Reporting Accidents and Ill health

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Reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995, or RIDDOR for short.

What should be Reported?

Employers or other responsible persons have a legal duty to report:

Deaths
Major Injuries
Certain serious dangerous occurrences
Certain diseases contracted at work
Accidents resulting in more than 3 days off work
Accidents to members of the public who are taken from the scene to hospital

Death Or Major Injury

If there is an accident connected with work where one of your employees, or a self employed person working on your premise is killed or suffers a major injury (including as a result of physical violence); or

a member of the public is killed or taken to hospital, you must notify the enforcing authority without delay.

You can either telephone or complete the appropriate form on the website, http://www.riddor.gov.uk/.

Reportable major injuries are:-
Fractures other than to fingers, thumbs or toes;
Amputation
Dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine
Loss of sight (temporary or permanent)
Chemical or hot metal burn to the eye or any penetrating injury to the eye
Injury resulting from an electric shock or electrical burn leading to unconsciousness or requiring resuscitation or requiring admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours.
Unconsciousness caused by asphyxia or exposure to harmful substance or biological agent
Acute illness requiring medical treatment, or loss of consciousness arising from absorption of any substance by inhalation, ingestion or through the skin
Acute illness requiring medical treatment where there is reason to believe that this resulted from exposure to a biological agent

Over Three Day Injury

If there is an accident connected with work (including an act of physical violence) and your employees, or a self-employed person working on your premise, suffers an over-three day injury you must report it to the enforcing authority within ten days.

An over-three day injury is one which is not major but results in the injured person being away from work or unable to do there normal work for more than three days (including any days they would not normally be expected to work such as weekends, rest days or holidays) not counting the day of the injury itself.

Disease

If a doctor notifies you that your employee suffers from a reportable work-related disease then you must report it to the enforcing authority.

Reportable diseases include:

Certain poisonings
Some skin diseases such as occupational dermatitis, skin cancer, chrome ulcer, oil folliculitis /acne
Lung disease including: occupational asthma, farmers lung, pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, mesothelioma
Infections such as: leptospirosis, hepatitus, tuberculosis, anthrax, legionellosis, and tetanus
Other conditions such as: occupational cancer, certain musculoskeletal disorders, decompression illness and hand-arm vibration

How Do I Report?

All accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences may be reported to the Incident Contact Centre. The Contact Centre is a single point of contact for receiving all incidents in the UK

You can report incidents by the following routes:

By telephone: 0845 3009923
On the internet by completing the relevant form at: http://www.riddor.gov.uk/

By fax: 0845 3009924

By email: riddor@natbrit.com

If your business is office-based, retail or wholesale, warehousing, hotel and catering, sports or leisure, residential accommodation (excluding nursing homes) or concerned with places of worship you may alternatively report direct to the health and safety team .

References/Further Details

RIDDOR explained - Free Leaflet (HSE31) (HSE)

RIDDOR Explained - available from the Health and Safety Executive

(146 KB, 16 pages)
A guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 - L73(HSE) ISBN 0 7176 2431 5