‘It will only take five minutes’ does not decide whether a ladder is suitable. A work at height risk assessment must begin with the task, the place and the people at risk, then follow the legal hierarchy before equipment is chosen. That applies to routine maintenance and stock access as much as roofing or construction.
Recognise work at height before the job starts
Work at height means work in any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury if precautions were absent. There is no minimum height in that definition. It can include work on a roof, platform, scaffold, stepladder or vehicle, and work beside an opening or fragile surface.
Assess the complete operation: access, work position, tools, materials and return to ground level. Include people who could be struck by falling objects. A safe platform does not make an unprotected route to it acceptable.
Employers and others who control work at height must ensure it is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people using suitable equipment. A facilities manager or building owner can therefore retain responsibilities when a contractor is engaged.
HSE: introduction to working at height safely ↗ · Work at Height Regulations 2005 ↗
Apply the hierarchy before selecting equipment
First avoid work at height where reasonably practicable. Can a light fitting be lowered, a window be cleaned from the ground, stock be stored lower or equipment be assembled before it is raised? A familiar method is not evidence that climbing remains necessary.
If the work cannot be avoided, prevent a fall using an existing safe place with edge protection or suitable equipment such as a scaffold, tower or mobile elevating work platform. If risk remains, minimise the distance and consequences using measures such as nets, restraint or fall arrest.
At every stage, collective protection comes before personal protection. Guardrails and a properly selected platform protect without relying on each person clipping on correctly. Harness systems depend on correct selection, compatible components, suitable anchors, training, inspection and rescue arrangements. Issuing a harness is not a shortcut through the hierarchy.
HSE: work at height step-by-step guide ↗ · Related guide: getting risk assessments into the workplace →
Treat ladder use as a decision, not a default
Ladders and stepladders are not banned. They may be suitable where the risk assessment shows that equipment offering greater fall protection is not justified because the work is low risk and short duration, or because existing workplace features cannot be altered. The decision must consider both risk and duration.
HSE recommends alternative equipment where a task would keep somebody on a leaning ladder or stepladder for more than 30 minutes at a time. That is practical guidance, not a statutory safe-time limit. A five-minute job can still be unsuitable if it involves heavy work, overreaching, an unstable surface, traffic, exposed electrics or carrying bulky materials.
Where a ladder is selected, confirm the right type and length, a firm level base, safe positioning and effective securing where reasonably practicable. Control doors and vehicle routes, observe load limits and prevent overreaching. The user needs task-appropriate competence.
Assess the site conditions and everyone exposed
Consider height, duration, frequency, surface and access, together with weather, lighting, overhead services, openings, machinery and vehicle movements. On exposed North East sites, wind, ice or rain may change stability and grip.
Plan tools and materials so workers are not climbing while carrying awkward loads or improvising storage at height. Establish an exclusion area or other suitable controls where objects could fall. Coordinate deliveries, contractors and normal operations so a work platform is not struck or moved while occupied.
Individual capability also matters. New or young workers and anyone whose health, medication, pregnancy or disability could affect the task may need additional instruction, supervision, equipment or adjustments. Decide from the person and task, not assumptions.
Choose equipment from the real task and site conditions.
HR + SAFETY can observe the work, apply the control hierarchy and produce a practical assessment covering access, equipment, people below, weather limits and supervision.
Discuss a work-at-height assessmentTreat every roof as fragile until confirmed otherwise
HSE advises treating every fixed roof as fragile until a competent person confirms it is non-fragile. Rooflights can be difficult to see, while fibre-cement sheets, corroded metal, glass, rotten boards, slates and tiles may not support a person and their materials.
Avoid going onto or near a fragile surface where possible, for example by working from below using a suitable platform. Where access remains necessary, the control arrangement may require stagings, guardrails, restraint, fall arrest and safety nets. Warning signs communicate the danger; they do not physically prevent a fall.
The same precautions are required for short maintenance, inspection and cleaning tasks. Give contractors reliable roof information, agree the method and isolate the work area. Increase planning and technical input where consequences could be severe or rescue difficult.
Build inspection, supervision and rescue into the plan
Work equipment must be suitable, stable, strong enough, maintained and checked. Ladder users should complete a pre-use check at the start of the working day and after a relevant change such as a drop. Defective equipment should be removed from use. Recorded detailed visual inspections by a competent person should follow fixed intervals and the manufacturer's instructions.
Supervision should match the risk and experience. Confirm the method remains workable and stop-work triggers are understood. Reassess any change in height, duration, location or site conditions.
Plan emergency evacuation and rescue before work begins. A suspended person may need prompt recovery, and the rescuer must not be exposed to an uncontrolled fall. Define who raises the alarm, how the worker will be reached, what equipment and trained people are available and how the area will be accessed. Calling the emergency services can form part of the response, but it is not a complete site rescue plan.
HSE: ladder pre-use checks ↗ · HSE: detailed ladder inspections ↗ · Related guide: PUWER inspection requirements →
Ten-point work at height decision checklist
The completed assessment should identify the selected method, why it follows the hierarchy, the precautions required and who is responsible for each action. A generic statement to 'use the ladder safely' does not show that the task, equipment or rescue arrangements have been decided.
- Describe the task, access route, work position, tools, materials and people exposed.
- Record how work at height can be avoided before considering equipment.
- Prevent falls using a safe place or suitable collective protection wherever practicable.
- Select a ladder only where the risk-based conditions for its use are satisfied.
- Check surfaces, weather, lighting, openings, overhead services and traffic interaction.
- Treat roofs as fragile until competent information confirms otherwise.
- Control falling objects and protect workers, customers and the public below.
- Confirm competence, supervision, equipment checks and defect arrangements.
- Set clear limits and stop-work triggers for changing site conditions.
- Provide a workable emergency and rescue plan for the selected method.
A defensible work at height risk assessment challenges whether climbing is necessary, follows the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy and gives collective protection priority. It selects equipment from the real task, covers fragile surfaces and people below, and links competence, inspection, supervision and rescue into one workable plan.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.