In this guide, we break down RIDDOR NI, GB and Ireland accident reporting into bitesize chunks to help you understand what needs to be done for your business.
It can be a confusing subject to tackle, and the requirements vary slightly depending on what part of the UK you are in. Firstly then, what is RIDDOR?
The RIDDOR Regulations in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) & Northern Ireland require employers, the self-employed and those in control of premises to report specified workplace incidents.
Incident and accident reports generated as part of the RIDDOR reporting requirements are sent to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) or HSENI.
Let's look at how you might go through the process of reporting in this scenario..
RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (2013).
The regulations form an important aspect of health and safety management for those responsible for reporting.
Now you know what RIDDOR stands for, for more must-know information for the RIDDOR Regulations, such as, who should report, how to report and when to report - keep reading...
Download our editable Accident Report Form template bundle below to keep an accurate record of accidents/incidents & investigations in your workplace.
It's not valuable just to know the answer to the question 'What is RIDDOR?', you need to be able to understand why it is important!
In 2017/18, an estimated 555,000 injuries occurred at work and 1.4 million working people were suffering from a new or ongoing work-related illness. For more in-depth stats, check out our post on UK Health and Safety Statistics.
The RIDDOR regulations are in place to help keep you and your colleagues safe at work. The legislation is also important because it helps to keep employers accountable to what goes on under their watch.
In theory, this should also encourage people to follow health and safety procedures in the workplace, which helps to reduce the number of accidents. At least, that is the aim!
When you follow the RIDDOR reporting requirements, it helps the HSE to gather important data on work-related illness and injury. The information allows them to monitor and track trends, allowing them to invest resource towards education and prevention strategies in future.
As you can see from the chart above, slips & trips and manual handling are the cause of >50% of the non-fatal RIDDOR accidents.
When it comes to fatalities, we can also see that the trend is that over 50% of fatalities are caused by either falls from height or being struck by a vehicle or moving object.
If employers ignore the RIDDOR regulations and fail to report incidents, they are breaking the law.
In 2011, Tesco admitted to not following essential procedures for reporting staff injuries at two of its stores. As a result, the company was fined £34,000 for RIDDOR reporting failures.
By following procedure and reporting any incidents as required, employers ensure that these risks are addressed and kept to a minimum.
This keeps everyone safe in the workplace and ensures that the image or reputation of the company is not tarnished.
As an employer, it is a legal requirement to report all 'RIDDOR reportable' incidents, no matter how big or small. This also include specific illnesses (listed below).
But, how do we determine what is RIDDOR reportable? There are some general rules relating to compliance with the RIDDOR Regulations, these include;
For cases of occupational disease, including those associated with exposure to carcinogens, mutagens or biological agents, it should be reported as soon as the responsible person receives a diagnosis.
Helpful Hint: The importance of keeping up to speed with Health and Safety law is becoming more and more important in the UK - to find out why, listen our podcast with legal expert Kizzy Augustin.
Now that we have outlined what is RIDDOR reportable, let's figure out who actually has responsibility for doing the RIDDOR reporting. Once we have established that, we will perform a check to see if the accident is 'work-related' or not....
As indicated above, the RIDDOR reporting rules for Northern Ireland differ slightly to GB, and fall more into line with the remit for Republic of Ireland.
Remember this key difference...
REMEMBER: The key difference for RIDDOR NI is that injuries and illnesses which make employees unable to attend work or carry out their normal duties for MORE THAN 3 days, must be reported.
If you have any questions relating to RIDDOR NI 2013, don't hesitate to reach out to one of our Health and Safety experts in Belfast for a conversation using the live Chat Tool (bottom right).
For the Republic of Ireland, the obligations are quite similar to that of NI. However, for the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Reporting of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences) Regulations 2016, there are some differences to Northern Irelands reporting obligations.
Here is a brief outline;
These are some of the key points in relation to reporting of accidents and dangerous occurrences:
Notice that there are some distinct difference in terms of what needs to be reported for Accident Reporting in Ireland? If you need support for HSA Ireland Accident Reporting, don't hesitate to talk to us via the Live Chat Tool (bottom right).
