In 2019/20, an estimated 693,000 injuries occurred at UK workplaces and out of these, 65,427 were reported to RIDDOR.
Why are these statistics important you ask?
Well, RIDDOR or The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 is a piece of health and safety legislation that requires ‘responsible persons’ to correctly report and keep records of certain injuries and incidents that happen at work. It holds employers responsible for negligence and bad working behaviours but also encourages people to follow health and safety procedures. Therefore, employers or any individual in a position of authority should know what the law requires.
What is Meant by 'Accident' and 'Work-Related'
It can seem a bit complicated when determining what classifies as an accident. According to RIDDOR, an accident is a separate, identifiable, unintended incident, which causes physical injury. This specifically includes acts of non-consensual violence to people at work and not injuries themselves, eg ‘feeling a sharp twinge’. There must be an identifiable external event that causes the injury, eg a falling object striking someone. Additionally, under RIDDOR cumulative exposures to hazards, which eventually cause injury (eg repetitive lifting), are not classed as accidents.
RIDDOR only requires you to report accidents if they happen ‘out of or in connection with work’. The fact that there is an accident at work premises does not, in itself, mean that the accident is work-related – the work activity itself must contribute to the accident. Employees do not have a legal responsibility to report incidents, but if an employee witnesses or experiences an incident that would fall under RIDDOR, they should report it to the appropriate person. An accident is ‘work-related’ if any of the following played a significant role:
- The way the work was carried out.
- Any machinery, plant, substances or equipment used for the work.
- The condition of the site or premises where the accident happened.
What Counts as a Reportable Incident?
In order to comply with RIDDOR, you will need to report certain types of incidents and injuries to the HSE, but not all accidents need to be reported. As a result, you may be uncertain about what incidents should be reported under RIDDOR. The bottom line is that a report is required when an accident is work-related and results in an injury of a type that is reportable. You can find a more detailed outline here that also has questions you can use to determine if an incident is reportable. Some basic examples include
- The death of any person (Regulation 6)
- Specified Injuries to workers (Regulation 4)
- Injuries to workers which result in their incapacitation for more than 7 days (Regulation 4)
- Injuries to non-workers which result in them being taken directly to hospital for treatment, or specified injuries to non-workers which occur on hospital premises. (Regulation 5)
- Catering and hospitality accidents
What Does Not Need to be Reported?
Reports are not required (Regulation 14) for deaths and injuries that result from:
- Medical or dental treatment or an examination carried out by, or under supervision of, a doctor or registered dentist
- The duties carried out by a member of the armed forces while on duty
- Road traffic accidents, unless the accident involved:
- The loading or unloading of a vehicle;
- Work alongside the road (e.g. construction or maintenance work);
- The escape of a substance being conveyed by a vehicle
- A train
Keeping Track
It is the responsibility of the employer to keep a detailed, up-to-date record of any incidents in an accident book or something similar. This information should then be used to inform future risk assessments and updated health and safety policies for the organisation. RIDDOR records must be provided when asked by the HSE or local authority and are required to be kept for a minimum of three years after the date of the last incident in the book.
How to Submit a Report
All reports are made to the HSE and can be reported online using the appropriate RIDDOR form. Once completed, the form will be submitted directly to the RIDDOR database and you will receive a copy for your records.
A telephone system also remains for reporting fatal and specified injuries only by calling the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 300 9923 (Mon-Fri 8:30am – 5pm).
Reporting out of hours
The HSE and local authority enforcement officers are not an emergency service; however, the HSE does have an out of hours duty officer. The type of circumstances where the HSE may need to respond out of hours are:
- following a work-related death;
- following a serious incident where there have been multiple casualties; or
- following an incident that has caused major disruption (e.g. closure of roads or evacuation of people).
If an incident fits one of these descriptions, the duty officer can be contacted on 0151 922 9235.
