# Legionella Risk Assessment Template: free UK download

Canonical: https://paddl-ai.co/templates/legionella-risk-assessment-template
Last reviewed: 2026-09-11 by the Paddl team

Free legionella risk assessment template for hotels, pubs and restaurants, with the water system survey and the monitoring log

## In one sentence

The Legionella Risk Assessment Template is a free PDF for UK food businesses with 4 record sheets: water system survey: cold water storage, hot water generation, distribution, outlets, showers, spa and pool equipment, dead legs and little-used outlets, legionella risk assessment sheet with likelihood, consequence and control columns per system component, written control scheme: who does what, how often, and the temperatures and actions that count as a pass. Download it, print it or fill it in, and keep it with your food safety records; Paddl keeps the same records on a phone with timestamps and reminders.

Legionella bacteria grow in water between 20°C and 45°C and infect people through fine spray, which is why hotel showers, spa pools, hot tubs, rarely used outlets and the cellar tap that nobody runs are the places outbreaks start. Under COSHH and the HSE Approved Code of Practice L8, every employer and landlord must assess the risk from legionella in their water systems and manage it; there is no exemption for small premises, only a lighter touch where the system is simple. This free template gives you the survey of your water system, the risk assessment itself, a written control scheme and the monthly monitoring log that proves the controls are running. For a simple system a competent manager can complete it; for a hotel with tanks, calorifiers and a spa, use it to brief and check the specialist you bring in.

## Why you need it

- Legionella risk assessment is a legal duty under COSHH and ACOP L8 for every employer and anyone in control of premises
- Hospitality has the classic risk factors: showers, spa pools, hot tubs, seasonal rooms and outlets that go unused for weeks
- Legionnaires' disease kills around one in ten people who catch it, and outbreaks are traced back to the building
- Environmental health officers ask for the assessment and the monitoring log, and insurers ask after a claim

## What is included

- Water system survey: cold water storage, hot water generation, distribution, outlets, showers, spa and pool equipment, dead legs and little-used outlets
- Legionella risk assessment sheet with likelihood, consequence and control columns per system component
- Written control scheme: who does what, how often, and the temperatures and actions that count as a pass
- Monthly monitoring log: sentinel outlet temperatures, calorifier flow and return, tank inspection, shower head descale and flushing of rarely used outlets

## Record sheets

- **Water System Survey**: columns Asset / Outlet, Location, Type, Frequency of Use, Temperature Observed, Notes (scale, sediment, dead leg)
- **Legionella Risk Assessment**: columns Component, Growth Risk (temp, stagnation, scale), Exposure Risk (spray, who), Existing Controls, Risk (H/M/L), Further Action / Owner
- **Written Control Scheme**: columns Control, Frequency, Pass Criteria, Responsible Person, Record Kept Where
- **Monthly Monitoring Log**: columns Date, Sentinel Hot (°C, 1 min), Sentinel Cold (°C, 2 min), Calorifier Flow / Return, Outlets Flushed (list), Showers Descaled?, Action Taken, Initials

## How to use it

1. **Survey the water system** Walk from the incoming main to every outlet. Record tanks, calorifiers, pipe runs, showers, hoses, hot tubs and anything that stores or sprays water. Mark dead legs and outlets used less than weekly.
2. **Assess each component** For each item, judge how likely legionella is to grow (temperature, stagnation, scale, sediment) and how likely people are to breathe the spray. Showers and spa pools are the high-risk lines.
3. **Write the control scheme** Hot water stored at 60°C and reaching 50°C at the tap within a minute; cold below 20°C; weekly flushing of unused outlets; quarterly shower head descale; tank inspection; name the person responsible for each.
4. **Run the log and review the assessment** Record the monthly checks on the log and act on any failure. Review the assessment every two years, after any change to the system, and after any case or suspected case.

## Tips

- The simplest and most effective control is heat: hot hot and cold cold, checked at the furthest outlet
- Flush every outlet in a closed room or wing weekly, and log it, because stagnation is the usual cause
- Remove dead legs rather than managing them; a capped pipe is cheaper than a lifetime of flushing
- Hot tubs and spa pools have their own HSG282 guidance and need daily checks; do not fold them into the monthly log
- Paddl schedules the flushing and temperature checks as routines and keeps the completed log against the location

Download the file from https://paddl-ai.co/templates/legionella-risk-assessment-template (email required). The Paddl features that keep the same records: https://paddl-ai.co/features/risk-assessments, https://paddl-ai.co/features/maintenance, https://paddl-ai.co/features/compliance, https://paddl-ai.co/features/routines, https://paddl-ai.co/features/documents, https://paddl-ai.co/features/mobile-app.