YOUR RIGHT AS AN EMPLOYEE TO VIEW RISK ASSESSMENTS

[brothermagrew]

It is a legal requirement that copies of risk assessments are made available for inspection by
Local Authority Environmental Health Officers. It is Royal Mail Group policy that risk assessments
are available for sight by staff, trades union health & safety representatives and corporate social
responsibility auditors.

A civil litigation claim for compensation as a result of an accident at work can be made up to
THREE years after the date of the incident and risk assessments provide key evidence of both the
physical state of health and safety and level of competency of health & safety management at that
time.

Copies of risk assessments should therefore be printed and filed locally and these copies retained
for a minimum of 3 years.


And should a simple request be made by an employee to a manager and it is refused? Then simply make the manager aware of the above facts and if need be contact LA EHO seeking their advice as to your rights.

[fedup postie]

Nice reminder Brother. I do not think that RM keep Risk Assesments for 3 years. It will be interesting to ask for them to produce them

[belle smith]

Brothermagrew, if we have a new revision carried out by pegasus, lots of extra calls added to walks, are RM requiered to carry out risk assesments on the new walks and should they be in place by comencment of new duties.

[fedup postie]

Wouldn't they be the walklogs?
All the information from the old walks prior to pegasus should be rearranged to mirror the new walks so that the walk log refers to the new walk and not the old one.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Wouldn't they be the walklogs?
All the information from the old walks prior to pegasus should be rearranged to mirror the new walks so that the walk log refers to the new walk and not the old one.

Depends on each walk - when we were pegasused they had one walk that kept crossing a main trunk road when before it was split between 2 walks covering the side roads for their side. Obviously it had to be risk assessed and the walk and neighbouring ones were changed to reflect the risk. In the end they made the walk go down 1 side only just like before. Also if the method of delivery changes from before the risks need to be reassessed.

[brothermagrew]

Brothermagrew, if we have a new revision carried out by pegasus, lots of extra calls added to walks, are RM requiered to carry out risk assesments on the new walks and should they be in place by comencment of new duties.

What I would suggest brother is:

Review your risk assessment regularly:
Few workplaces stay the same. Sooner or later, you will bring in new equipment, substances and procedures that could lead to new hazards. It makes sense therefore, to review what you are doing on an ongoing basis. Every year or so, formally review where you are, to make sure you are still improving, or at least not sliding back.

Look at your risk assessment again. Have there been any changes? Are there improvements you still need to make? Have your workers spotted a problem? Have you learnt anything from accidents or near misses? Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date.

When you are running a business it's all too easy to forget about reviewing your risk assessment - until something has gone wrong and it's too late.

During the year, if there is a significant change, don't wait: check your risk assessment and where necessary, amend it. If possible, it is best to think about the risk assessment when you're planning your change - that way you leave yourself more flexibility.

You should think about reviewing your risk assessment if your business:

brings in new machinery or equipment
implements new processes or working practices
starts working with new substances
brings in new personnel
alters or moves premises
expands rapidly
experiences an accident or near-miss
You should note the date when you revise your risk assessment but you only need to alter your records if there are new and significant findings or if existing precautions prove inadequate or can be improved.

Risks and hazards:
All hazards need to be considered in risk assessments. A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm. A risk is the likelihood that someone could be harmed by a hazard, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be.

Identify 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.


Question is will your DOM bother?