OHS: How to Do a Health and Safety Risk Assessment in a Small Business

July 08, 2026•18 min read

Article #3 of #25 in the Occupational Health and Safety Series

Phase 1: Foundation and Legal Basics

Introduction

If you ask a health and safety consultant where a small business should start with workplace safety, one of the first answers will almost always be the same: start with a risk assessment.

That is because a business cannot manage health and safety properly if it does not first understand what could cause harm in the workplace. It is very difficult to choose the right safety rules, training, emergency procedures, protective equipment, or inspections if you have not yet identified the actual risks in your business.

A health and safety risk assessment helps you do exactly that. It gives you a practical way to look at your workplace, identify hazards, think about who could be harmed, decide how serious the risks are, and then put control measures in place to reduce those risks.

For small business owners, risk assessments are often one of the most useful health and safety tools available. They help turn health and safety from a vague idea into a practical management task. Instead of trying to fix everything at once or relying only on common sense, the business owner can work through the workplace in a structured way and focus on the real risks that need attention.

Some small business owners hear the words risk assessment and immediately imagine long technical reports, complicated scoring systems, and expensive consultants. While some high-risk industries do need formal and detailed assessments, the basic idea of a risk assessment is much simpler than many people think. In a small business, a risk assessment can begin with careful observation, sensible questions, and written notes about what needs to be controlled.

In this article, we will explain what a health and safety risk assessment is, why it matters, who should be involved, and how a small business owner can carry out a practical risk assessment step by step. We will also look at common workplace hazards, examples of control measures, mistakes to avoid, and how to turn the findings into action.

What Is a Health and Safety Risk Assessment?

A health and safety risk assessment is the process of looking at your work activities, identifying hazards, deciding who could be harmed and how, evaluating the level of risk, and then deciding what steps should be taken to reduce or control that risk.

To understand this properly, it helps to separate two words that are often used together:

A hazard is something that has the potential to cause harm.
A risk is the chance that the hazard could actually cause harm, together with how serious that harm could be.

A simple example

Imagine there is a loose electrical cable running across the floor of your office or workshop.

The hazard is the cable across the walkway.
The risk is that someone could trip over it, fall, and injure themselves.

Now imagine a business stores cleaning chemicals in unlabelled containers.

The hazard is the chemical and the poor storage method.
The risk is that an employee may use it incorrectly, spill it, breathe it in, or suffer skin or eye injuries.

A risk assessment is the process of finding these kinds of problems before an accident happens and then deciding what should be done about them.

Why Risk Assessments Matter in a Small Business

Some small business owners think risk assessments are only for big factories, mines, or construction companies. In reality, every business has hazards. The difference is only in the type and level of risk.

An office may have electrical hazards, blocked exits, poor housekeeping, and fire risks. A salon may have chemicals, hot equipment, and wet floors. A catering business may have knives, hot oil, gas, cleaning chemicals, and slippery surfaces. A plumbing or electrical business may have ladders, tools, client-site risks, and manual handling hazards. A workshop may have machinery, welding, noise, dust, and moving equipment.

A risk assessment matters because it helps a business do the following:

1. Prevent injuries and illness

The most important reason for doing a risk assessment is to stop people from getting hurt. If hazards are identified early, the business has a chance to fix the problem before it causes an accident, injury, or health issue.

2. Meet legal responsibilities

South African employers have a duty under occupational health and safety law to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to health. A risk assessment is one of the most practical ways to identify what those risks are and what needs to be done about them.

3. Focus time and money on the right problems

Without a risk assessment, a business may spend time on the wrong issues while missing the hazards that actually matter most. A proper assessment helps the owner prioritise the most important risks first.

4. Improve training and procedures

Once the risks are clear, it becomes much easier to train staff properly, write relevant safety rules, choose the correct PPE, and create sensible emergency procedures.

5. Show that the business is taking safety seriously

If there is an inspection, an incident, or a dispute, a business that has carried out a risk assessment is in a much stronger position than one that has never looked at its risks in a structured way.

Who Should Do the Risk Assessment?

In a small business, the risk assessment is often led by the owner, manager, supervisor, or the person responsible for health and safety. However, it should not be done in complete isolation if other people have useful knowledge about the work.

