
Risk Assessment Requirements in Jersey - Your Questions Answered
Coppolo & Coyde (Jersey) Limited have received a number of
queries concerning risk assessment requirements in Jersey.
Jonathan Coyde responds to the most frequently
asked questions in a question and answer format
below:
1. As an employer in Jersey could you give me an idea of
the type of things I should do to comply with the risk
assessment requirements defined within Article 3 of
the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989.
A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of anything in
the workplace that could cause people to suffer injury or ill
health whilst they are at work.
Employers need to make sure that someone with a sound knowledge of
the workplace and who understands the principles of risk assessment
is appointed to conduct these assessments. In certain
circumstances specialist's may need to be brought in to assist with
complicated or technical assessment i.e. plant room noise
assessment or other high risk activities.
The employer should then make a list of the work tasks they are
responsible for and then ensure that their risk assessors assess
the risk in each task. The risks from some tasks can
effectively be ignored as they will present a trivial risk i.e.
cuts to the hand when folding paper in an office but some work
tasks will need carefully assessing as the risk will be far greater
i.e. using a circular saw bench in a workshop or accessing a roof
in a building.
2. Can you outline examples of what employers may have to
include in the risk assessment recording requirements which come
into force in June?
The June 2010 requirement to record the significant findings of a
risk assessment applies to organisations who employ 5 or more
employees. If you employ less than 5 employees, it is still
recommended that you keep a written record of your assessment for
future reference and this also helps you demonstrate to third
parties that the assessment was actually done. Starting with a
blank sheet of paper does not help a busy employer and so the
Health & Safety Inspectorate and the UK Health & Safety
Executive (http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/index.htm)
provide freely downloadable example risk assessments which may give
the employer a head start.
Clearly every workplace is different so it would not be acceptable
to simply download this assessment and state it is your own.
Employers who choose to use these example assessments should ensure
they are specifically tailored to their workplace. The employer
should implement any the findings of these risk assessments.
This will involve setting out what actions are needed, in what
time frame as higher risks will have priority and who will
implement the actions. Actions can then be signed off as they are
completed. The risk assessment should be discussed with staff, to
check they understand it and it can be displayed in the staffroom
and made part of the induction process for new staff.
Contact us
Coppolo & Coyde Limited
Private Box 443
Envoy House
St Peter Port
GY1 3ZR
T: 01481 237711
Coppolo & Coyde (Jersey) Limited
East Wing
Royal Jersey Showground
La Route de la Trinite
Trinity
Jersey
JE3 5JP
T: 01534 870455
F: 01534 870454