In brief
Under Law No. 6331, a hazard is the potential to cause harm or damage that exists in the workplace or may come from outside; risk is the likelihood of loss, injury or another harmful outcome arising from that hazard. A hazard answers the question "what can cause harm?", while risk answers "to whom, how likely and how severe?" The same forklift, ladder or chemical produces a different risk depending on frequency of use, the people exposed and the measures in place.
Definitions in the Law: what is a hazard, what is a risk?
The definitions of the two concepts most often confused in basic OHS training are set out in Art. 3 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety. The difference between hazard and risk becomes clear when these two definitions are read side by side:
- Hazard: The potential to cause harm or damage that exists in the workplace or may come from outside, and that may affect the employee or the workplace.
- Risk: The likelihood of loss, injury or another harmful outcome arising from the hazard.
- Risk assessment: The work carried out to identify hazards, analyse and rate the factors that cause these hazards to turn into risks as well as the risks themselves, and decide on control measures.
- Prevention: All measures planned and taken at every stage of the work to eliminate or reduce risks.
The key words in the definitions are "potential" and "likelihood". A hazard is the power to cause harm inherent in something; it is there even if you do nothing. Risk is the likelihood of that power harming certain people under certain conditions, and it changes as conditions change. The phrase "the factors that cause hazards to turn into risks" in the Law's definition of risk assessment describes exactly this bridge.
The difference between hazard and risk: "what" and "how much"
Let us start with an everyday example. A sharp knife in the kitchen is a hazard: it has the potential to cut. When the knife is in its sheath in a drawer, the hazard does not disappear, but the likelihood of someone getting hurt is very low. When the same knife lies on the edge of the worktop where a small child could reach it, the hazard is the same, but the risk has risen noticeably.
Art. 8 of the Regulation on OHS Risk Assessment states that hazards arise from physical, chemical, biological, psychosocial, ergonomic and similar hazard sources. A hazard source is what carries the hazard: a machine, a substance, an environment or the work organisation. The table below shows the three concepts together:
| Hazard source | Hazard (potential for harm) | Risk (example statement) |
|---|---|---|
| Forklift | Heavy moving vehicle | Likelihood of striking a pedestrian in a warehouse without separated walkways |
| Thinner containing toluene | Vapour that affects the nervous system when inhaled | Likelihood of poisoning for a painter working 6 hours a day in an unventilated paint room |
| Shelf at 3 m height | Potential to fall from height | Likelihood of a fall for an employee who climbs onto a crate instead of a ladder |
| Noisy press | Sound above 90 dB(A) | Likelihood of hearing loss over the years for an operator not wearing hearing protection |
| Night shift (psychosocial) | Fatigue and reduced attention | Likelihood of an employee deburring with a knife cutting their hand in the last hour of the shift |
Note that every statement in the risk column of the table contains a person, an activity and a harm. A hazard can be written in a single word; a risk is written in a sentence.
Same hazard, different workplace, different risk
Art. 9 of the Risk Assessment Regulation requires determining how frequently the risk arising from each hazard may occur and who or what may be harmed, and how severely, while taking into account the effect of existing control measures. That is why the same hazard scores differently in two workplaces.
Let us consider a forklift in three different workplaces. In a simple likelihood × severity matrix (each from 1 to 5), severity is scored 5 in all three because a collision would result in serious injury; what changes is likelihood:
- A large logistics warehouse with walkways separated by physical barriers: The forklift and pedestrians are rarely in the same area. Likelihood 2, risk score 2 × 5 = 10.
- A furniture workshop with narrow aisles where pedestrians and forklifts use the same route: Encounters happen many times a day. Likelihood 4, risk score 4 × 5 = 20.
- The same workshop on dispatch day with interns on site: Inexperienced people and heavy traffic increase the likelihood further. Likelihood 5, risk score 25.
In all three cases the hazard is the same forklift. The risk, however, has increased two and a half times depending on the number of people exposed, how often they meet, their experience and the measures in place. This is also why Art. 8 of the Regulation requires groups needing special policies, such as young, older, disabled, pregnant and breastfeeding workers, to be considered separately: the same hazard can produce a higher risk for these groups. For methods that score in more detail, see our article on the Fine-Kinney method.
