Where you'll see this: The matrix and the calculation panel appear inside the Assess wizard and on a risk's detail card. You rate every risk twice, once for inherent exposure and once for residual, and each pass runs the same calculation. See Conducting a risk assessment.
The 5×5 matrix
ReFresh scores every risk on a 5×5 matrix with two axes:
Likelihood (the vertical axis): the chance that the hazard causes harm.
Consequence (the horizontal axis): how severe that harm would be.
The grid runs from green in the low corner through amber and orange to red in the high corner. The cell where your chosen likelihood and consequence meet is outlined, and its colour tells you the rating band. A risk that is both likely and severe lands in the red corner; one that is unlikely and minor lands in the green.
How likelihood is worked out
Likelihood is derived, not picked directly. You choose how often and, optionally, how long people are exposed to the hazard, and ReFresh calculates a "chance of harm" from them.
Frequency (required) captures how often exposure happens:
Rare (yearly)
Occasional (quarterly)
Regular (monthly)
Frequent (weekly)
Constant (daily)
Duration (optional) captures how long each exposure lasts:
Minimal (single or brief)
Short Term (days to weeks)
Medium Term (weeks to months)
Long Term (months to ongoing)
Ongoing (continuous)
Why Duration is optional: Whether Duration is part of the calculation is a tenant setting. Under Settings → Company, the 3-Axis Risk Rating toggle switches between the Comcare-aligned three-axis model (Duration by Frequency by Severity) and a two-axis model (Frequency by Severity). When it is off, the Duration input disappears across the assess wizard and the rating maths, and likelihood is derived from Frequency alone. See Company settings and global configuration.
From these, ReFresh produces a derived Likelihood on its own five-point scale:
Almost impossible
Unlikely
Possible
Likely
Almost certain
Frequency labels are not the likelihood labels: The chance-of-harm scale (Almost impossible to Almost certain) is deliberately different from the Frequency labels (Rare to Constant). Frequency describes how often people are exposed; the derived Likelihood describes how probable harm is once you account for both frequency and duration. It is easy to conflate the two, so the app keeps them worded apart.
How consequence is worked out
Consequence is set by Severity, the seriousness of the harm if the hazard is realised:
Insignificant (negligible harm)
Minor (brief or recoverable)
Moderate (notable but manageable)
Major (significant or lasting)
Catastrophic (severe or irreversible)
The rating bands
Wherever your likelihood and consequence meet, the result falls into one of four bands, each with its own colour:
Low (green): manageable with routine controls and ordinary monitoring.
Medium (amber): needs defined controls and periodic review.
High (orange): significant controls and active management required.
Critical (red): urgent treatment and senior attention.
These are the same bands you see as the Inherent and Residual badges on the risk register.
Reading the calculation panel
The "How this rating is calculated" panel restates your inputs as a sentence, so you can sanity-check the result. For example, if exposure is Regular for Medium Term periods, the panel reads the chance of harm as Possible; combine that Possible likelihood with a Major consequence and the risk rates as High. Change any input and the panel, the outlined cell, and the band update together.
Inherent and residual use the same calculation
Because you rate a risk twice, the matrix runs twice:
Inherent exposure is scored as if no controls were in place.
Residual exposure is scored with your current controls in play.
Both passes use the same likelihood-by-consequence calculation, so you can compare the two ratings directly and see how much your controls reduce the risk. For the full assessment flow, see Conducting a risk assessment.