Employees often understand the day-to-day risks of their jobs better than anyone else because they are the ones doing the work. A technician may know which ladder is unstable. A kitchen employee may know which floor area becomes slippery during busy periods. A receptionist may know that delivery boxes are regularly left in the fire exit path. A cleaner may know which chemicals cause problems or where storage is poor.

This means a good risk assessment often involves:

the owner or manager
supervisors where applicable
employees who actually do the work
in some cases, a health and safety representative or external adviser if the work is more specialised or higher risk

The goal is not to create a committee for every small task. The goal is to make sure the assessment reflects the real workplace and not just what management assumes is happening.

Who Should Do the Risk Assessment? — Conducting a Risk Assessment

When Should a Risk Assessment Be Done?

A risk assessment should not be treated as a once-off exercise that is done and then forgotten. It should be reviewed and updated when needed.

A small business should consider doing or reviewing a risk assessment:

when starting the business
when moving into new premises
when introducing new equipment, chemicals, tools, or machinery
when changing the way work is done
when new employees start doing unfamiliar tasks
after an accident, near miss, or dangerous incident
when the business expands into new services or new work environments
when there is reason to believe the current assessment no longer reflects reality

Even if nothing major has changed, it is still wise to review risk assessments from time to time to make sure they remain accurate.

Step-by-Step: How to Do a Risk Assessment in a Small Business

Below is a practical step-by-step process that a small business can use to carry out a basic workplace risk assessment.

Step 1: Break the Business Into Work Areas and Activities

Before you start identifying hazards, it helps to divide the business into manageable sections. If you try to assess the whole business at once without structure, important details can easily be missed.

You can break the assessment down by:

physical area, such as reception, workshop, kitchen, storeroom, office, parking area, client-site work, or delivery vehicle
work activity, such as welding, food preparation, ladder work, stock handling, cleaning, electrical installation, driving, or cash handling
groups of tasks, such as opening procedures, equipment use, loading and unloading, or closing procedures

This makes the assessment much easier because you can focus on one part of the business at a time.

Example

A small catering business might divide its assessment into:

kitchen food preparation area
cooking and frying area
dishwashing and cleaning area
storeroom and chemical storage
food delivery and transport
event setup at customer premises

A plumbing business might divide its assessment into:

workshop and tool storage
loading the vehicle
driving to site
working at customer premises
ladder use
cutting and joining pipes
handling heavy materials

Step 2: Identify the Hazards

Now that the workplace has been broken into sections, the next step is to identify hazards in each area or activity.

A good way to do this is to physically walk through the workplace and observe what is happening. Do not only look for obvious dramatic dangers. Also look for everyday problems that could still cause harm.

Ask questions such as:

What could injure someone here?
What could make someone ill?
What could go wrong if a tool, machine, or process fails?
What hazards are created by poor housekeeping, bad storage, or lack of training?
Are there any chemicals, electrical risks, hot surfaces, sharp tools, slippery areas, or manual handling issues?
What happens during busy times, deliveries, cleaning, opening, closing, or emergencies?

Common hazards in small businesses

Some common hazard categories include:

Physical hazards

slips, trips, and falls
ladders and work at heights
falling objects
poor housekeeping
blocked walkways or exits
hot surfaces or hot liquids
sharp tools or moving machinery parts

Electrical hazards

damaged plugs, cords, or extension leads
overloaded sockets
faulty equipment
unsafe temporary wiring
working near live electrical systems

Fire and emergency hazards

blocked exits
lack of extinguishers
poor storage of flammable materials
no evacuation plan
electrical overloads
gas-related risks

Chemical hazards

cleaning chemicals
paints, solvents, adhesives, oils, or fuels
poor ventilation
unlabelled containers
lack of gloves or eye protection

Manual handling hazards

lifting heavy boxes or equipment
awkward carrying positions
repetitive lifting
moving stock without proper support

Equipment and machinery hazards

broken ladders
damaged tools
missing machine guards
poor maintenance
incorrect use of equipment

Environmental and hygiene hazards

poor ventilation
poor lighting
wet floors
food contamination risks
pest problems in food businesses
dirty work areas

Vehicle and travel hazards

driving for work
loading and unloading vehicles
unsecured tools or stock in vehicles
working at customer premises

Do not rush this step. A weak hazard identification process leads to a weak risk assessment.

