Nothing remains the same forever. Creating clear lines of communication with your staff can help ensure your control measures are working efficiently. By keeping an eye on incident rates and tracking the effectiveness of your risk assessment, you should maintain a good overview of your company's safety procedures and their usefulness within your workplace.

But even the best risk assessment is only as good as the information used to create it. Last year's workplace might not be the same as today's, with technology, staff, and environmental changes impacting how and when your safety practices should be updated.

Your risk assessment should be reviewed frequently to ensure no changes or additional control measures are required.

But how frequently is frequently? When should a risk assessment be reviewed?

The law does not give a set period within which you should review your risk assessment; it is up to you to decide when an update is deemed appropriate, but the risk assessment is a living document, and this data should be recorded as your organisation undergoes change. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises that risk assessments be reviewed "every time there are new machines, substances, and procedures, which could lead to new hazards," or annually as a general rule for best practice.

When a risk assessment aims to manage and mitigate potential dangers, failure to do so increases the risks that might be encountered, removes the necessary actions to prevent hazards, and can ultimately result in more accidents. As a legal requirement, the HSE can and does take action against businesses that do not provide up-to-date and accurate risk assessments.

If your risk assessment is not reviewed appropriately, you put more than the health and safety of your employees in danger. Your insurance provider might ask you to complete a dated risk assessment as a policy condition. Suppose your risk assessment is shown to be outdated, inaccurate, or not in line with HSE requirements. In that case, they might refuse your claim, putting your business at significant financial and reputational risk.

Should your risk assessment be reviewed? By making it a standard practice, you take the necessary steps to protect your employees and your company.

To make sure your team are fully risk aware and up to date with their health and safety training, give us a call at Ardent Safety, we’re Cumbria’s largest multi-accredited workplace health and safety consultancy and training company.