How I Use the FOH Restaurant Risk Assessment Template in Pilla

Understanding What's Required of You

A front of house risk assessment documents the hazards in your customer-facing areas, who's at risk, and what controls you have in place. It's not a one-off exercise. It should be reviewed regularly and updated whenever something changes, whether that's a new layout, different services, or an incident.

In the UK, risk assessments are a legal requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. If you employ five or more people, you must record your findings. But regardless of where you operate, carrying out a FOH risk assessment is good practice. Front of house carries different risks to kitchens and back of house. You're dealing with the public, which adds complexity that a general site-wide assessment won't capture. Service areas, walkways, bar counters, customer zones: these all need their own attention.

I'd always have the person who runs the floor complete this. Your Restaurant Manager, Bar Manager, or Supervisor. They know the traffic flow, pressure points, and where things actually go wrong during a Friday night service. I've seen risk assessments completed by people who've never worked a shift on the floor, and the gaps are obvious. Review it at least once a year, or sooner if you change the layout, have an incident, or bring in new staff.

If you also need to assess kitchen risks, I've written a separate walkthrough for the kitchen risk assessment.

Setting It Up as a Work Activity

I've built a FOH restaurant risk assessment template in Pilla covering the 13 hazard areas below. It gives you a structured starting point, but depending on how your venue operates, you might need to add extra items for hazards specific to your setup.

When you create the work activity, tag it (e.g. "FOH Risk Assessment"). Tags make it easy to find and filter later, and they're what Poppi uses to track completion across different risk assessment types in automated reports.

You've got two options. Create it as a one-off work form, complete it, and manually create a new one when it's due for review. Or set it up as a recurring yearly work schedule, and Pilla will create the next one automatically. I'd recommend the recurring option. In my experience, the "I'll remember to create a new one" approach fails about 90% of the time.

1. Slips, Trips and Falls

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who work in FOH and could slip, trip, or fall, and describe how. During busy service, staff carry trays through crowded areas, customers move between tables, and floors get wet from spills or cleaning. Entrances get wet in bad weather, bar areas collect spillages, and trip hazards from bags, cables, and furniture are everywhere.

What controls are in place: What I want to see here is what you're actually doing about it, and what you plan to do. Anti-slip mats, spillage procedures, cable management, lighting, signage, footwear requirements, how walkways are kept clear during service. Be specific.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Waiting staff, bar staff, and hosts are at risk from slips on wet floors, trips over bags or cables, and falls on stairs."

Controls: "We currently have anti-slip mats at entrances, 'wet floor' signs used during cleaning, clear cable management for PDQ machines, and good lighting throughout. Staff are briefed during induction on keeping walkways clear."

Common mistakes I see:

"Everyone's careful." This tells me nothing. I need to know which roles are at risk and what you've done about it.

"We mop up spills when they happen." Reactive cleaning is fine, but it's not enough on its own. I'd want to see proactive measures too: regular floor checks, anti-slip surfaces, proper drainage mats behind the bar.

2. Manual Handling

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who lift, carry, push, or pull heavy items in FOH and describe how. FOH staff regularly move furniture for functions, receive deliveries, change barrels, carry stacked trays, and shift heavy stock. Poor lifting technique combined with rushing during service leads to back injuries, muscle strains, and long-term musculoskeletal problems.

What controls are in place: I want to know what training you provide, what equipment you've got (trolleys, sack trucks), whether you have two-person lift policies for barrels and furniture, and how loads are assessed before lifting. Include what you're doing now and what you plan to improve.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Bar staff, waiting staff, and supervisors are at risk from back injuries and muscle strains when moving furniture for functions, receiving deliveries, and changing barrels."

Controls: "We provide manual handling training during induction, use trolleys for heavy deliveries, require two-person lifts for barrels, and encourage staff to ask for help rather than risk injury."

Common mistakes I see:

"Staff know how to lift." They don't. I've watched people drag beer barrels across a cellar floor by themselves at 7am because nobody told them not to. Provide formal training and document it.

"We don't do much heavy lifting." Even moderate loads cause injury with poor technique or repetition. If your team moves furniture for functions even once a month, it counts.

3. Contact with Steam, Hot Surfaces or Hot Water

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who work near hot equipment in FOH and describe how. This covers anyone who serves hot drinks, operates coffee machines, uses toasters, or works near heated serving equipment. Burns and scalds happen during normal service, especially when staff are rushing or when hot equipment sits in busy areas.