Now consider an example where severity changes: a wet floor. In an office tea kitchen, a wet floor usually leads to a brief slip and a minor sprain. The same wet floor on a meat processing line also brings a risk of cuts for an employee walking with a knife in hand; and since the floor is constantly wet, the likelihood rises too. On a stair landing, a slip can result in a fall down the stairs and a head injury. The hazard is still the same "slippery surface", but the other hazard sources nearby and the environment completely change the severity of possible harm. This is why the risk assessment should be done by walking the site rather than copying a ready-made list at a desk.
Reduce the risk or eliminate the hazard?
The distinction also determines the type of measure to be taken. Art. 10 of the Risk Assessment Regulation sets the following order for control measures: first, eliminating the hazard or the hazard source; then replacing the dangerous with the non-dangerous or less dangerous; then combating risks at source. Collective protective measures are given priority over personal protection, and the risk is rescored after the measures.
In the paint room example, three different measures do three different things:
- Switching from solvent-based paint to water-based paint changes the hazard; the potential for harm decreases.
- Installing local exhaust and general ventilation reduces the risk; the hazard is the same but exposure falls.
- Giving the employee a gas mask also reduces the risk, but the hazard and the vapour in the environment remain as they are; the moment the mask is not worn, the risk returns.
Common confusions in training
The following mistakes are often encountered in basic training and risk assessment documents:
- Writing the hazard in the risk column. "Risk: wet floor" is wrong; a wet floor is a hazard. The risk is "a kitchen worker slipping and falling on the wet floor and suffering a fracture".
- Writing a single risk for a hazard. An electrical panel creates both an electric shock and a fire risk; each is a separate line.
- Saying "there is PPE, so there is no risk". PPE does not eliminate the hazard; it only reduces the risk and is the last resort.
- Preparing only a list of hazards. Listing hazards is the first step of risk assessment; the document is not complete until likelihood and severity have been analysed.
- Disregarding near misses. The Regulation defines a near miss as an event that had the potential to cause harm but did not. A near miss is the cheapest warning that the hazard is real and that the risk may be higher than calculated; we described the reporting system in our near miss article.
Short exercise: hazard or risk?
Classify the following statements with your team; the answers are in brackets.
- Hydrogen gas being able to build up in the battery charging room. (Hazard)
- The likelihood of an explosion and burns if someone smokes in the charging room. (Risk)
- A suspended load carried by a crane. (Hazard)
- The likelihood of an employee walking under a suspended load being crushed if the load falls. (Risk)
- An unguarded floor opening on a construction site. (Hazard)
- The likelihood of falling into the floor opening in an area without night lighting. (Risk)
Doing this exercise with examples from your own workplace in induction and basic training takes the concept beyond rote learning. You can find durations and topic groups under the 2026 training regulation in our article on the new OHS training regulation. The OHS training we provide in Bursa and the surrounding provinces is prepared using the workplace's own hazard sources; to put risks on paper, see our risk assessment service and our guide how to carry out a risk assessment, which describes the whole process. To see obligations according to your workplace's hazard class, you can use the OHS obligation calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the basic difference between hazard and risk?
A hazard is the potential to cause harm and is inherent in something. Risk is the likelihood of that potential harming certain people under certain conditions; it is measured by likelihood and severity and changes as conditions change.
Can a hazard create more than one risk?
Yes. An electrical installation can create risks of electric shock and fire, a forklift of collision and overturning, and a chemical of both poisoning by inhalation and skin burns. Each risk is assessed separately.
Does PPE eliminate the hazard?
No. PPE acts not on the hazard but on the employee's exposure, and reduces the risk. That is why legislation gives collective protective measures priority over personal protection.
Is a near miss a hazard or a risk?
It is neither; it is an event. It is an event that had the potential to cause harm but did not, and in the risk assessment it is data showing that the hazard is real and that the likelihood may be higher than thought.
A risk assessment that identifies and scores hazards on site, links each measure to an owner and a date, and has a clear renewal schedule.
Bursa SİSTEMER OSGB Technical Team — written from the field experience of our OHS specialists and workplace physicians. Legal information is valid as of the publication/update date; contact us for an assessment specific to your business.