Is Your Business Fully Protected?
A Guide to External Assessments UK Businesses Need
Running a business in the UK means juggling a lot staff, customers, finances, and compliance. Health and safety can sometimes feel like a box-ticking exercise, but the reality is that there are several legally required (or strongly advisable) external assessments that many business owners simply don't know about until something goes wrong.
This guide walks you through all the key assessments your business may need, in plain English, so you can act before something goes wrong.
A Familiar Story...
Meet Sarah. She runs a busy 30-person manufacturing unit in the Midlands. She's a diligent owner — insured, registered, and compliant with employment law. She assumed her health and safety was in order because no one had ever complained and there'd never been a serious incident.
Then a routine HSE visit flagged that she had no Legionella risk assessment, no record of a fixed wiring inspection in over a decade, and her LEV system had never been formally tested. The result? Prohibition notices, a significant fine, and two weeks of disruption.
Sarah's situation is more common than you'd think. And it's entirely avoidable.
Part 1: The Core Assessments
1. Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)
Who needs it: Almost every business premises in England and Wales.
What it is: A formal evaluation of your premises to identify fire hazards, assess risk, and ensure adequate controls and escape routes are in place. It is a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Why you might have missed it: Many businesses assume their fire alarm provider or landlord has covered this. They rarely have.
2. Legionella Risk Assessment
Who needs it: Any business with a water system — which means virtually every premises with hot and cold running water.
What it is: An assessment of your water systems to identify conditions that could allow Legionella bacteria to grow. Required under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and COSHH Regulations.
Why you might have missed it: It sounds like a problem for hospitals and hotels. It isn't a small office with a water storage tank is equally at risk.
3. DSEAR Assessment
Who needs it: Businesses that store, use, or handle flammable or explosive substances including fuel, solvents, LPG, and fine dusts.
What it is: A risk assessment and zone classification required under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002. It identifies where explosive atmospheres may form and ensures controls are in place.
Why you might have missed it: DSEAR applies more broadly than many realise even a garage storing a small amount of petrol could require a basic assessment.
4. Asbestos Survey
Who needs it: Any business occupying or managing a non-domestic premises built before the year 2000.
What it is: A survey to locate and assess the condition of any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) on your premises. Required under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Why you might have missed it: If your building was constructed before 2000 and you haven't had a survey, you likely need one. Asbestos is still the UK's leading cause of occupational deaths.
5. Noise Assessment
Who needs it: Businesses where noise levels regularly exceed 80 dB(A) including manufacturing, construction, events, and hospitality.
What it is: A formal measurement and assessment of workplace noise exposure under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.
Why you might have missed it: Many employers provide ear defenders but haven't formally assessed whether noise reaches a level requiring action. Noise-induced hearing loss is irreversible.
6. Dust Assessment
Who needs it: Woodworking, construction, baking, pharmaceuticals, mining any workplace where dust is generated.
What it is: An assessment of dust exposure levels and the adequacy of controls under COSHH Regulations 2002. Certain dusts wood dust, silica dust, flour dust have specific Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs).
Why you might have missed it: Visible dust isn't always the most dangerous kind. Fine respirable particles cause long-term lung damage with no immediate symptoms.
7. LEV Testing (Local Exhaust Ventilation)
Who needs it: Any business using LEV systems to control dust, fume, vapour, or gas.
What it is: A thorough examination and test (TExT) of LEV systems required at least every 14 months under COSHH Regulation 9.
Why you might have missed it: Many businesses install LEV systems and assume they work. Without regular testing, a failing system may give a false sense of security while workers continue to be exposed.
8. Fixed Wire Testing (EICR)
Who needs it: All business premises every 5 years for most, more frequently in higher-risk environments.
What it is: An inspection of your fixed electrical installation by a qualified electrician to identify deterioration, defects, or dangerous conditions. Required under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
Why you might have missed it: Electrical faults are a leading cause of workplace fires. If you've never had one done or your last one is more than 5 years old this should be a priority.
