Worship services Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Communicable disease transmission — Encourage hand hygiene at entrances, improve ventilation, and offer spaced seating options. Provide masks for those who wish to use them, clean high-touch points before/after services, and allow alternative practices for rites involving close contact or shared vessels.
• Manual handling of furniture — Plan layouts to reduce moves, use trolleys for stacks, set safe stack heights, and team-lift long pew benches or heavy tables. Provide short briefings on posture and grip, rotate tasks to avoid fatigue, and store items close to point of use to minimise carrying distance.
• Building fabric and heritage hazards — Survey for loose stone, low beams, uneven floors, and fragile fixtures; cordon off defects, and schedule repairs via competent contractors. Use ‘‘mind your head/step’’ signage at historic features, keep loft ladders secured, and control public access to restricted areas.
• Accessibility routes and mobility aids — Maintain level, well-lit routes with firm ramps, keep doors on soft closers, and provide seating with arms. Test lifts/evac chairs to schedule, brief stewards on assisting wheelchair users, and keep accessible WCs, pew spaces and hearing loop in good working order.
• Slips and trips in public areas — Lay intact entrance mats, tape or reroute trailing leads, fix loose carpets, and clear clutter from aisles. Deploy wet-floor signs during rain, mop and dry promptly, inspect floors pre-service, and provide handrails at changes in level with adequate lux lighting along routes.