying out the work?
  • Are employees following the procedures you expect?
  • What could go wrong?
  • Have there been accidents or near misses?
  • Are there shortcuts or workarounds that people have developed?

The HSE recommends considering how people work, the equipment and substances they use, existing working practices and the condition of the workplace when identifying hazards.

Your employees can also be an invaluable source of information. They are often the people who understand the practical risks of a job best.

Step 3: Identify the hazards

A hazard is something that could cause harm.

For example:

Hazard: Carrying boxes from a delivery vehicle into the warehouse.

You need to think about how the harm could occur.

Could someone:

  • Lift a load that is too heavy?
  • Twist while carrying it?
  • Drop the box?
  • Trip over an obstruction?
  • Be struck by a moving vehicle?

The more specific you are about the hazard, the easier it becomes to identify suitable controls.

Step 4: Decide who could be harmed

Don’t just write “employees.”

Think about who could actually be exposed to the hazard.

This might include:

  • Employees
  • Agency workers
  • Contractors
  • Visitors
  • Customers
  • Members of the public
  • Young workers
  • New or inexperienced employees
  • People who may require additional consideration because of their circumstances

Think about how each group could be harmed, too.

Step 5: Record the controls

Now consider what you’re already doing to prevent harm.

For example:

Hazard: Manual handling of heavy boxes.

Existing controls:

  • Mechanical lifting equipment available
  • Employees trained in manual handling
  • Two-person lifting used where appropriate
  • Storage positioned to reduce unnecessary lifting
  • Suitable footwear required

The HSE recommends considering whether hazards can be eliminated first and, where that isn’t possible, how the risk can be controlled. PPE should not automatically be the first solution.

Step 6: Identify anything else you need to do

Ask:

“What more could we reasonably do to make this safer?”

Perhaps you need to:

  • Repair damaged equipment
  • Introduce mechanical handling
  • Improve lighting
  • Provide additional training
  • Change a working procedure
  • Introduce guarding
  • Improve housekeeping
  • Purchase new equipment

Record who is responsible for taking the action and when it needs to be completed.

A risk assessment should lead to action — not simply sit in a folder.

Step 7: Put your controls into practice

A risk assessment is only useful if the controls identified in it are actually implemented.

There’s little value in writing:

“Employees must use the lifting equipment provided”

if the equipment is broken, inaccessible or nobody has been trained to use it.

The HSE emphasises that risk assessment is only one part of the wider process of controlling risks, and that the priority should be controlling risks in practice rather than relying on paperwork.

Step 8: Review it

You should review it when:

  • The work changes
  • New equipment is introduced
  • New substances are used
  • Employees identify a problem
  • An accident or near miss occurs
  • Existing controls may no longer be effective

You should also consider whether your review date remains appropriate for the work you’re assessing.

Think of your risk assessment as a living document, rather than a piece of paperwork you complete once a year.

The golden rule

Don’t copy. Adapt.

A template can save you time and make sure you don’t overlook important information.

But it cannot know:

  • What your workplace looks like
  • How your employees actually work
  • What equipment you use
  • What hazards are present
  • What controls you already have
  • What additional controls you need

Even the HSE makes this point clearly: its example assessments are intended to help businesses think about their own hazards and controls, rather than simply being copied.

Your risk assessment should describe your workplace — not somebody else’s.

Need more help?

Your Harwood Health & Safety Portal contains a range of ready-to-use risk assessment templates covering common workplace hazards and activities.

Use these templates as a starting point for your own assessments, adapting them to reflect your workplace, your employees and the way your business actually operates.

You can also use the Portal’s e-learning courses and toolbox talks to help employees understand the hazards they face and the controls you have put in place.

Don’t just download a risk assessment — make it yours.