Field Level Risk Assessment Template for England and Wales

Yes, Field Level Risk Assessments are legally required under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Employers have a statutory duty to assess risks to the health and safety of employees and others who may be affected by work activities. Failure to conduct proper risk assessments can result in prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and significant penalties.

Yes, the HSE can prosecute your company under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to conduct adequate risk assessments. Missing or poorly completed Field Level Risk Assessments constitute a breach of your legal duty of care and can result in unlimited fines, director disqualification, and even imprisonment in cases involving serious injury or death. The HSE views inadequate risk assessment as a fundamental failure of health and safety management.

A Field Level Risk Assessment is specifically designed for outdoor, remote, or variable work environments where conditions change frequently, while general workplace risk assessments typically cover fixed indoor environments. Field Level Risk Assessments must consider additional factors like weather conditions, terrain, isolation from emergency services, and mobile equipment. Both are required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 but serve different operational contexts.

A typical Field Level Risk Assessment should take 30-60 minutes to complete properly, depending on the complexity of the work activity and site conditions. Rushing the process is a common cause of inadequate assessments that fail to meet legal standards. The assessment must be thorough enough to identify all significant hazards and demonstrate that risks have been reduced to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP principle).

Yes, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require risk assessments to be reviewed regularly and updated when circumstances change significantly. For field work, this means assessments should be reviewed before each project, when site conditions change, after incidents or near misses, or at least annually. Outdated assessments that don't reflect current conditions can be considered inadequate by the HSE.

Yes, employees have the right under Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 to refuse work in circumstances of serious and imminent danger without a proper risk assessment. They cannot be dismissed or subjected to detriment for exercising this right in good faith. Employers must complete adequate Field Level Risk Assessments before work commences and communicate findings to workers.

Field Level Risk Assessment failures are heavily scrutinized because field work often involves higher inherent risks and greater potential for serious accidents. Common enforcement triggers include generic assessments that don't address site-specific hazards, failure to involve competent persons in the assessment process, and inadequate communication of findings to workers. The HSE expects dynamic risk management that responds to changing field conditions.