New law for reporting workplace accidents

RIDDOR regulations for reporting injuries sustained at work are set to change from April 6.

The new law, which is subject to Parliamentary approval, will raise the trigger point for reporting accidents to more than seven days incapacitation.

As a result, the deadline by which seven-day accidents must be reported to the HSE will increase to 15 days from the day of the accident. Under the previous law, employers had 10 days in which to submit a report.

Despite the change, employers will still be required under RIDDOR to keep a record of all injuries that result in more than three days incapacitation.

As an employer you must report any work-related deaths, injuries or cases of disease involving your employees wherever they are working.

Death, major injury and over-three-day injuries to contractors working indirectly for you are reportable by their employers. Contractors could be builders, maintenance staff, employment agencies providing agency staff, or care providers in a commissioned contract.

Where different organisations share responsibility for managing staff, it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure adequate arrangements are in place for reporting incidents.

Aside from the usual seven-day rule, reportable major injuries included under RIDDOR are:

  • fracture, other than to fingers, thumbs and 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 admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
  • any other injury leading to hypothermia, heat-induced illness or unconsciousness, or requiring resuscitation, or requiring admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
  • unconsciousness caused by asphyxia or exposure to a 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 or its toxins or infected material

In addition, an employer must report any near misses which are included on the HSE’s specific list of ‘dangerous occurrences’. Not every near-miss event must be reported.

For more information, visit the HSE’s advice centre for RIDDOR. http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/index.htm

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