What controls are in place: Tell me about warning signs on hot equipment, training on safe use of coffee machines and steamers, how hot drinks are carried and served, and what first aid you have for burns. Both current measures and planned improvements.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Bar staff and waiting staff who operate the coffee machine and serve hot drinks are at risk of burns and scalds from steam and hot surfaces."

Controls: "The coffee machine has a warning sign about hot steam. Staff receive training on safe use during induction. Hot drinks are served in double-walled cups where possible, and staff announce 'hot drinks coming through' when carrying them."

Common mistakes I see:

"The machine isn't that hot." Steam from a coffee machine can cause serious scalds. I've seen burns from steam wands that needed hospital treatment. Treat all hot equipment as a genuine hazard.

"It's only a problem if you're careless." Accidents happen to careful people during a busy Saturday night service. Controls exist for the realistic scenario, not the ideal one.

4. Knives

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who use knives in FOH and describe how. This typically applies to bar staff cutting fruit for cocktails, servers slicing bread, and anyone doing tableside preparation. FOH staff are often less experienced with blade safety than kitchen staff, which increases the risk.

What controls are in place: I'm looking for knife skills training, designated cutting boards, secure storage, replacement of damaged or dull knives, and first aid availability. What's in place now, and what do you plan to add?

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Bar staff who cut fruit for cocktails and servers who slice bread are at risk of cuts from sharp blades."

Controls: "We provide knife skills training during induction, use designated cutting boards, and store knives in a secure holder. Blue plasters and first aid supplies are available behind the bar. Damaged or dull knives are replaced promptly."

Common mistakes I see:

"Only kitchen staff use knives." Check behind your bar. If someone's cutting limes with a bread knife at 10pm, that's a knife risk you've missed.

"We just show them once." Knife training should be documented and refreshed. A 30-second demo on someone's first shift doesn't count.

5. Food Handling

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who handle food in FOH and describe how. This is about the risks to staff, not customers. Waiting staff, bar staff, and anyone who plates food, serves bread, or handles garnishes face frequent handwashing, which causes skin damage over time. Contact with certain ingredients can also trigger allergic reactions. These conditions worsen if not managed.

What controls are in place: I want to see emollient hand cream provision, skin checks, rotation of staff away from allergen exposure, and how you encourage staff to report skin changes early. I hold a Level 3 Food Safety qualification, and this is one of those areas where the staff risk gets overlooked because everyone focuses on the customer side.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Waiting staff and bar staff who plate food, serve bread, or handle garnishes are at risk from frequent handwashing causing skin irritation and from contact with allergens."

Controls: "We provide emollient hand cream after handwashing, check staff for skin conditions during return-to-work meetings, and ensure allergen training covers staff protection as well as customer safety."

Common mistakes I see:

"We focus on customer safety, not staff." Food handling affects your team too. Skin protection and allergen awareness apply to workers, not just diners.

"Hand cream isn't necessary." Frequent wet work causes dermatitis. I've seen bar staff with cracked, bleeding hands who thought it was normal. Provide emollient cream and put it where people will actually use it.

6. Contact with Cleaning Chemicals

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who use cleaning products in FOH and describe how. This could be all staff. Prolonged contact with water and detergents causes skin damage. Direct contact with bleach risks skin irritation or eye damage. Vapour causes breathing problems. COSHH regulations require you to assess and control these risks. Staff who clean tables, bar tops, toilets, and floors are exposed daily.

What controls are in place: I need to see COSHH data sheets, training on safe use, PPE (gloves, eye protection), labelling, dilution of products where possible, and secure storage of stronger chemicals. Current measures and planned improvements.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "All FOH staff are expected to clean during shifts, including wiping tables, cleaning bar surfaces, and restocking toilets. They are at risk of skin irritation, eye damage, and breathing problems from chemical exposure."

Controls: "We provide training on safe use of cleaning chemicals, store COSHH data sheets in the staff area, and supply gloves for toilet cleaning and heavy-duty tasks. Spray bottles are clearly labelled, and we use diluted products where possible to reduce risk."

Common mistakes I see:

"We just use normal cleaning spray." Every cleaning chemical needs a COSHH assessment. Even the stuff you buy from the supermarket.

"Staff don't need gloves for table wiping." Repeated exposure causes skin damage. I'd always offer gloves and make them easy to grab. If the gloves are in a cupboard in the back office, nobody's going to use them mid-shift.

