COSHH vs Risk Assessment: What Is The Difference?
COSHH assessments and risk assessments are often confused, but they serve different legal purposes. Here's how UK cleaning companies should tell them apart.
"Do I need a COSHH assessment or a risk assessment?" is one of the most common questions we hear from cleaning company owners. The short answer is usually both — but they're not the same document, and confusing the two is one of the most common gaps we see when clients audit a supplier's paperwork.
What a COSHH assessment covers
A COSHH assessment deals specifically with hazardous substances — cleaning chemicals, disinfectants, descalers and anything else classed as harmful to health under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. It documents what the substance is, how staff are exposed to it, and the specific controls in place to manage that exposure. Our COSHH assessment guide covers exactly what to include.
What a general risk assessment covers
A risk assessment is broader. It covers every hazard on a job — not just chemicals — including slips and trips, manual handling, working at height, electrical equipment and lone working. It's required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. See our full cleaning risk assessment template guide for a reusable structure.
Why the distinction matters
Clients and auditors know the difference, even if some suppliers don't. Turning up with a single generic "health and safety document" that vaguely covers both often reads as a red flag rather than reassurance — it suggests the requirements aren't fully understood. Having two clearly separate, properly structured documents signals a business that takes compliance seriously.
Do you need both?
If your cleaning company uses any chemical products — which is almost universal in the industry — you need both. The risk assessment covers the job as a whole; the COSHH assessment covers the chemicals specifically, in more depth than a general risk assessment typically goes into.
A simple way to remember it
Risk assessment: everything that could hurt someone on the job. COSHH assessment: specifically the chemicals, and how you control the risk they pose. One is broad, one is narrow — and commercial clients, particularly in healthcare and education, usually expect to see both before signing off a contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one document cover both COSHH and general risk assessment requirements?
Technically some businesses combine them, but it's best practice — and clearer for clients and auditors — to keep them as two distinct documents, since they're governed by different regulations.
Which comes first, the risk assessment or the COSHH assessment?
There's no strict order, but most cleaning companies complete a site risk assessment first to identify all hazards, then produce a COSHH assessment for any hazardous substances identified during that process.
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