Workplace risk assessment: Get a healthy working environment
What is a workplace risk assessment?
The workplace risk assessment, in Danish Arbejdspladsvurdering (APV), is tool to ensure a safe and healthy workplace.
A workplace assessment is a process in which the employer, in collaboration with employees, identifies and assesses the physical and psychosocial working environment, decides how any problems identified are to be resolved, and monitors whether the solutions are effective.
Why do I need to participate in the workplace risk assessment?
Employees’ experiences and insights form an important part of the workplace assessment. When you take part, you can highlight problems and risks in the working environment, but also aspects that work well and should be retained.
How you are involved depends on the method chosen by your workplace. In larger organisations, data collection often takes place, for example via questionnaires – possibly with the option to provide open comments. It is crucial that as many people as possible take part and that you answer as thoroughly and specifically as possible.
How is a workplace risk assessment carried out and what does it contain?
The employer is responsible for ensuring that the workplace risk assessment is carried out. If the workplace has a health and safety committee – which is required where there are 10 or more employees – this committee must be involved throughout the entire process, from planning and identification to the action plan and follow-up.
In workplaces without a health and safety committee, employees must be involved in a similar manner.
The workplace itself decides how the workplace risk assessment is to be carried out. There is no requirement for a specific questionnaire or questioning technique. However, the method should ensure that health and safety conditions are identified and risk-assessed, that sickness absence is taken into account, that an action plan is drawn up for problems that cannot be resolved immediately, and that the solutions are followed up on.
What happens after I've filled out the workplace assessment?
Once the health and safety conditions have been identified, the risks identified must be assessed. Problems that can be resolved immediately should be dealt with straight away.
For other problems, a written action plan must be drawn up, describing the problem and its causes, how and when it is to be resolved, and who is responsible. After all, it is your right to be able to go to work without falling ill or being injured because of the working environment. The action plan must be available to all employees.
What should the workplace risk assessment include?
A workplace assessment must be carried out at least every three years, but also whenever changes occur in the work that may affect the working environment.
The workplace assessment process must comprise four elements:
- Health and safety conditions must be identified and any health and safety issues must be risk-assessed
- Sick leave must be taken into account in order to assess whether conditions in the working environment may be contributing to sick leave
- An action plan must be drawn up, setting out any problems that cannot be resolved immediately. The plan must specify how and when the problems are to be resolved and who is responsible
- The workplace must implement the action plan and monitor whether the solutions are effective.
You can find industry-specific online tools and forms that can be used to prepare the workplace assessment at Arbejdstilsynet.
Find tools for the workplace assessment at Arbejdstilsynet on AT.dk
Where can I see the findings of the workplace risk assessment?
You have the right to access the written action plan.
If you're unsure where you can view the results of a APV, ask your health and safety representative.
Am I anonymous when I participate in a workplace assessment?
There is freedom of method when it comes to the workplace assessment (WPA). Therefore, your response may not be anonymous, although this is very often the case.
If you are unsure, you can ask your line manager or health and safety representative about whether your workplace assessment is anonymous.
How can I influence the questions in the workplace assessment?
If you want to influence the questions in the WPA at your workplace and the follow-up on the WPA, talk to your manager or your health and safety representative.