How many steps are there to a risk assessment?

5 steps to risk assessment

Before reopening to the general public, it can feel like there is a mountain to climb to ensure current government legislation on being Covid-19 secure is being met. Even now, more regulation is being introduced and abiding by it can be increasingly difficult especially when you're focused on recovering your bar, pub and restaurant.

Our industry is customer service through and through. That means constantly interacting with different people each and every day, therefore, you must have a fit-for-purpose compliance risk assessment that works for your business. Luckily putting together one isn’t difficult if you know where to start.

You can get started right away, Sign up now to get access to our risk assessment template.

Why are risk assessments important for you?

If you are a UK bar, pub or restaurant, with more than 5 members of staff, then you must have conducted and documented a risk assessment to demonstrate that you are operating as both a responsible venue for customers and a safe workplace for your employees. Typically this has meant giving staff risk assessment forms that are looked at once, signed and forgotten which can make health and safety standards fall.

Risk assessment template

Here at Hopsy, we have your back with our simple risk assessment template which comes with everything you need, so you can get it right the first time and concentrate more on what you do best. And unlike other basic risk assessment templates, hopsy lets you easily implement changes and set dates for them to be review and even schedule risk assessment training as part of onboarding new employees to your bar, pub or restaurant.

This is all included as part of our compliance package and integrates with all of the other features hopsy provides to run your daily operations and stay Covid secure. Try our risk assessment template for free today!

Following this, a plan of action tailored to your business should then be communicated to all employees clearly outlining what is expected of them along with the individual steps taken to uphold the required standards of infection control and Covid-19 guidelines.

As we adapt to the ‘new normal, we must think outside the box to overcome the challenges ahead that face us as business owners and minimise the risk posed by COVID-19 to both our staff and our customers so we can operate safely and efficiently.

The steps to a risk assessment

1. Identify all of the hazards

Remember that one size does not fit all and in order for your risk assessment to be effective and considered Covid-19 secure, you must think about the specific hazards in your business environment and what steps can be taken which will be likely to reduce the risk for everyone involved.

Some hazard examples might be trips and falls, fire hazards or dangerous machinery. You need to ensure these are clearly documented and how you mitigated them.

2. Who might be harmed?

This is pretty straight forward, once you have all of the hazards noted down you simply note who the hazard might affect. What type of injuries could be caused and to who? Hazards may pose a single threat, or they may be harmful in more than one way. Take trips and falls for example. This can affect almost anyone so you need to make sure all areas of traffic are clear of obstacles. However other hazards like working with dangerous machinery might only affect a select few responsible for using like chefs and kitchen staff.

3. Risk mitigation

Once you have identified all hazards and who it will effect its up to you to mitigate the harm that it might cause. You can do this by adding control measures such as frequent checks of areas of concern or ensuring only certain people can take out certain roles. Clearly showing how you have mitigated risk can not only protect you from legal worries it will make your venue a safer environment for everyone.

4. Communicating the risk assessment

you've done the talk now its time to walk the walk. Ensuring your risk assessment is effective you need to make sure its implemented. That means clearly communicating it with your team. This is easier said than done but with a tool like Hopsy it doesn't have to be. Once you have completed your risk assessment you can easily share it with your team through our task manager and notification system giving you peace of mind that it will be taken care off.

5. Reviewing your risk assessment

Once everything is completed and risk has been mitigated you might think the job is done but keeping up with everything you have recorded is an integral part in maintaining a good standard of compliance. Reviewing your risk assessment every few months can be a good way to keep your staff and customers safe. Luckily you can automate this process with Hopsy by setting when you want risk assessments to be put up for review and it will automatically be reported to the right people.

Want more help creating your risk assessment?

For more information on how we manage risk assessments you can view our solutions page.