COSHH Assessments, The Law, And How You Can Comply

Since almost all organisations will buy, use or produce hazardous substances, from cleaning solutions to highly toxic chemicals, everyone should know about their COSHH responsibilities at work.

COSHH assessments are a legal requirement under two health and safety regulations.

• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR)

The first might seem obvious. COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, so of course, this set of regulations applies to COSHH assessments. It's where the term comes from!

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)

Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH Regulations), COSHH assessments are required by law, for any substances that are hazardous to health.

So, the use (or production) of any substances hazardous to health (including liquids, dust, fumes etc) requires assessment under the regulations.

Regulation 6 outlines the requirement for COSHH assessment, specific to substances that are hazardous to health.

1. An employer shall not carry out work which is liable to expose any employees to any substance hazardous to health unless he has—
   1. made a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the health of those employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of these Regulations

Under the COSHH regulations, the need to carry out COSHH assessment is clear - you can't carry out work that exposes your employees to hazardous substances unless you have assessed the risk first.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR)

Another set of regulations also applies to the need to carry out a COSHH assessment. So better make double sure we do one!

In addition to the COSHH regulations and the specific requirement to carry out a COSHH assessment, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) also apply.

The MHSWR require a risk assessment to be carried out for any risks to the health and safety of employees or other persons. This risk assessment is a process of identifying hazardous substances and evaluating the risk levels and control measures needed.

Learn more about the law and risk assessments, in the blog post, are risk assessments a legal requirement?

Since hazardous substances (as the name suggests) present a hazard that can result in risks to the health and safety of employees or other persons, the requirement to carry out a COSHH risk assessment would also come under MHSWR.

This doesn't mean double the work, luckily. It just means that producing your COSHH assessment will help you comply with the requirements under both sets of regulations.

Whose responsibility is it to carry out a COSHH assessment?

Both employers and employees have COSHH responsibilities.

But it is the employer who has to carry out a COSHH assessment.

1. An employer shall not carry out work which is liable to expose any employees to any substance hazardous to health unless he has—
   1. made a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the health of those employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of these Regulations

This isn't the only employer COSHH responsibility. But you could argue that it is the most important one. Carrying out your COSHH assessment is the first step in getting COSHH compliant.

You can't control hazardous substances until you know what hazardous substances you need to control. And that all happens during the COSHH assessment.

How to comply:

As an employer, make sure COSHH assessments are carried out before working with hazardous substances. If you are not sure how to do this, see the next section.

Whose duty is it to carry out a COSHH assessment?

It's the employer's responsibility to carry out a COSHH assessment. But this doesn't necessarily mean the employer needs to write the COSHH assessment themselves.

Employers have many health and safety responsibilities. They will often get help from a competent person to comply with certain duties.

The employer must make sure suitable arrangements are in place to carry out the COSHH assessment if they are not completing it themselves.

For large organisations, you are likely to have an individual, or a team employed who is responsible for health and safety. The individual or team can be appointed to manage the process, but you should also consider the need to have employee representatives from each department, or site, responsible for reporting back.

Within larger organisations, the use of substances can be complex and varied, particularly in manufacturing, or construction where use is spread out over different sites. The person in charge of the COSHH assessment process in this type of working environment won't be involved in the processes, or be present on all sites, it is, therefore, important to have input from those involved in the process for input and to report back on the effectiveness of controls in place.

Smaller organisations will often (not always) have lower risks, and be easier to control. Fewer people will need to be involved in the COSHH assessment process where the individual responsible is present and involved with the activity, and the risks are less serious or easily understandable.

Employees have COSHH responsibilities too. Even if they are not directly appointed as part of the COSHH team, they can and should be involved in the COSHH assessment process.

Employees using the substance and carrying out the activity have the most knowledge of the work and this information is key to a thorough and effective assessment. Early involvement in COSHH discussions will also help promote safe working practices and help gain compliance with the controls resulting from the assessment.

