Where the duty sits
The duty to have a risk assessment carried out is the employer's. That does not mean the employer writes the document personally; but whoever writes it, the responsibility for the result stays with them. Buying in a service is a way of discharging the duty, not of transferring it.
Three routes
- In house: with a team including the appointed safety specialist and occupational physician.
- Bought in: from an authorised provider — but a team is still formed and worker participation is still required.
- Mixed: method and facilitation from outside, content from inside.
The known trap with bought-in services
The visiting specialist walks the site for a day, fills in a ready template and leaves. The document is complete in form; its content describes a different plant. At an inspection, and after an accident, the question is the same: which point of your site does this line describe?
Who signs
The document is signed by the whole team that carried out the assessment. A single-signature assessment contradicts, on its own face, the claim that it was done as a team.
Keeping and access
The assessment is held at the workplace and kept where workers can reach it. A worker must know the hazards and controls relevant to their own job; an assessment nobody can access does not discharge the duty to inform either.