9. PAT Testing (Portable Appliance Testing)
Who needs it: Any business using portable electrical equipment which is almost every business.
What it is: The inspection and testing of portable electrical appliances to ensure they are safe for use. One of the most effective ways to meet your duty of care under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Why you might have missed it: It's often left entirely to chance or done inconsistently. A simple kettle, extension lead, or laptop charger in poor condition can cause a serious incident.
10. Lifting Equipment Inspection (LOLER)
Who needs it: Businesses using lifting equipment forklift trucks, hoists, pallet trucks, passenger lifts, vehicle lifts.
What it is: A thorough examination by a competent person required under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). Frequency depends on equipment type every 6 or 12 months typically.
Why you might have missed it: Businesses often confuse general equipment maintenance with LOLER inspections. They are not the same thing, and using uninspected lifting equipment is a criminal offence.
Part 2: More Assessments You Might Not Know You Need
The ten assessments above are the ones we encounter most frequently in practice. But depending on your business activities and premises, there are further assessments that may be just as important and just as legally required.
11. Display Screen Equipment (DSE) / Workstation Assessment
Who needs it: Any business where employees regularly use computers, laptops, or other display screens as a significant part of their work.
What it is: A formal assessment of each user's workstation to ensure correct posture, equipment setup, and working environment under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992. Employers must also offer eye tests to DSE users.
Why you might have missed it: This is one of the most consistently overlooked assessments in office environments. Many employers conduct a one-off induction and never revisit it but assessments must be repeated when the workstation or work pattern changes.
12. Manual Handling Assessment
Who needs it: Almost every business where employees lift, carry, push, pull, or move loads including offices, warehouses, retail, healthcare, and hospitality.
What it is: A risk assessment of manual handling tasks to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury, required under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. Where possible, hazardous handling should be avoided or mechanised; where it cannot, the risk must be formally assessed.
Why you might have missed it: Manual handling injuries are the most common cause of workplace ill health in the UK. Many businesses provide generic training but never formally assess specific tasks which is what the law requires.
13. Work-Related Stress Risk Assessment
Who needs it: All employers the HSE considers stress a legitimate workplace hazard and expects it to be managed like any other.
What it is: A structured assessment using the HSE Management Standards, covering demands, control, support, relationships, role, and change. Identifies where work design or culture may be causing harmful stress levels.
Why you might have missed it: Stress, anxiety, and depression account for more than half of all working days lost to ill health in the UK. Despite this, many businesses have no formal process in place. Insurers and employment tribunals are increasingly scrutinising this.
14. Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) Assessment
Who needs it: Any business where employees regularly use vibrating hand tools angle grinders, drills, chisels, chainsaws, or similar.
What it is: A measurement and assessment of hand-arm vibration exposure under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. Above certain daily exposure action values, employers must introduce controls and health surveillance.
Why you might have missed it: Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is a permanent and debilitating condition. Because symptoms develop slowly, many employers don't connect the cause until considerable damage has been done and by then, they may also be facing significant compensation claims.
15. Whole Body Vibration (WBV) Assessment
Who needs it: Businesses where employees drive or ride on vehicles over rough terrain forklift trucks, agricultural machinery, HGVs on poor surfaces.
What it is: An assessment of whole body vibration exposure under the same Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. Prolonged exposure is linked to lower back pain and spinal damage.
Why you might have missed it: WBV is far less well-known than HAV, yet the health consequences are equally serious. Forklift operators and delivery drivers in particular are commonly exposed above safe limits.
16. Pressure Systems Written Scheme of Examination
Who needs it: Any business operating a pressure system compressors, steam boilers, autoclaves, pressurised process vessels.
What it is: A written scheme drawn up by a competent person specifying examination intervals and procedures, required under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000. Periodic examination by a competent body must then follow the scheme.
Why you might have missed it: A compressor in a workshop or an autoclave in a salon may seem routine but pressure system failures can be catastrophic. Many businesses have these in operation without ever having established a written scheme.
