Follow the HSE's 5-steps approach with a guided builder, trade-specific hazard libraries and automatic risk scoring. Produce assessments that satisfy clients, auditors and the law.
No obligation. See it in action.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, every UK employer must assess the risks their work creates. If you employ five or more people, those assessments must be written down. But even below that threshold, you'll struggle to get onto a commercial site, win council work or satisfy an insurer without documented risk assessments.
The problem for a small trades business isn't understanding risk — you manage it on site every day. It's turning that knowledge into a document: identifying hazards systematically, scoring likelihood and severity consistently, recording who might be harmed, and showing the risk left over after your controls. Done in a spreadsheet, it's slow and inconsistent. Done badly, it's worse than useless if the HSE ever comes calling.
Site Safety UK's risk assessment builder walks you through the process row by row. Pick hazards from a library built for UK trades — working at height, buried services, silica dust, manual handling — score them on a 5×5 matrix, apply control measures, and see the residual risk drop. The finished document exports as a branded PDF with your details, signatures and review dates.
Hundreds of pre-written hazards and control measures for 30+ trades, from roofing and electrical to groundworks and demolition.
Score likelihood and severity before and after controls. The matrix colour-codes each row so high risks stand out instantly.
Hazard, who's affected, existing controls, further action, review — the structure inspectors and auditors expect to see.
Operatives, visitors, members of the public — the builder prompts you so nothing obvious gets missed.
Branded exports with signature and review-date blocks that look professional attached to a tender or emailed to a site manager.
Set review dates so assessments never silently go stale, and re-issue updated versions with a clear revision trail.
Name the task, site and assessor. Link it to a project if you're managing several jobs at once.
Choose from the trade library or write your own. Each hazard comes with suggested control measures to adapt.
Rate initial risk, apply controls, and record the residual score — the matrix does the maths and colour-coding.
Download the branded PDF, get it signed, and let the review date remind you when it needs revisiting.
| Site Safety UK | Spreadsheet / Word | |
|---|---|---|
| Hazard identification | Trade-specific library jogs your memory | Rely on recall — easy to miss hazards |
| Risk scoring | Consistent 5×5 matrix, auto colour-coded | Inconsistent scoring between documents |
| Control measures | Suggested controls for every library hazard | Written from scratch every time |
| Presentation | Clean branded PDF every time | Formatting breaks, tables overflow pages |
| Review cycle | Review dates tracked in your dashboard | Out-of-date assessments nobody notices |
'Roofing — falls from height' is not a risk assessment. Assess the specific job: this roof, this access method, this weather exposure, these neighbours below.
Listing 'PPE will be worn' against every hazard suggests box-ticking. Controls should follow the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate — PPE last.
An assessment is a live document. If a near miss happens or the method changes, the assessment must be reviewed — and the review recorded.
The public, client staff and delivery drivers are harmed by construction work every year. If they can be affected, they belong in the assessment.
If you employ five or more people, yes — the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require significant findings to be recorded in writing. Below five employees the assessment is still legally required, just not the writing — though in practice clients and insurers will expect documents regardless.
Identify the hazards; decide who might be harmed and how; evaluate the risks and decide on precautions; record your significant findings; review and update as necessary. Site Safety UK's builder follows this exact structure.
A risk assessment identifies hazards and controls. A RAMS pack pairs that assessment with a method statement — the step-by-step safe sequence of work. Site Safety UK produces both, and they can be exported together as a pack.
There's no fixed legal interval, but review whenever the work, site, equipment or personnel change significantly, after any incident or near miss, and at least annually as good practice. The software tracks review dates for you.
Yes — duplicate any assessment, update the site-specific details and re-issue it. That keeps repeat work fast while making sure each document genuinely reflects the job in hand.
Site Safety UK uses a 5×5 likelihood × severity matrix, which is the format most UK principal contractors and accreditation schemes (CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline) expect to see.
Pair your risk assessments with method statements for a complete RAMS pack.
Hazardous substances need their own assessment — build COSHH records here.
Brief your team on assessed risks with recorded toolbox talks.
See the full platform: audits, accident book, training records and more.
Step-by-step guides including the HSE 5-steps approach in practice.
The data behind the risks — UK injury and enforcement statistics.