Guide

Electrician risk assessments: what good looks like

An assessor reading an electrical contractor's risk assessments is checking one thing above all: does this business understand its own risks? Here is what that means on paper.

The hazards yours must cover

Electrical work has a recognisable risk profile, and an assessment set that misses parts of it reads as borrowed. Expect to cover: contact with live conductors and the safe isolation procedure that prevents it; the specific controls for live working where testing makes it unavoidable; working at height for containment and cabling runs; dust from chasing and drilling, including silica; asbestos in pre-2000 buildings, and what you do when you suspect it; manual handling of cable drums, boards and access equipment; and the site-sharing risks of occupied houses and live commercial sites. Your set will differ with your work mix, and that difference showing is exactly the point.

The five-step structure assessors expect

Follow the HSE approach and label it: identify the hazards, identify who might be harmed and how (your workers, but also householders, other trades, the public), evaluate the risks and decide on controls, record the significant findings, and review. Each assessment should name its assessor, carry a date and a review date, and rate risk before and after controls. Fancier scoring systems are not required; a clear high, medium and low with sensible controls beats a numerical matrix nobody reads.

Controls must be your controls

The line that separates passing paperwork from template paperwork is specificity. "Suitable test equipment will be used" is template language. "Voltage indication to GS38 with proving unit, locks and tags carried in every van" is a business describing itself. Name the equipment you carry, the qualifications your people hold, and the rules you actually enforce. This is what our packs flag with amber customisation prompts, because it is the difference assessors act on.

Common referral triggers

• No assessment for safe isolation, the defining control of the trade.
• Live working treated as routine rather than exceptional and controlled.
• No mention of asbestos despite working in older buildings.
• Assessments with no dates, no named assessor and no review cycle.
• A set that contradicts the method statements submitted alongside it.

Risk assessments travel with method statements as a pair; the RAMS for electricians guide covers the method statement half.

Common questions

What risk assessments does an electrician need?

Assessments covering the real activities of the business: safe isolation and dead working, installation work in domestic and commercial settings, inspection and testing including controlled live working, working at height, and supporting assessments such as manual handling and dust.

Do sole traders need written risk assessments?

The law requires significant findings to be written down where five or more people are employed, but any electrician seeking accreditation or working for main contractors will be expected to produce written assessments regardless of size.