17. Gas Safety Inspection
Who needs it: Any business with commercial gas appliances boilers, catering equipment, heating systems, laboratory gas.
What it is: An annual inspection of commercial gas appliances and installations by a Gas Safe registered engineer under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Why you might have missed it: Annual gas safety checks are well-known in the residential landlord space but frequently overlooked in commercial premises. A failed or poorly maintained commercial boiler poses both a safety risk and a significant liability.
18. Work at Height Assessment
Who needs it: Any business where employees work at height including on ladders, scaffolding, roofs, mezzanine floors, or in warehouses with racking.
What it is: A risk assessment of work at height activities under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, ensuring that work is properly planned, supervised, and carried out using appropriate equipment.
Why you might have missed it: Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities in the UK. The regulations apply even to short ladder use yet many businesses have no formal assessment in place and provide no documented supervision.
19. Confined Spaces Assessment
Who needs it: Businesses where employees may enter confined spaces tanks, silos, vaults, sewers, chambers, culverts, or excavations.
What it is: A risk assessment and safe system of work for entry into confined spaces, required under the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Entry into a confined space without adequate controls in place is one of the most dangerous activities in industry.
Why you might have missed it: A confined space doesn't have to look dangerous to be lethal. Oxygen depletion and toxic gas accumulation can occur in spaces entered regularly without incident until they don't.
20. Health Surveillance
Who needs it: Employers whose workers are exposed to noise, vibration, dust, chemicals, or other hazards that carry a known risk of occupational disease.
What it is: Ongoing monitoring of workers' health by a qualified occupational health professional to detect early signs of work-related ill health. Required under COSHH, the Noise at Work Regulations, Vibration Regulations, and others it is not optional where a significant risk exists.
Why you might have missed it: Health surveillance is frequently treated as a nice-to-have rather than a legal duty. Where noise, dust, HAV, or chemical exposure has been identified as a risk, surveillance must be in place. Without it, employers may be unaware that harm is already occurring.
21. Emergency Lighting Testing
Who needs it: All non-domestic premises shops, offices, warehouses, factories, hospitality venues.
What it is: Monthly function tests and annual full-discharge tests of emergency lighting systems under BS 5266. While not a standalone statutory instrument, it forms part of the fire safety management obligations under the Fire Safety Order 2005.
Why you might have missed it: Emergency lighting is almost universally installed but almost as universally untested. The monthly check takes minutes but without a documented regime, a single failed luminaire during an evacuation can have serious consequences.
22. Lightning Protection System Inspection
Who needs it: Buildings with an installed lightning protection system, particularly those in exposed locations, storing flammable materials, or housing sensitive equipment.
What it is: An inspection and testing of the lightning protection system against BS EN 62305, typically annually or after a significant lightning event. Ensures the system remains electrically continuous and properly earthed.
Why you might have missed it: Lightning protection systems are installed and then forgotten for years. Corrosion, building alterations, and physical damage can all compromise the system making a certificate of installation no substitute for periodic inspection.
The Bottom Line
No two businesses are identical, and not every assessment on this list will apply to yours. But the likelihood is that more apply than you currently have in place. The HSE has broad powers to inspect, issue improvement and prohibition notices, and prosecute with fines running into hundreds of thousands of pounds and, in serious cases, personal liability for directors.
More importantly, behind every enforcement notice is a real risk to a real person. These assessments exist because the hazards are genuine.
The most effective approach is a structured compliance review understanding which assessments apply to your specific business, prioritising them by risk, and building a programme that keeps you continuously compliant rather than reactive.
Ready to Find Out Where You Stand?
At IMG, we help businesses across the UK understand their health and safety obligations and put practical, proportionate solutions in place.
We offer a free initial conversation to help you identify which external assessments your business needs, and we can manage the whole process from assessment to documentation on your behalf.
Get in touch today because the best time to get this right is before something goes wrong.
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