General risk assessment for remote workers

  • Pre-filled to make it easy
  • Customisable to your needs
  • Action points to help you address issues

This risk assessment for remote workers is designed to make it easy for you to comply with health and safety law when it comes to employees who work offsite.

If you have staff who work away from your business premises, for example if they are homeworkers, go out on deliveries or spend time at clients’ premises, it is important to take their health and safety seriously and carry out (or get them to carry out) regular risk assessments.

This remote worker risk assessment covers the most common hazards that your staff might come across away from your business premises. Because every job is different, the risk assessment template has space for you to add any hazards that are specific to your business circumstances.

You can also purchase this risk assessment as part of the Remote working and cybersecurity toolkit.

Q&A

  • When should I use this document?

    This remote worker risk assessment is suitable for any staff you have who work away from your business premises, whether they spend their time making deliveries, working at clients’ offices or working from home.

    The template is designed to be used regularly. There is no set time period that a risk assessment remains good for - in most cases it should be reviewed at least annually, but it could be appropriate for you to carry one out more frequently than that. you should review your risk assessment whenever something changes in your business that could affect it. For remote workers this could be a change of location or some new equipment, or the review could be prompted by them having an accident or near miss of some kind.

  • What does this document cover?

    This remote worker risk assessment is a pre-filled template, guiding you step-by-step through the process necessary to perform a comprehensive risk assessment. It covers health and safety hazards that are common to remote workers from manual handling and extensive driving for work to stress and isolation.

    Risk assessments like this one should not be treated as a box-ticking exercise. You are legally required to act on them to reduce risks or eliminate them where possible. To help you engage with this remote worker risk assessment properly, it includes:

    • notes to guide you when looking for hazards that are particular to your business;
    • suggested actions you can take to minimise or remove the most common hazards; and
    • an action planner to help you follow up the results of your risk assessment.
  • Why do I need this document?

    Regular risk assessments are mandatory if you have any employees. The law also requires you to take appropriate action based on your findings to reduce risks or remove them entirely if possible.

    You are also required to keep written records of your risk assessments if you have five or more employees. If you have fewer than five employees, you should nevertheless try to keep written records of your risk assessments as a matter of good practice. It shows that you take the health and safety of your staff seriously, and can help you pinpoint problems and improve over time.

    Once you have filled it in, you can keep a copy of this template remote workers risk assessment as an easy way to comply with your legal record keeping obligations.

  • Where can I find out more?

    For a comprehensive downloadable guide to your year in health and safety, see Health and safety annual action plan.

    If you want further guidance on carrying out risk assessments generally, and remote worker risk assessments specifically, see Health and safety risk assessments.

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