7. Falling Objects

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who could be harmed by falling objects in FOH and describe how. Items stored on high shelves behind bars, stacked glasses, bottles on display, and unsecured decorations can all fall and cause injury. Staff reaching overhead while rushing increases the risk. Containers of liquid are particularly dangerous at height because they slosh and shift when moved.

What controls are in place: I want to know about storage arrangements, step stools or ladders for reaching high items, securing decorations and fixtures, glass rack limits, and how unstable shelving gets reported and fixed.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Bar staff and waiting staff could be injured by falling bottles, glasses, or decorations stored at height."

Controls: "We keep heavy items on lower shelves, use step stools to reach high storage, and secure decorations properly. Glass racks are not overfilled, and staff are trained not to overreach. Any unstable shelving is reported and fixed promptly."

Common mistakes I see:

"Nothing's ever fallen." That's luck, not safety. Assess what could fall and prevent it before it does.

"Staff know to be careful." Don't rely on individual caution. Provide safe storage systems and the right equipment. If someone's standing on a chair to reach the top shelf at 11pm, that's a system failure, not a personal one.

8. Electrical

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who use electrical equipment in FOH and describe how. Electric shock from faulty equipment, damaged cables, or improper use can cause serious or fatal injuries. FOH areas contain coffee machines, tills, PDQ terminals, refrigerators, phone chargers, and decorative lighting. Wet environments like bar areas and entrances increase the risk.

What controls are in place: PAT testing schedules, staff training on checking cables before use, fault reporting procedures, trailing cable management, policies on personal electrical items, RCD protection near water sources. Tell me what's in place and what you're planning to add.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "All FOH staff use electrical equipment including coffee machines, tills, PDQ machines, and phone chargers. Staff could suffer electric shock, particularly where water is present near equipment."

Controls: "Equipment is PAT tested annually and records are kept. Staff are trained to check cables for damage before use and report faults immediately. Trailing cables are managed with cable covers, and no personal electrical items are permitted."

Common mistakes I see:

"It's all modern equipment." Modern equipment still needs testing and inspection. Age is irrelevant.

"We'll fix it if something happens." A fault can kill someone before you notice it. Inspect proactively. This is one where I'd never accept a reactive approach.

9. Fire

Who might be harmed and how: Everyone. All persons in the premises will be affected if fire breaks out. FOH areas contain ignition sources (candles, heating equipment, electrical faults) alongside fuel sources (decorations, alcohol, soft furnishings). Customer-facing areas present evacuation challenges when full. Fire in a venue can cause injury, death, and destroy your business entirely.

What controls are in place: Fire risk assessment reviews, alarm testing frequency, fire drill schedules, exit signage, staff training, extinguisher locations, and how candles or other open flames are managed. I've written a separate, much more detailed walkthrough for the fire risk assessment template if you want to go deeper on this one.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "All staff and customers are at risk if a fire breaks out. FOH has multiple potential ignition sources including candles, heating equipment, and electrical equipment."

Controls: "We conduct fire risk assessments annually, test fire alarms weekly, and hold fire drills twice a year. Fire exits are clearly marked and kept clear. Staff receive fire safety training during induction, know the evacuation procedure, and where extinguishers are located. Candles are placed in secure holders away from flammable materials."

Common mistakes I see:

"We've never had a fire." Fire risk assessment is a legal requirement regardless of history. This line is the one I see most often, and it's the one that worries me most.

"The fire alarm is checked sometimes." Weekly testing is required. Document it. "Sometimes" won't hold up.

10. Use of Equipment/Machinery FOH

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles who use equipment and machinery in FOH and describe how. FOH areas contain equipment with moving parts and other hazards: glass washers, coffee grinders, ice machines, blenders, food display equipment. Staff risk serious injury from contact with moving parts if they're not trained or if equipment isn't maintained.

What controls are in place: Operating procedures for each piece of equipment, training and sign-off processes, maintenance schedules, how equipment is isolated in an emergency, and whether safety features are intact. I want specifics, not generalities.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Bar staff and waiting staff use glass washers, coffee machines, blenders, and ice machines. Staff could suffer cuts, burns, or injuries from moving parts."

Controls: "Each piece of equipment has an operating procedure displayed nearby. Staff receive training on safe use during induction, including how to isolate equipment in an emergency. Equipment is maintained according to manufacturer guidelines and serviced regularly."

