Your Health and Safety as a PA

Your employer legally is responsible for protecting your health and safety in the workplace (which will usually be the home of the person you are providing assistance to).

By law, your employer should carry out a risk assessment to identify any risks to your health and wellbeing and how these will be managed. Your employer may ask you to contribute to completing a risk assessment. You may be asked to:

• Highlight any hazards noticed around the home
• Make your employer aware of anything that may impact your work, eg. pregnancy, injury, long-term health conditions
• Identify training needs and ensure that your training is kept up to date (eg. moving and assisting, use of specialist equipment)
• Consider what can be done to reduce or remove identified risks
• Be involved in regularly reviewing the risk assessment to identify any new health and safety risks in the workplace, for example, new equipment.

Your employer should also keep an accident/incident book to keep a record of any accidents, and it is your responsibility to report any work related accident or incidents to your employer.

Other times that risk assessments might be carried out

Risk Assessments could be carried out when:

• A PA is returning to work after a period of absence
• There has been a change to the health or support needs of the person being supported
• A new piece of equipment is required to be used
• New medication is prescribed.

Next steps

Read the guidance for PA Employers around  health and safety below. If you have any concerns about your health and safety at work you may find it helpful to speak to your employer about this guidance.