How to comply:

As an employer, you are responsible for COSHH assessment. But you might need extra help from a competent person. This will usually be someone within your business (like an employee) or could be someone external (like a consultant).

Whoever you appoint, they must have an understanding of the regulations and what is expected of them. It is also important that they understand the substances used and produced in your business - and a knowledge of the risks and how to analyse them.

For low to medium risk substances, they do not need to be an occupational hygienist. But they do need to have the ability to follow best practice advice and to research the substance. They should have access to specialist resources and the judgment to know when specialist help is needed.

COSHH assessment legal specification

Now we know that COSHH assessments are needed, by law, but what are the legal requirements of a COSHH assessment? What is a COSHH assessment, and what must a COSHH assessment contain?

The COSHH regulations simply provide a more specific requirement for assessing the risk from hazardous substances.

This is the legal outline for a COSHH assessment.

2. The risk assessment shall include consideration of—
   1. the hazardous properties of the substance;
   2. information on health effects provided by the supplier, including information contained in any relevant safety data sheet;
   3. the level, type and duration of exposure;
   4. the circumstances of the work, including the amount of the substance involved;
   5. activities, such as maintenance, where there is the potential for a high level of exposure;
   6. any relevant occupational exposure standard, maximum exposure limit or similar occupational exposure limit;
   7. the effect of preventive and control measures which have been or will be taken in accordance with regulation 7;
   8. the results of relevant health surveillance;
   9. the results of monitoring of exposure in accordance with regulation 10;
   10. in circumstances where the work will involve exposure to more than one substance hazardous to health, the risk presented by exposure to such substances in combination;
   11. the approved classification of any biological agent; and
   12. such additional information as the employer may need in order to complete the risk assessment.

How to comply:

Take a look at the list above and make sure your COSHH assessment covers all the requirements listed in the COSHH regulations. Start by looking at the hazardous substances you use and produce.

Fill in the COSHH form with information on what the substance is, how you use it, and what controls are needed to keep people safe.

If you are familiar with risk assessments, you can use many of the same tactics. You're still creating a risk assessment when you produce a COSHH assessment. A COSHH assessment is a risk assessment that is created to assess the risk of a hazardous substance.

For more details on what you should include in your COSHH assessments, read our blog post what is a COSHH assessment?

When is it a legal requirement to record a COSHH assessment?

Legally (according to the COSHH regulations) the requirement to record your COSHH assessment only apply when you employ 5 or more employees.

4. Where the employer employs 5 or more employees, he shall record—
   1. the significant findings of the risk assessment as soon as is practicable after the risk assessment is made; and
   2. the steps which he has taken to meet the requirements of regulation > -- The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 - Assessment of the risk to health created by work involving substances hazardous to health

But remember, it's the law that you must not carry out work liable to expose any employees to any substance hazardous without a COSHH assessment.

How to comply:

The only way to show you have complied with that legal requirement is to record your COSHH assessment. So it's often a good idea to record your COSHH assessments whenever you work with hazardous substances, regardless of the number of employees.

What factors trigger a review of a COSHH assessment?

A COSHH assessment isn't just a "do it and forget it" exercise. Legally, there are several triggers for when you must review risk assessments. And that includes COSHH assessments.

The COSHH regulations themselves specify these triggers.

3. The risk assessment shall be reviewed regularly and forthwith if—
   1. there is reason to suspect that the risk assessment is no longer valid;
   2. there has been a significant change in the work to which the risk assessment relates; or
   3. the results of any monitoring carried out in accordance with regulation 10 show it to be necessary, and where, as a result of the review, changes to the risk assessment are required, those changes shall be made.

How to comply:

If you have changes in your work (like using more or less of the substance, or using different equipment), or monitoring picks up an issue, or you have any other reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid, you are required (by law) to review your COSHH assessment.

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Need help with your COSHH assessments? Use the free blank COSHH assessment template to get started, or pick one of our ready-to-use COSHH templates.