Common mistakes I see:

"Everyone knows how to use the coffee machine." Do they? Has every member of staff been trained and signed off? Document it.

"It's just a blender." Any equipment with moving parts can cause injury. I've seen a glass washer door dropped on someone's hand because they hadn't been shown how the latch works. Train staff on every piece of kit they'll use.

11. Security

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles exposed to security risks and describe how. FOH staff are public-facing and may encounter difficult customers, aggressive behaviour, or attempted robbery. Bar and reception staff face the highest risk. Staff working alone, handling cash, or working late hours face increased exposure. Confrontations with difficult customers can turn violent quickly.

What controls are in place: CCTV, panic buttons, cash handling procedures, conflict de-escalation training, lone working policies, and how incidents are reported and reviewed. What have you got in place, and what's missing?

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Bar staff, hosts, and supervisors are at risk from aggressive customers and robbery attempts, particularly when handling cash or working late."

Controls: "We have CCTV covering all FOH areas, a panic button behind the bar, and a policy of not challenging aggressive individuals. Cash is stored securely and banked regularly. Staff are trained in conflict de-escalation during induction, and we avoid lone working where possible."

Common mistakes I see:

"We've never had trouble." Security risks exist regardless of history. The businesses I've worked with that had the worst incidents were the ones that said this.

"Staff should just call the police." That's not a control. Train staff on what to do before, during, and after an incident. By the time the police arrive, the situation has already played out.

12. Noise

Who might be harmed and how: List the staff roles exposed to high noise levels and describe how. Staff working during live music, DJ sets, or other loud events are at risk of hearing damage from prolonged noise exposure. Bar staff and floor staff positioned near speakers face the highest risk. Noise damage is permanent and builds up over time.

What controls are in place: Sound limiters, speaker positioning relative to service areas, hearing protection for staff, rotation of staff away from high-noise areas during events, and how noise levels are monitored. If you don't run live events, this section might be brief, but don't skip it entirely.

What good answers look like:

Who and how: "Bar staff and floor staff working during live music events are at risk of hearing damage from noise exposure."

Controls: "We use a sound limiter to control volume, position speakers away from service areas where possible, and offer earplugs to staff working near sound sources. Staff are rotated away from high-noise areas during events."

Common mistakes I see:

"It's not that loud." Noise damage occurs at lower levels than people expect. Measure it. If you have to raise your voice to be heard at arm's length, it's too loud.

"Staff can leave if it's too loud." They can't. They need to work their shift. Provide protection instead of shifting the responsibility onto them.

13. Extra Hazards

This is where you capture anything specific to your venue that the 12 sections above don't cover. Every site is different, and I'd be surprised if there isn't at least one hazard unique to yours.

The way I'd approach this: walk through your FOH area during a busy service and again when it's quiet. Look for anything that doesn't fit the categories above. Outdoor areas, temporary structures, building work, seasonal hazards. If there have been near-misses or incidents that don't fit the 12 sections, they belong here.

What good answers look like:

"Additional hazard: Outdoor terrace with uneven paving. Staff and customers could trip on raised slabs. Current controls: Warning signs in place, regular maintenance checks, terrace lighting improved. Further action: Schedule repaving work for off-season."

"Additional hazard: Heated outdoor area with patio heaters. Staff and customers could suffer burns from contact with heaters. Current controls: Heaters positioned away from walkways, staff trained on safe positioning, heaters checked before each use."

Common mistakes I see:

"There are no other hazards." I've never visited a venue that didn't have something unique. Take the time to find it.

"We'll add it if something happens." Risk assessments are proactive. The whole point is to identify hazards before someone gets hurt, not after.

Automate the Follow-Up with Poppi

This is the part most people skip, and it's the part that matters most. I've seen hundreds of risk assessments that were completed once and never looked at again. They sit in a folder until an auditor asks for them, or until someone gets hurt. The problem isn't laziness. There's just no system reminding anyone to check.

Once your FOH risk assessment is set up as a work activity in Pilla, you can use Poppi Actions to set up a scheduled report that tells you when it was last completed. The report also shows how many incomplete instances exist since the last completion, so you can spot anything that was assigned but never finished.

I'd set this up to cover all your risk assessment types in a single rule. Tag your FOH risk assessment, kitchen risk assessment, fire risk assessment, and any others, then include all the tags in one rule. Poppi sends the report on whatever schedule you choose. I'd recommend monthly to start with. You can always change it.