For Sector Specific Operating Documents
Healthcare
Health and safety legislation requires every employer to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees to which they are exposed at work and the risks to other people who may be affected by their work activities. The main purpose of the risk assessment is to decide the measures needed to remove hazards and / or minimise risks and to establish a safe system of work.
Unit COVID-19 Risk Assessment Template
Risk Assessment Definitions
It is important to appreciate the difference in the terms “hazard” and “risk” and what is meant by “risk assessment”.
Definition of Hazard
A Hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm, injury or damage (this can include articles, substances, plant or machines, methods of work, the working environment and other aspects of work organisation).
Definition of Risk
A Risk is the likelihood of the potential harm from that hazard being realised and the consequences. The extent of the risk will depend on:
The likelihood of that harm occurring
The potential severity of that harm, i.e. the resultant injury or adverse health effect
The number of people who might be exposed to and affected by the hazard
Definition of Risk assessment
A Risk Assessment is a careful examination of work activities to identify what could cause harm, injury or damage in order to decide if enough precautions have been taken or if more should be done to prevent harm, injury or damage.
The Company Risk Assessment Process
The Company has approached the risk assessment process by identifying all of the significant hazards within our business operations and completing template risk assessment documents for sites to review and personalise to their own particular site circumstances.
The Compass risk assessments are split into 3 different groups of:
Mandatory - These risk assessments must be completed, where applicable, in EVERY Compass operating unit, be that a catering unit or a hard FM site.These include risk assessments that are specifically required by legislation or are the cause of a significant number of accidents and injury within the company.
Commonly Used - These risk assessments are for tasks commonly conducted throughout the business.
Service Specific - These are the risk assessments that are specific to and cover the equipment and tasks for a particular "soft" service offer e.g. Catering Services, Cleaning & Domestic Services, Business and Office Services, and Portering Services Further information about these categories of risk assessments can be found on the specific pages.