DOCX
Most downloaded
Generic Risk Assessment
The foundation template — hazard, who’s harmed, existing controls, risk rating, further action. Drop any task into it.
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Downloads · Editable templates
Free risk assessment templates — written by our consultants.
Editable Word, Excel and fillable-PDF templates for the tasks that come up every week on site. Written against current HSE guidance, reviewed quarterly, free forever.
20Templates available
100%Editable, white-label
Reg 3MHSWR 1999 duty
QuarterlyReviewed for HSE alignment
Written by consultants who use them on real jobs.
If your risk assessments look like copy-paste jobs, you’re not alone — but that’s what HSE inspectors are trained to spot. These templates are the same ones our consultants use when we’re out on jobs, stripped of client names and set up so you can adapt them in 10 minutes instead of building from a blank page.
They are editable, white-label, and free to use commercially. Drop your company logo in the header, change the tint if you want to, re-word anything that doesn’t match how you work. You own whatever you produce from them.
The structure of every template maps directly to Regulation 3 of MHSWR 1999 — the duty on employers to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of risk. That phrase is the legal bar: if your RA covers the five HSE steps below and someone competent signs it off, you’re meeting it.
The 5 steps of a “suitable and sufficient” risk assessment
HSE’s standard framework — every template in the library follows it.
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1
Identify the hazards
Walk the workplace, talk to the people doing the task, look at accident records. A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm — physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic or psychosocial.
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2
Decide who might be harmed — and how
Employees, sub-contractors, visitors, members of the public, young persons, lone workers, new or expectant mothers. Different groups face different risks from the same hazard.
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3
Evaluate the risk — and decide on controls
Use the Hierarchy of Control: eliminate → substitute → engineering controls → administrative controls → PPE. PPE is the last line of defence, not the first.
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4
Record your findings — and brief them out
If you have 5 or more employees, you must record the significant findings in writing. Every template has a sign-off box — but a signed form isn’t worth much unless the crew has actually been briefed on it.
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5
Review — and revise
Reviews are triggered by: new equipment or materials, a near-miss or accident, a change to the task, new legislation, or the scheduled review date. Every template has a review date field — use it.
The template library
Click a category to filter. Everything is free — no email wall.
XLSX
Risk Assessment Register
A single workbook to log every active risk assessment on a project — review dates, version, author, linked method statements.
PDF
Dynamic Risk Assessment (on-site)
A pocket-sized form for supervisors to record a dynamic re-assessment when site conditions change mid-task. Sign, photograph, file.
DOCX
Most downloaded
Working at Height Risk Assessment
WAHR 2005-aligned. Covers avoid / prevent / mitigate hierarchy, fall distance, edge protection, rescue plan and weather thresholds.
DOCX
Ladders & Stepladders RA
Short-duration, light-work tasks only. Includes 1:4 ratio guidance, tie-off requirements, pre-use check and LadderCard sign-off.
DOCX
MEWP / Cherry Picker RA & Rescue Plan
Boom, scissor and spider-lift operations. Includes trapping/crushing controls, ground-level rescue plan and IPAF-card verification.
DOCX
Most downloaded
Manual Handling RA (MAC-tool)
MHOR 1992-compliant, using the HSE’s Manual Handling Assessment Chart (MAC) colour-banding for lifting, carrying and team handling.
XLSX
Repetitive Task / RULA Assessment
Rapid Upper Limb Assessment worksheet for repetitive tasks. Auto-scores posture, force and frequency into an action level (1–4).
XLSX
Most downloaded
COSHH Assessment (blank)
Per-substance assessment keyed to the SDS. Covers exposure routes, WEL, controls, RPE/PPE, first aid, spill and emergency actions.
DOCX
Dust & Silica (RCS) Control Plan
Respirable crystalline silica work-plan — water-suppression, on-tool extraction, RPE selection, exposure time and health surveillance.
DOCX
DSEAR Assessment
For flammable atmospheres — fuel storage, solvents, LPG, dusts. Includes ATEX zoning guide and ignition-source elimination check.
DOCX
Lifting Operations RA + Lift Plan
LOLER 1998-aligned. Includes load/SWL calc, radius/boom chart, slinger-signaller duties, ground-bearing check and exclusion zone.
DOCX
Tower Crane RA & Lift Plan
For fixed and rail-mounted tower cranes. Oversailing agreements, anti-collision zones, wind-speed cut-off, climbing & tie-in controls.
PDF
Most downloaded
Hot Works Permit Pack
Covers welding, grinding, brazing and soldering. Includes 10-metre zone check, 60-minute fire watch, extinguisher provision and sign-off.
DOCX
Confined Space RA + Permit
Assessment, entry permit, gas-monitoring schedule and rescue plan. References Confined Spaces Regulations 1997.
PDF
Excavation / Breaking Ground Permit
CAT & Genny scanning record, service-drawing check, shoring method, spoil-heap distance and edge-protection sign-off.
PDF
Electrical LOTO Permit
Lock-Out Tag-Out authorisation for electrical isolation work. Isolation point, proving-dead check, padlock ID and re-energisation sign-off.
