Covid-19 risk assessment update: what you need to know

Employers up and down the country have been working hard to protect their employees and others from coronavirus – and now, the Health and Safety Executive has published a document setting what to include in a Covid-19 risk assessment.

In our Covid-19 FAQs published in June, we explained that a Covid-secure work environment requires a risk assessment to help employers manage risk and protect its workforce and we included a link to risk assessment template for employers to adapt.  Although the law does not specify the format the risk assessment document must take, employers may want to adopt the HSE’s template, or use it to inform their own.

The HSE’s template document is accompanied by guidance, titled What to include in your COVID-19 risk assessment, which contains helpful information on completing your risk assessment and on implementing control measures.  The guidance forms part of HSE’s suite of guidance published under the heading Working safely during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

It is important that employers keep their COVID-19 risk assessment under review and ensure that systems put in place are working and remain adequate to manage risk from Covid-19.

Should you need specific legal advice or expert health and safety advice please get in touch.