What is a restaurant risk assessment?
A risk assessment is a process that involves identifying, analysing and controlling hazards and risks. The aim is to identify which measures are already in place or need to be put in place to control risk and ensure customers and teams are safe and your business is compliant.
A risk assessment for restaurants specifically involves identifying potential hazards and vulnerabilities in catering and dining establishments, assessing various aspects such as food safety, hygiene protocols, and fire safety. Looking to complete a hotel risk assessment? Take a look at our hotel risk management checklist.
What risk assessments do restaurants need?
There are many potential hazards in restaurants, so teams need to carry out a number of risk assessments, including:
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Health and safety - performing regular health and safety assessments using a clear health and safety checklist prevents accidents at work and will help protect your business if inspected by local authority or the HSE.
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Food hygiene - carrying out food hygiene assessments can help you identify safety risks, so you can take action to prevent any serious health issues.
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Fire risk assessment - a fully operational fire alarm is a regulatory requirement and regularly checked by local fire and rescue authorities, so it is crucial to check alarms regularly.
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Employee hygiene - if food handlers don’t wash their hands or wear appropriate clothing, they can contaminate food, presenting a risk to customers. Regular assessments ensure employees comply and maintain good personal hygiene.
For more examples of restaurant risk assessments, check out this HSE article. Trail, a complete hospitality checklist app, facilitates many of these assessments and other restaurant health and safety best practices. See how Trail automates risk assessment tracking. Book a demo today.
What’s the difference between a hazard and a risk?
In food and restaurant safety, a hazard refers to anything that causes harm, such as bacteria or foreign objects in food. Whereas, a risk is the likelihood that the hazard will actually cause harm, illness or injury.
Essentially, a hazard is a possible source of harm, while risk measures the likelihood of that harm occurring. It’s important to remember this when conducting a restaurant risk assessment so they can be accurately identified and prioritised.
When do you need to perform a restaurant risk assessment?
It’s your responsibility to perform risk assessments when:
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New processes or equipment are introduced
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Changes are made to existing processes
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New hazards arise
What are the four steps of a restaurant risk assessment?
Let’s take a look through the essential steps of how to conduct a restaurant risk assessment:1. Identify hazards Survey your restaurant and identify any potential hazards. We recommend using a checklist to make sure everything is covered during the assessment.
1. Evaluate the risk
To measure a risk, consider the likelihood of it occurring as well as the severity of potential injuries. Score the risks on a scale of 1-5 (1 being low risk of injury and highly unlikely, and 5 being potentially fatal injury and very likely).
2. Decide on your control measures
After deciding on the level of risk, it’s time to come up with effective controls to protect your team, customers and the environment.
3. Keep a record of the results
Do not skip this step. You need to keep a formal record of your risk assessments. This helps you keep track of potential hazards and it helps you stay compliant, protecting you from any potential lawsuits.
4. Review your assessment
The hard work doesn’t stop after completing the risk assessment. You need to implement the controls and if the conditions change, you might need to carry out a new risk assessment.
How should you score risks in a restaurant?
To determine the overall risk ratings in your restaurant, you can multiply the likelihood of a risk happening by the severity of its potential consequences.
Likelihood Scale (1 to 5)
How likely is it that the hazard will occur?
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1 – Rare: highly unlikely; has almost never happened in your restaurant or in the industry
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2 – Unlikely: it’s possible but rarely occurs in normal operations
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3 – Possible: this is something that might happen occasionally, perhaps once or twice a year
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4 – Likely: this is something that you expect to happen regularly, perhaps monthly
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5 – Almost certain: these are things that are likely to happen frequently, so weekly or even daily
Severity Scale (1 to 5)
How severe would the injury, illness or damage be if the hazard occured?
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1 – Insignificant: no injury or illness would occur, meaning a negligible financial or operational impact
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2 – Minor: a minor injury would likely occur, requiring basic first aid, for example a plaster needed for a minor paper cut
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3 – Moderate: this is an injury or illness that would require medical treatment or short absence, for example mild food poisoning or a minor burn
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4 – Major: this would be a serious injury or severe illness that requires hospitalization, for example a, deep laceration or a severe allergic reaction
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5 – Catastrophic: this refers to a fatality, widespread critical illness,or permanent disability, for example a fatal outbreak or major kitchen fire
Risk matrix and action levels
Risk score 1 – 4 – low risk level. This is considered an acceptable risk that you can monitor periodically without any immediate action required.
Risk score 5 –12 – medium risk level. This is a manageable risk. You should implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) and staff training to minimise associated hazard and so staff no what to do if it happens.
Risk score 15 – 12 – high risk level. This is an urgent risk. Immediately stop the activity or isolate the hazard until appropriate control measures have been put in place.
An example of a common risk in a restaurant and how to score it
Risk: a wet floor near the entrance to the restaurant.
Depending on where your restaurant is and rainfall etc., this might score 4 on the likelihood scale, and 3 on the severity scale, giving you a score of: 4 x 3 = 12.
The risk level is medium so you need to train staff on how to display wet floor signs, install anti-slip mats and make sure there’s always someone trained in first aid to be on hand if someone does trip.
How can Trail help with your restaurant risk assessments?
At Trail, we have lots of intuitive tools and checklists to help you efficiently manage and streamline the process of your restaurant risk assessments. Trail:
Makes safety a habit – Checklists and forms are designed for speed and simplicity, woven into your team's working day. Trail prompts the right person to do the right task at the right time, so you know critical tasks are done.
Avoids incidents – Trail’s smart tasks automatically alert you if something isn’t right. Attach photos and comments to tasks to prove the right corrective action was taken to protect your customers, teams and business.
Drives accountability– Trail is a complete historical record of all activity, time and date stamped with photos and comments attached where needed. So you can drive accountability and confidently prove your compliance.
Gives performance visibility – Get insights on your productivity, compliance and more. Dashboards and daily reports highlight issues, so they can be resolved quickly without the need for time-consuming and expensive audits.