DOCX
Most downloaded
Fire Risk Assessment (premises)
RRFSO 2005-compliant FRA for workplaces and HMOs. Covers the 5-step PAS 79 method, evacuation plans and significant findings log.
XLSX
Fire Drill & Alarm Test Log
Rolling 12-month log for weekly alarm tests, 6-monthly drills, evacuation times and issues raised — all on one page.
DOCX
Hot Surfaces & Burns RA
Kitchen, welding-aftermath, hot bitumen, roofing torch residues. Controls, PPE, first-aid provision and incident reporting.
No templates in this category yet.
Anatomy of a good risk assessment
What an HSE inspector looks for — and what our templates cover by default.
01
Task described in plain English
What is actually being done, where, for how long, by how many people. A title like “Roof work” isn’t specific enough — “Repointing chimney stack on 3-storey domestic property using tower scaffold” is.
02
Hazards listed with affected groups
Each hazard paired with who it might harm — operatives, passers-by, deliveries, roof below. Generic “staff” doesn’t cut it for third parties and public interface.
03
Controls mapped to the Hierarchy
Eliminate → Substitute → Engineering → Administrative → PPE. Show your working — if PPE is your main control, explain why the higher-order ones aren’t feasible.
04
Risk rating before and after controls
Likelihood × severity, scored before and after your controls. Shows the controls are making a difference — and how much residual risk is being accepted.
05
Competent person sign-off & review date
Name, role, signature, date of assessment, planned review date. If the reviewer isn’t qualified on the task, the assessment isn’t defensible.
06
Briefing record
Each operative’s name, signature and date confirming they’ve been briefed on the assessment. No briefing record → no defensible RA.
Five ways a risk assessment falls apart in front of an inspector
× Doesn’t hold up
A generic template with a client name added
Same hazards, same controls, same wording as every other job. No sign of anyone having walked the actual site.
✓ What good looks like
A template adapted for this task, this site, today
Site-specific hazards added (public footpath at gable end, pitched-tile roof), generic ones removed, dated the day of the walkaround.
× Doesn’t hold up
“Wear PPE” as the main control
PPE listed for every hazard as if it’s a first-line defence. No engineering or administrative controls upstream.
✓ What good looks like
Hierarchy of Control applied
Elimination tried first (can the task be avoided?), then substitution, then engineering (extraction, guarding), then admin (PTW, training) — PPE as the last line.
× Doesn’t hold up
No residual risk score
Single risk rating at the top, no comparison between pre- and post-controls. No way to see if the controls are meaningful.
✓ What good looks like
Before and after scores for every hazard
Initial rating shown, then controls listed, then residual rating. Where residual is still “medium” or higher — further action or monitoring explained.
× Doesn’t hold up
Signed by the writer only
Assessor’s name, signature and date — but nothing to show the crew on the ground has ever seen the document.
✓ What good looks like
Briefing sign-off sheet attached
Each operative’s name, signature and date. Revisited at start of every shift if the task runs for more than one day.
× Doesn’t hold up
Review date in the past
Document dated two years ago, review date expired eight months ago, no version history.
✓ What good looks like
Live document with versioning
V1.3, last reviewed April 2026, next review October 2026. Trigger events (near-miss, incident, legislative change) flagged on the register.
Using the templates — FAQ
Can I use these commercially?
Yes. Use them on client work, white-label them with your own logo, adapt the wording to how your team works. The only thing we ask is that you don’t re-sell them as a stand-alone product.
Are they legally compliant?
They’re written against current UK H&S legislation (MHSWR 1999, HASAWA 1974, sector regulations like CDM 2015 and WAHR 2005) and reviewed quarterly. Compliance is what you do with them on the ground — no template is compliant on its own. A template you’ve adapted, signed, briefed out and reviewed is compliant; a blank template is just a document.
How often should I review a completed risk assessment?
At minimum annually. Sooner if: the task changes, equipment or materials change, a near-miss or accident occurs, or legislation changes. Put a review date in the footer of every RA and flag it in your project calendar.
Do I need a separate RA for every task?
You need an RA for every hazardous task. A single project-level RA covering the whole job isn’t good enough — the HSE would expect task-level assessments for high-risk activities (hot works, working at height, confined space, lifting, COSHH) plus a project-level register that lists them all.
Can you write a custom RA for my site?
Yes — our pay-as-you-go service starts at £125 for a bespoke task-level RA, or £350 for a full project suite. See the PAYG CTA below.
Who is the “competent person” who should sign them?
Someone with the skills, knowledge, experience and training relevant to the task. For high-risk work that usually means SMSTS/SSSTS-qualified or a specialist card (e.g. IPAF for MEWPs, PASMA for mobile towers, IOSH Managing Safely for office-based tasks).
Want it tailored to your site?
Bespoke risk assessments from £125.
Our consultants will walk your job, write the RA and method statement, and brief your crew — all under our pay-as-you-go service, no retainer.
- Site visit & task walkaround
- Bespoke RA & method statement on your letterhead
- Briefing to your crew, with signed record
- Turnaround: 3–5 working days
From £125
per bespoke task RA