What Are Risk Assessments?
Risk assessments help you identify and manage potential hazards in your workplace. Paddl lets you create, assign, and track risk assessments with built-in review schedules and staff sign-off.
Creating a Risk Assessment
Go to Risk Assessments in the admin panel
Click Create New Risk Assessment
Fill in the details: title, category, hazards, and controls
Set the review frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annually)
Choose whether to require staff sign-off
The "Requires Staff Sign-Off" Option
This is an important setting. When enabled:
All current staff members will receive a notification to read and sign the risk assessment
Any new staff members added later will automatically be required to sign it too
You can track who has and hasn't signed in the admin panel
Important: Make sure to tick "Requires staff sign-off" when creating the risk assessment if you want staff to be automatically notified. This is separate from the review schedule.
How Staff Sign Risk Assessments
When a risk assessment requires sign-off:
Staff receive a notification in the mobile app
They open the risk assessment and read through it
They tap Sign to confirm they've read and understood it
Reviewing Risk Assessments
Risk assessments should be reviewed periodically. When you set a review frequency, Paddl will alert you when a review is due. To complete a review:
Open the risk assessment in the admin panel
Click Complete Review
Update any hazards or controls if needed
Confirm the review
If changes were made, staff will be re-notified to sign the updated version
Risk Assessments vs Training
Risk assessment sign-off is not the same as training. If you need staff to complete specific training (like allergen awareness), use the Documents section to upload training certificates or link to external training. Risk assessments specifically track that staff have read and understood workplace hazards.