Step 3: Decide Who Could Be Harmed and How

Once hazards have been identified, the next step is to think about who might be affected and how they could be harmed.

This may include:

employees
supervisors and managers
temporary workers
cleaners
delivery staff
contractors
customers
visitors
members of the public in some cases

It is important to be specific. Do not only write “staff may be injured.” Think about what kind of harm could happen.

Example

Hazard: Wet floor near the kitchen sink
Who could be harmed: Kitchen staff, cleaner, delivery helper
How they could be harmed: Slipping and falling, possible back injury, bruising, or head injury

Hazard: Damaged extension lead in office
Who could be harmed: Office staff, cleaner, visitors
How they could be harmed: Electric shock or trip-and-fall injury

Hazard: Heavy stock stored on high shelves
Who could be harmed: Storeroom staff, manager, delivery assistant
How they could be harmed: Falling objects causing head, shoulder, or back injuries

Thinking carefully about who may be harmed helps the business understand the real effect of the hazard and decide what controls are needed.

Step 4: Evaluate the Risk Level

Once you know the hazard and who may be harmed, the next step is to decide how serious the risk is. This does not need to become a complicated mathematical exercise in a small business, but the business should still think logically about the level of risk.

A practical way to do this is to ask two questions:

1. How likely is it that harm could happen?

Is the hazard something people are exposed to every day? Has it already caused near misses? Is the unsafe condition obvious and active? Or is it less likely to happen?

2. How serious could the harm be?

Could it cause a minor cut or bruise, or could it cause a major burn, electric shock, fracture, eye injury, or serious illness?

By thinking about likelihood and severity, the business can decide which risks need urgent action and which are lower priority.

A simple practical approach

A small business can use a basic system such as:

Low risk – unlikely to cause harm and consequences likely to be minor
Medium risk – could cause harm and needs attention
High risk – likely to cause harm or could cause serious injury, and should be addressed urgently

The purpose is not to create a perfect score. The purpose is to help prioritise action.

Step 5: Decide on Control Measures

This is the most important part of the risk assessment: deciding what should be done to reduce the risk.

A control measure is a step taken to remove the hazard or reduce the chance of harm. The best control depends on the nature of the hazard, the work being done, and what is reasonably practicable.

A useful way to think about controls is to start with the most effective options rather than jumping straight to PPE.

Types of Control Measures

1. Eliminate the hazard if possible

If the hazard can be removed completely, that is often the best option.

Example:

Remove broken equipment from use
Stop storing heavy stock on unstable shelving
Replace a dangerous chemical with a safer product if possible

2. Substitute or change the method

If the hazard cannot be removed completely, can the process or item be changed?

Example:

Use a safer cleaning product
Change a delivery route or method to reduce manual handling
Use a more stable platform instead of an unsafe ladder for certain tasks

3. Use engineering or physical controls

These are physical changes to the workplace or equipment.

Example:

install guards on machinery
improve ventilation
repair damaged flooring
secure shelving
provide proper storage racks
improve lighting
add warning signs or barriers where needed

4. Use administrative controls and safe procedures

These are rules, systems, training, and supervision measures.

Example:

safe work procedures
housekeeping rules
maintenance schedules
chemical handling instructions
staff training
incident reporting procedures
limiting who may use certain equipment

5. Use personal protective equipment

PPE should be used where necessary, but it should not be the only control if stronger measures are available.

Example:

gloves
eye protection
masks or respirators
hearing protection
safety boots
aprons or protective clothing

Example of control thinking

Hazard: Wet floor near kitchen sink
Possible controls:

repair leaking sink or plumbing issue
place non-slip mats where appropriate
improve cleaning and drying routines
display wet floor signs during cleaning
ensure staff wear suitable non-slip footwear if needed

Hazard: Technician using damaged ladder
Possible controls:

remove damaged ladder from use immediately
replace with safe ladder
inspect ladders regularly
train staff on safe ladder use
supervise work at height where appropriate

Step 6: Record the Findings

A risk assessment should be written down in a clear and practical way. The record does not need to be full of legal language, but it should show:

the work area or activity assessed
the hazards identified
who could be harmed
the level of risk
the controls already in place
any further action needed
who is responsible for the action
target dates where appropriate

Keeping a written record is useful because it helps the business:

track what has been identified
follow up on actions
train staff consistently
show evidence of safety management if needed
review the assessment later

Step 7: Take Action and Follow Up

A risk assessment is only useful if the business actually acts on the findings. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is completing a document and then leaving it in a file without fixing the problems that were identified.

