Slips, Trips and Falls Risk Assessment (UK)

Slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of injury in UK workplaces, in every sector from offices to building sites. They are also among the easiest to prevent. This guide explains how to assess them and the controls that work.

Why they matter

Slips and trips are the single most common workplace accident and a major cause of the falls that lead to serious injury. They are easy to dismiss until someone breaks a wrist or worse, and they are almost always preventable with basic housekeeping and sensible controls.

The usual causes

1. Wet or contaminated floors, from spills, cleaning or rain tracked indoors.
2. Trailing cables and leads.
3. Clutter and obstructions in walkways.
4. Uneven or damaged floors, mats and thresholds.
5. Changes in level and poorly lit stairs.
6. Unsuitable footwear.

The controls

Keep walkways clear, clean up spills straight away and mark wet floors, manage water coming in at entrances, route cables away from walkways, keep floors maintained and well lit, and provide suitable footwear where needed. Good housekeeping does most of the work.

How to assess

Walk the premises, note where people walk and where the surfaces, lighting or housekeeping create a risk, decide the controls and record them. Pay attention to entrances in wet weather and to any change in floor level.

Record it

Record the areas, the hazards and the controls. Our risk assessment template gives you the form. Slips and trips are a core part of an office risk assessment too.