Ask five people on site the difference between a risk assessment and a method statement and you'll get five answers. The short version:
- A risk assessment answers: what could hurt someone on this job, and what are we doing about it?
- A method statement answers: what is the safe sequence for doing this job, step by step?
One identifies and controls the dangers; the other turns those controls into a work instruction the crew can follow. They do different jobs, and on most contracts you'll be asked for both.
The risk assessment: legally required
The risk assessment is the one the law explicitly demands. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, every employer must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks their work creates — and if you have five or more employees, the significant findings must be written down.
"Suitable and sufficient" is the phrase that matters. A generic document with someone else's hazards on it doesn't qualify; the assessment has to reflect your task, your site and your people. That's why a good template is a starting point you tailor — not a finished article. (More on that in what is a risk assessment and do I need one?)
A proper one records: the task, the hazards, who could be harmed and how, the existing controls, what more needs doing, a risk rating, and who's responsible.
The method statement: demanded by the industry
Here's the surprise: no regulation names the method statement as a required document. It exists because CDM 2015 requires construction work to be planned, managed and monitored so it's carried out safely — and a written safe system of work is how contractors demonstrate that planning.
In practice, that means the method statement is required not by the HSE but by your principal contractor, who won't let you start without one. It sets out the job step by step: the sequence of works, plant and equipment, PPE, competencies, access arrangements, and emergency procedures — in the order the crew will actually do the work.
A good test: could a competent tradesperson who's never met you pick up the method statement and do the job safely? If not, it's too vague. (Full breakdown: what is a method statement?)
RAMS: the two together
RAMS — Risk Assessment and Method Statement — is simply both documents packaged as one submission. The risk assessment justifies the controls; the method statement applies them in sequence. Principal contractors ask for RAMS before you're allowed on site because the pair shows both what could go wrong and how you'll stop it.
The flow is: assess the risks first, then write the method around the controls. A method statement written before the risk assessment is guesswork in a hi-vis vest.
Which do you need for your next job?
| Situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| Sole trader, low-risk work, no client demands | Risk assessment (good practice, and needed the moment anyone asks) |
| 5+ employees | Written risk assessment — legally required |
| Working for a principal contractor | RAMS — both documents, nearly always |
| High-risk activities (height, digs, hot works, confined spaces) | RAMS plus the relevant permit to work |
Get both without losing an evening
Every SafetyPod RAMS template includes the risk assessment and the method statement together — professionally drafted to current UK legislation, with the site-specific sections flagged for you to complete:
- Browse RAMS & permit templates — from £3.99
- Trade packs — your trade's full document set, £14.99
- The RAMS template guide — what to check before you buy any template
Tailor it to the job, walk the sequence, brief the crew — and the paperwork stops being the hard part.