Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
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5.5 
The objectives of risk assessment
The main objective of risk assessment is to determine the 
measures required by the organization to comply with rele-
vant health and safety legislation and, thereby, reduce the 
level of occupational injuries and ill-health. The purpose 
is to help the employer or self-employed person to deter-
mine the measures required to comply with their legal 
statutory duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 
1974 or its associated Regulations. The risk assessment 
will need to cover all those who may be at risk, such as 
customers, contractors and members of the public. In the 
case of shared workplaces, an overall risk assessment 
may be needed in partnership with other employers.
In Chapter 1, the moral, legal and fi nancial arguments 
for health and safety management were discussed in 
detail. The important distinction between the direct and 
indirect costs of accidents is reiterated here.
Any accident or incidence of ill-health will cause 
both direct and indirect costs and incur an insured and 
an uninsured cost. It is important that all of these costs 
are taken into account when the full cost of an accident 
is calculated. In a study undertaken by the HSE, 
it was shown that indirect costs or hidden costs could 
be 36 times greater than direct costs of an accident. 
In other words, the direct costs of an accident or disease 
represent the tip of the iceberg when compared to the 
overall costs (
The Cost of Accidents at Work
HSG 96).
Direct costs
are costs that are directly related to 
the accident. They may be insured (claims on employ-
ers’ and public liability insurance, damage to buildings, 
equipment or vehicles) or uninsured (fi nes, sick pay, 
damage to product, equipment or process).
Indirect costs
may be insured (business loss, product 
or process liability) or uninsured (loss of goodwill, extra 
overtime payments, accident investigation time, produc-
tion delays).
There are many reasons for the seriousness of 
a hazard not to be obvious to the person exposed to it. 
It may be that the hazard is not visible (radiation, certain 
gases and biological agents) or have no short-term effect 
(work related upper limb disorders). The common reasons 
include lack of attention, lack of experience, the wearing 
of personal protective equipment, sensory impairment 
and inadequate information, instruction and training.