Risk assessments for electric heaters
As an employer, you are required by law to protect your employees and others from harm. The minimum you must do is:
- identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards)
- decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)
- take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn’t possible, control the risk
Assessing risk is just one part of the overall process used to control risks in your workplace.
A risk assessment is required for the use of electric heaters (portable or fixed).
Help with composing this risk assessment is available from the Health and Safety Executive.
The risk assessment should identify:
- the activities that are involved in use of heaters (setting up, use of, cleaning and maintenance)
- the potential hazards
- the persons affected by the activity – (think about who could be at risk)
- the risk, which should include the probability/likelihood of harm, the severity of injury and numbers of persons affected
- the control measures that could include, removal of the activity or if this isn’t possible, the measures that are required to reduce the risk
The hazards you will need to consider are:
- fire
- electrocution
- burns
- manual handling
- trips and slips
- instability (including attached heaters)
This should be submitted as a separate document when applying for a licence for furniture on Westminster land.
If you have an existing licence and you want to add electric heaters to your licence you can do this by emailing your request to: [email protected] including a copy of your risk assessment.
Your request will be considered and if granted, an amended licence will be issued to you. There is no additional fee for adding electric heaters after a licence has been granted.
However, if you want to add any winter or other weather related structures, for example umbrellas or gazebos, to your licence, you will need to make a new application and if granted, surrender your existing licence.
Please note that the use of gazebos, umbrellas, space heaters or similar furniture on the area designated for the pavement licence may be restricted depending on the space and whether it is safe to place such furniture on the street.