How to Write a Risk Assessment in Ireland
The risk assessment is the foundation of workplace safety in Ireland, and it is far simpler than its reputation suggests. Here is the legal duty, a usable format and a worked example to follow.
Every employer in Ireland has to do it, yet many find the risk assessment intimidating — a form to be feared rather than a tool to be used. In reality, a risk assessment is simply a careful, honest look at what could harm people at work and a decision about what to do about it. This guide explains the legal duty behind it, a sensible format, and a worked example to make it concrete.
The legal duty
The requirement comes from section 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. It obliges every employer to identify the hazards in the workplace, assess the risks they present, and have a written assessment of those risks. The findings then feed directly into the employer's Safety Statement, required under section 20.
A risk assessment is not about eliminating every conceivable danger. It is about identifying the significant risks and showing that you have taken reasonable, proportionate steps to control them.
Hazard versus risk
Two words do a lot of heavy lifting here, and they are not the same thing. A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm — a trailing cable, a chemical, a height. A risk is the likelihood that the hazard will actually cause harm, combined with how serious that harm would be. A good assessment keeps the two clearly separated.
A simple, workable format
There is no single legally mandated template, but a sound risk assessment usually records, for each hazard:
- The hazard — what could cause harm.
- Who might be harmed — employees, contractors, visitors, members of the public.
- Existing controls — what is already in place.
- The risk rating — a judgement of likelihood and severity with current controls.
- Further action — what more is needed, by whom and by when.
A worked example
Imagine a small warehouse. One identified hazard is manual handling of stock from floor to shelf.
- Hazard: lifting and carrying heavy boxes, risk of back and musculoskeletal injury.
- Who: warehouse staff, especially during deliveries.
- Existing controls: trolleys available, heavy items stored at waist height.
- Risk rating: medium — injuries are foreseeable but not certain, and can be serious.
- Further action: provide manual handling training to all staff within one month; review storage layout to reduce high and low lifts.
Written this way, the assessment is not a bureaucratic chore. It is a clear plan that anyone can read, act on and check.
★ Key takeaways
- Risk assessment is a legal duty under section 19 of the 2005 Act.
- Distinguish hazards (what can harm) from risks (how likely and how serious).
- Record the hazard, who is affected, current controls, the risk rating and further action.
- The findings feed directly into your Safety Statement under section 20.
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Keep it alive
A risk assessment is not a one-off document to be filed and forgotten. It must be reviewed when something changes — new equipment, a new process, an incident or a near miss — and revisited periodically even when nothing obvious has changed. An assessment that no longer reflects reality offers no protection and no legal defence.
If you want a structured method to follow, our guide to the five steps to a risk assessment breaks the process down into a sequence anyone can use, and our explainer on what a Safety Statement is shows where it all comes together.
Done well, a risk assessment is the single most useful safety document a business produces. It turns vague worry into specific, manageable action.
