RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations)

To manage health and safety effectively in the workplace, certain health and safety laws must be followed. This includes the RIDDOR law. Which stands for:

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations.

RIDDOR mandates the process in which an employer must follow when an accident or incident at work occurs. This is to ensure that the relevant authorities are aware of what has happened and can assess the case, review trends and investigate potential risks. This may include a workplace assessment, where steps are taken to improve health and safety.

What does the law say? 

The law specifies that employers must report and keep records of all:

• Work related accidents/injuries

• Work-related fatalities

• Diagnosed cases of reportable occupational diseases in the workplace

• Dangerous occurrences where and incident is likely to cause harm

Who should you report a workplace accident to?

Workplace accidents should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for certain workplaces, to local authorities like the environmental health department. The primary mechanism for reporting is RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations), which requires responsible persons (employers, self-employed, those in control of premises) to report specific incidents.

Other authorities will depend on the type of work and the enforcement of laws in this specific workplace, For example:

• Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency

• Highways Department (Local Authority)

• Care Quality Commission

• Healthcare Inspectorate (Wales)

• Healthcare Improvement (Scotland)

• General Medical Council

• Department of Education

• Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

For example, if an accident occurs to a worker on the railways, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will also need to be informed regarding railway health and safety.

What is covered by RIDDOR law?

RIDDOR covers what is known as ‘reportable accidents’ which means that some accidents may not need to be reported. You must report an accident if:

• The accident is work related

• It results in a reportable injury

• The injuries keep a worker away from work for more than seven consecutive days

• Dangerous occurrences that could cause an accident/injury

The definition of ‘reportable’

Reportable injuries are those that must be reported within a RIDDOR report. The HSE specifies exactly what these may include, Covering specific injuries, fatalities, dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases.

‘Specified injuries’

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specifies several injuries that must be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). These "specified injuries" include: 

• Fractures (excluding fingers, thumbs, and toes).

• Amputations of limbs or digits (arms, hands, fingers, thumbs, legs, feet, or toes).

• Injuries causing permanent blindness or significant vision loss in one or both eyes.

• Crush injuries to the head or torso that damage the brain or internal organs.

• Serious burns (including scalding) covering more than 10% of the body or causing significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system, or other vital organs.

• Scalping injuries requiring hospital treatment.

• Loss of consciousness due to head injury or asphyxia.

• Other injuries from working in enclosed spaces that lead to hypothermia, heat-induced illness, require resuscitation, or necessitate hospitalization for over 24 hours.

Fatal accidents at work

Any accident that has resulted in the death of a worker must be reported under RIDDOR. This also includes those who have died because of a workplace injury within 365 days of the injury occurring.

If the death occurs at the workplace, the employer is also responsible for informing the employee’s next of kin and to provide support to all staff after the death.

Incapacitation of a worker

Where an accident causes a worker to be incapacitated- i.e. unable to do their usual work duties for more than seven consecutive days, a RIDDOR report must be made.

Over 7 days

The seven-day timeframe does not include the day of the accident but does include non-working days such as weekends and holidays. The report must also be made within 15 days of the accident.

Over 3 days

While an incapacitation of a worker between 3 and 7 days does not need to be reported, you must keep a record of this in your accident workbook.

Non-fatal accidents to people other than workers

Certain accidents involving those who do not work for your business must also be reported under RIDDOR.

This includes those that:

• Involve a work activity

• Resulted in an injury

• Result in the injured person being sent directly to hospital for treatment of the injury (specifically ‘treatment’ this does not include diagnostics or testing)

Occupational diseases

Occupational diseases are defined as diseases or chronic illnesses which have been caused by exposure to hazards in the workplace or during work activities.

In order for a report to be made there must be an official diagnosis of the disease by a medical practitioner and reasonable evidence to suggest the exposure was the cause of the diagnosis. This can often be hard to detect however, due to the natural development of certain diseases overtime.

Some workers are not diagnosed with occupational diseases until many years after exposure.

A widely seen example of this is asbestos-related diseases and deaths. Which continues to cause 5,000 deaths annually despite the awareness of its dangers. Mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis are the most common illnesses caused by asbestos and some of the diagnoses occur decades after a person was initially exposed.

Examples of reportable diseases:

1. Musculoskeletal Disorders

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

• Tendonitis/Tenosynovitis

• Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS)

2. Respiratory Diseases:

• Occupational Asthma

• Asbestosis and other Asbestos-related diseases

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

3. Skin Diseases:

• Occupational Dermatitis

4. Hearing Loss:

• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Other Examples

• Workplace Stress

• Cancers

• Infections

Biological agents and the exposure of these within the workplace is covered under COSHH regulations. It’s important to note that they can contribute to the diagnosis of a disease and any example of this within your workplace must be reported.

Dangerous occurrences

While a dangerous occurrence may not cause a reportable injury, certain events at work should still be reported under RIDDOR. This includes occurrences such as:

• Equipment failures

• Electrical incidents

• Fires and explosions

• Collisions

• Falls

• Gas leaks

Reporting of dangerous occurrences requires, you, the employer, to make an informed decision. Considering the impact this occurrence has had and how likely it may have been to cause injury, harm or even death in the workplace.  

Making a RIDDOR report

RIDDOR reports can be made online via the HSE website. If you need to contact a local authority directly, or an industry-regulatory organisation, these will need to be contacted directly.

Remember, you are not making an emergency call, and most authorities do not work out of hours. However, you do have a duty to report fatal accidents, major injuries, and dangerous occurrences within 10 days of the incident occurring.  

Who should make a RIDDOR report?

You should only make a RIDDOR report if you are an employer, or self-employed, or are in control of the work premises. Injured employees and members of the public are not required to make a RIDDOR report. Though they can report a company to the HSE for breaches of health and safety laws.

Logging accidents in an accident book

Accident workbooks are a legal requirement for any employer with 10 or more staff.

Not only do they support you in complying with RIDDOR, but they are a useful document for storing all details of workplace accidents, easy to refer to, and can be used as a review tool for improving workplace health and safety in the future.

As with any business-sensitive data however, accident workbooks must be kept securely in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Accident and near-miss reporting made easy with BrightSafe

Health and safety software makes real-time health and safety accident and near-miss reporting simple. Log details of workplace accidents, create a digital record of all near-misses and get the expert advice you need to stay compliant with RIDDOR thanks to our 24/7 health and safety advice line.  

Discover BrightSafe today for an all-in-one solution to workplace health and safety, save time, ensure compliance and keep workers safe.