After the assessment:

deal with urgent high-risk issues first
assign responsibilities for corrective actions
set deadlines where needed
train staff on any new rules or controls
check that the changes were actually made
monitor whether the controls are working

For example, if the risk assessment identified that fire exits are blocked, ladders are damaged, and staff have not been trained on chemical handling, those issues should not remain unresolved for months.

Step 8: Review and Update the Assessment

A risk assessment should be a living document, not a once-off exercise. Review it when:

there is an accident or near miss
new equipment or chemicals are introduced
the layout of the workplace changes
staff start doing new tasks
the business expands or changes services
existing controls are clearly not working

Even if nothing major changes, a periodic review is still a good idea to keep the assessment relevant.

Practical Risk Assessment Examples for Different Small Businesses

To make the process more practical, it helps to see how different types of small businesses may approach risk assessments.

Example 1: Small office

Possible hazards:

overloaded plugs and extension leads
loose cables causing trips
blocked fire exits
poor housekeeping in storerooms
lack of first aid box
unstable filing shelves

Possible controls:

tidy and secure cables
inspect electrical equipment
keep exits clear
store files and boxes safely
appoint a first aider and maintain the first aid kit
provide basic fire and emergency training

Example 2: Small salon or beauty business

Possible hazards:

hot styling equipment
electrical appliances near water
chemical exposure from hair and beauty products
wet floors
poor ventilation
sharp tools

Possible controls:

train staff on safe equipment use
inspect electrical tools regularly
label and store chemicals properly
clean spills immediately
improve ventilation
provide gloves where needed

Example 3: Catering or food business

Possible hazards:

burns from hot oil and ovens
cuts from knives
wet and greasy floors
gas leaks
cleaning chemicals
heavy lifting of stock or containers

Possible controls:

knife safety and cooking safety training
slip control procedures
proper gas checks
safe chemical storage
clear housekeeping rules
manual handling training where needed

Example 4: Technical or field-service business

Possible hazards:

working at heights
power tools
electrical exposure
driving risks
heavy equipment
client-site hazards outside the business’s direct control

Possible controls:

ladder inspections
tool maintenance
PPE use
safe work procedures for site work
vehicle loading rules
staff training and supervision
site-specific hazard checks before starting work

Common Mistakes Small Businesses Make with Risk Assessments

1. Treating the risk assessment as paperwork only

A risk assessment is not just a form to complete. It is a tool for identifying and controlling real risks.

2. Copying a generic assessment from somewhere else

Every business has different hazards. A copied document that does not match the actual workplace may give a false sense of security.

3. Focusing only on dramatic hazards

Some of the most common injuries come from simple issues such as poor housekeeping, slippery floors, bad storage, and damaged equipment.

4. Forgetting contractors, visitors, or customers

In some businesses, people other than employees can also be harmed by workplace hazards.

5. Failing to act on the findings

A risk assessment that identifies problems but leads to no action is of very little value.

6. Never reviewing the assessment again

Workplaces change. Staff change. Equipment changes. Services change. The assessment must keep up with reality.

Final Thoughts

A health and safety risk assessment is one of the most practical and valuable tools a small business can use to improve workplace safety. It helps the business move beyond guesswork and look carefully at what could cause harm, who may be affected, and what steps should be taken to reduce the risk.

For South African small business owners, risk assessments are also an important part of meeting the duty to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk to health as far as reasonably practicable. They do not need to be overcomplicated, but they do need to be honest, relevant, and followed by real action.

The most important thing to remember is that a risk assessment is not about creating perfect paperwork. It is about understanding the real hazards in your business and dealing with them before somebody gets hurt. A simple, practical assessment that leads to safer equipment, clearer rules, better training, and a more organised workplace is far more valuable than a thick document that nobody uses.

In the next article, we will look at another important building block of occupational health and safety in a small business: creating a simple health and safety policy and assigning responsibilities in the workplace. This will help you turn your risk assessment findings into clear safety rules, responsibilities, and day-to-day systems that staff can actually follow.