Workplace Risk Assessments in Cape Town for Businesses

A Health and Safety Risk Assessment is a structured process used to identify workplace hazards, evaluate the level of risk they pose, and determine appropriate control measures to protect employees, contractors, visitors, and the public. Under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act 85 of 1993, employers have a legal duty to provide a safe working environment. Conducting a risk assessment helps businesses identify potential dangers before they result in injuries, illnesses, or costly incidents. A well-prepared risk assessment also supports ongoing OHS compliance, improves workplace safety, and demonstrates due diligence during inspections by the Department of Employment and Labour.

Yes. Workplace risk assessment is an important legal requirement under South Africa's occupational health and safety framework.

Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 requires employers to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to employees' health. Risk management is one of the processes used to achieve this obligation. 

The General Safety Regulations also contain risk-assessment requirements, including the requirement for employers and users of machinery to evaluate risks associated with workplace conditions, activities and machinery. 

The Department of Employment and Labour continues to identify the absence of workplace risk assessments as a compliance problem during inspections

A workplace risk assessment should identify the hazards present, the people who may be affected, how they may be affected, the level of risk and the measures required to control those risks.

The Department of Employment and Labour's current guidance describes three key stages:

1. Hazard identification – Identify hazards and determine who could be affected.

2. Risk evaluation – Analyse the hazards, evaluate the risks and prioritise them.

3. Risk control – Identify and implement appropriate control measures. 

The specific requirements can vary depending on the workplace and the hazards involved. Certain hazards, such as hazardous chemical agents, physical agents, noise, asbestos and other regulated exposures, may have additional assessment and monitoring requirements under their specific regulations.

For this reason, a generic risk assessment is not be sufficient for a workplace.

A comprehensive workplace risk assessment should reflect the actual activities, hazards and working conditions at the premises.

Depending on the workplace, it may include:

• The activity, area or task being assessed 
• Hazards identified 
• People exposed to each hazard 
• Potential consequences 
• Existing control measures 
• Likelihood and severity of harm 
• Overall risk rating 
• Additional control measures required 
• Responsible person 
• Target or completion date 
• Monitoring and review requirements 

The assessment should also consider people who are not employees but could be affected by the employer's activities, such as contractors, visitors, customers or members of the public, where applicable. 

A risk assessment must be specific to the workplace rather than copied from another business.

A risk assessment normally begins with identifying the activities and hazards present in the workplace.

The assessor then considers who could be exposed, how exposure or harm could occur, the potential consequences and the likelihood of an incident occurring. Existing controls are evaluated to determine whether they adequately reduce the risk.

The remaining risk is then evaluated and additional controls are identified where necessary.

A practical risk assessment process can therefore be summarised as:

Identify the hazard → Identify who is exposed → Evaluate the risk → Determine controls → Implement controls → Monitor and review.

The Department of Employment and Labour uses this same general structure in its current workplace risk-assessment guidance. 

A risk assessment may be inadequate when it does not accurately reflect the actual workplace, fails to identify significant hazards or does not provide meaningful control measures.

Common weaknesses include:

• Using a generic assessment that does not reflect the workplace 
• Missing significant hazards 
• Failing to identify who may be exposed 
• Incorrect or unexplained risk ratings 
• Listing controls that are not actually implemented 
• Failing to consider contractors or other affected persons 
• Not assigning responsibility for corrective actions 
• Failing to review the assessment after significant changes 
• Treating the risk assessment as a document rather than an active risk-management process 

The Department has specifically identified the absence of risk assessments and confusion between baseline and task-based risk assessments as workplace compliance problems. 

A baseline risk assessment provides a broader assessment of the significant hazards and risks associated with the workplace, activities and operations. It establishes a baseline understanding of the risks that need to be managed.

A task-based risk assessment focuses on the hazards associated with a particular task or activity. It is more specific and considers the conditions, equipment, people and controls involved in performing that task.

For example, a manufacturing workplace may have a baseline assessment covering the overall workplace, while a separate task-based assessment may be required for working at height, operating specific machinery, welding or handling hazardous chemicals.

These assessments serve different purposes and should not automatically be treated as interchangeable. The Department has identified confusion between baseline and task-based risk assessments as a common compliance issue. 

The employer has the responsibility for managing workplace health and safety risks, although the assessment itself may be conducted with assistance from a competent person or appropriately qualified specialist.

The person conducting the assessment should have sufficient knowledge and competence to understand the hazards being assessed and the relevant work activities.

For specialised risks, additional expertise may be necessary. For example, certain occupational health risks may require appropriate occupational hygiene or health professionals.

The important point is that an employer should not assume that simply appointing someone to complete a risk-assessment template transfers the employer's legal responsibility for managing the risks.

A hazard is something that has the potential to cause harm.

A risk is the possibility that the hazard will actually cause harm, taking into consideration factors such as the likelihood of the event occurring and the potential severity of the consequences.

For example, a chemical substance may be a hazard. The risk depends on factors such as how the chemical is used, how employees may be exposed, the quantity involved and the control measures in place.

Similarly, a wet floor is a hazard, while the risk could be an employee slipping, falling and suffering an injury.

A risk assessment matrix is a tool used to evaluate and rank workplace risks by considering factors such as the likelihood of an incident occurring and the severity of the potential consequence.

The combination of these factors produces a risk rating that can help an organisation prioritise its control measures.

For example, a risk that is both highly likely and capable of causing severe harm would generally receive a higher priority than a risk that is unlikely and would result in minor harm.

The exact scoring system can vary between organisations and risk-assessment methodologies. What matters is that the matrix is defined, applied consistently and supported by a sensible evaluation of the actual workplace risk.

A numerical score should therefore support professional judgement rather than replace it.

The hierarchy of controls is a method of prioritising measures used to eliminate or reduce workplace risks.

The general hierarchy is:

1. Elimination – Remove the hazard entirely. 
2. Substitution – Replace the hazard with something less hazardous. 
3. Engineering controls – Physically isolate people from the hazard. 
4. Administrative controls – Use procedures, training, supervision, signage or other organisational measures. 
5. Personal protective equipment (PPE) – Protect the individual from remaining exposure. 

The principle is to prioritise controls that address the hazard at its source rather than relying solely on employees to protect themselves.

It should consider whether the hazard can be eliminated, substituted or controlled through engineering or administrative measures before relying on PPE as the final layer of protection.

A business without an appropriate workplace risk assessment may be unable to demonstrate that it has properly identified and managed the health and safety risks associated with its activities.

This can contribute to OHS non-compliance, increased exposure to workplace incidents and difficulty demonstrating effective risk control during an inspection.

The Department of Employment and Labour has recently reported workplaces being found non-compliant for failing to conduct workplace risk assessments, with compliance and prohibition notices issued during inspections. 

More importantly, the purpose of a risk assessment is preventative. Identifying hazards before an incident occurs gives the employer an opportunity to introduce controls and reduce the likelihood of injury, illness, property damage or other losses.

A risk assessment should therefore be viewed as a practical safety-management tool, not merely a document required for an inspection.