Is a written risk assessment mandatory in Iraq, and how often must it be reviewed?

Not by that name. Iraq's Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 does not require a document called a risk assessment and sets no review interval. It does require the employer to inform each worker in writing of the hazards and prevention measures before work starts and to protect workers against all work hazards, so in practice a documented risk assessment, kept up to date, is how employers show compliance and is what clients and inspectors expect.

Short answer

• No explicit duty in Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 to produce a written risk assessment, and no legal review period.
• Written hazard information to every worker before starting work is mandatory (Article 117(1)), and hazard rules must be posted visibly (Article 117(2)). Documents must be in Arabic, and also in Kurdish in the Kurdistan Region (Article 16).
• Protection against all hazards of work and machinery is mandatory (Articles 114 and 118), with full employer responsibility (Article 120).
• Ministerial OSH instructions may add detail; we could not verify their text, so check the current version with the National Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
• Projects need an environmental impact report covering emergency cases (Law No. 27 of 2009, Article 10).
• Good practice: review at least yearly and whenever work, equipment, substances or the workforce change, or after an incident.

What Iraqi law actually requires

The employer must provide a safe and healthy working environment, train workers on how to avoid occupational hazards, and post the rules on occupational risks at the workplace (Article 114(2)). Article 117 requires written information to each worker, before work starts, on the occupational hazards and the means of prevention. Article 118 requires the necessary measures to protect workers against occupational hazards and dangers from work and machinery.

You cannot meet these duties without first identifying the hazards and deciding the controls, which is what a risk assessment does. The national OSH authority's own functions include identifying and evaluating workplace health hazards, measuring pollution and taking samples (Article 115(2)), and inspection committees may examine records and take samples (Article 129).

For new projects and expansions, Law No. 27 of 2009 on the Protection and Improvement of the Environment requires an environmental impact report before establishment, including emergency pollution cases and preventive precautions (Articles 10 and 12). This is not an OSH risk assessment, but it overlaps on major accident scenarios.

How to do it so it stands up in Iraq

A practical approach is to follow ISO 45001 or the EU model, adapted to Iraqi documents:

1. Identify hazards per area and task, including summer heat (the ILO reported temperatures of up to 50 °C in 2022).
2. Evaluate the risk (for example a 5x5 matrix) and record who is exposed.
3. Decide the controls using the hierarchy of controls; PPE must be free of charge (Article 118).
4. Turn the results into the written worker briefing required by Article 117, in Arabic (and Kurdish in the Kurdistan Region) plus the workers' own languages, and keep signed copies. A document in another language cannot be relied on against a worker (Article 16).
5. Review on change, after incidents and at a fixed interval (yearly is common practice).

Example: A steel fabrication yard in Basra assesses welding fumes, hot work, lifting and summer heat. The controls include extraction, a hot work permit, annual crane inspection by a body authorised by the National Centre for OSH, and a summer schedule with shade and water. The supervisor briefs each new welder from the written summary and keeps the signed sheet, which covers the Article 117 duty.

How Iraq compares

Common mistakes

• Concluding that no assessment is needed because the law does not use the term.
• Giving workers verbal briefings only: the hazard information must be in writing before work starts.
• Filing a generic template that does not match the site, which will not satisfy an inspector or a client audit.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Iraq: law, authorities and employer duties
• Workplace risk assessment: process, team, records and review
• What OSH training must employers provide to workers in Iraq?

Standards and further reading

• Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 (قانون العمل رقم 37 لسنة 2015), Articles 114, 115, 117, 118; unofficial English translation: alnoor.edu.iq
• Law No. 27 of 2009 on the Protection and Improvement of the Environment, Articles 10 and 12: faolex.fao.org
• ILO, OSH during extreme heat in Iraq (August 2022): ilo.org
• Türkiye: Regulation on OSH Risk Assessment (İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği Risk Değerlendirmesi Yönetmeliği), Article 12, renewal periods by hazard class.
• ISO 45001, OSH management systems: requirements with guidance for use (hazard identification and risk assessment).

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.