Let's get back to the RIDDOR Reporting obligations...
Only ‘responsible persons’ including employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises should submit reports under the RIDDOR regulations.
If you are an employee (or representative) or a member of the public wishing to report an incident about which you have concerns, please refer to the HSE advice.
If you are an employer, you must report any work-related deaths, and certain work-related injuries, cases of disease, and near misses involving your employees wherever they are working.
If you are in control of premises, you must report any work-related deaths, certain injuries to members of the public and self-employed people on your premises. Dangerous occurrences (some severe near miss incidents) that occur on your premises must also be reported.
If you are working in someone else’s work premises and suffer either a specified injury or an over-seven-day injury, then the person in control of the premises will be responsible for reporting.
So, where possible, you should make sure they know about it!
If there is a reportable accident while you are working on your own premises or in domestic premises.
Or if a doctor tells you that you have a work-related disease or condition, then you need to report it.
What sort of injuries are reportable? RIDDOR rules use 3 tests to determine whether an incident should be reported to the HSE - we've broken them down here...
1. Was it an accident which caused the injury?
For an incident to be considered as an accident, it needs to have an identifiable, external event which causes the injury.
For example, a broken leg caused by a collision with a forklift truck would be an accident.
On the other hand, a bad back caused simply by bending down may not be considered a work-related accident i.e. not RIDDOR reportable.
2. Was it work related?
To decide whether an accident was work-related, you need to consider whether any of the following were a factor:
3. Was the injury itself reportable?
If they also meet the first two criteria, the following injuries are considered reportable:
The RIDDOR regulations also cover other workplace incidents; including cases of specific occupational diseases, dangerous occurrences, and gas incidents.
Don't miss our 4-step Guide to Accident Investigation.
We take you through the process of gathering evidence, analysing information, identifying risk controls and developing an action plan!
Now, let's look at what those specific injuries, illnesses and incidents actually are. We have slotted in the most recent guidance on coronavirus/COVID 19 guidance from the HSE in the UK too..
Some others that aren't maybe just as common.
It's easy to focus on injuries, as they are usually obvious and require short-term action. It's important not to forget about occupational diseases, which are progressive over longer periods of time.
Tying in with your Human Resources department or representative is crucial; to make sure you are not missing any work-related instances of ill-health in your RIDDOR reporting.
Also, not only should businesses be identifying and recording near-misses - there is a legal obligation to report when these are severe. In the UK, these are known as dangerous occurrences. Let's look at some examples of both occupational diseases and dangerous occurences:
If the following are likely to have been caused or made worse by work practices, they are considered as occupational diseases and must be reported under the RIDDOR regulations:
This refers to severe ‘near-miss’ incidents that could have caused harm, including:
There's another category of incident that are RIDDOR reportable that you might not be aware of, relating to 'Gas Incidents'. This RIDDOR reporting requirement is specifically geared towards certain groups, let's look at what is required for this type of report.
You must report certain gas incidents to the HSE. If you are a distributor, filler, importer or supplier of flammable gas you must report incidents if you learn -
'someone has died, lost consciousness, or been hospitalised due to an injury connected with the gas you were responsible for.'
Furthermore, gas engineers must provide details of appliances or fittings they believe to be a danger to life or could cause unconsciousness or hospital treatment.
This may be a consequence of poor design or fitting which could cause a gas leak, for example.
The responsible person should complete the appropriate online report form on the Health & Safety Executive's website (or HSENI in Northern Ireland). The form will then be submitted directly to the RIDDOR database and you'll receive a copy for your records.
Hopefully by this point, you feel a bit more comfortable in answering the question, 'What is RIDDOR?'.
To go a bit further, we've made a tutorial video below, which walks you through the completion process on the HSE website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cy3ChY0of4&t=50sMore information on when, and how, to report very serious or dangerous incidents, can be found by visiting the ways to contact HSE webpage. If you want to report less serious incidents out of normal working hours, you can always complete an online form.
The information for the 'What is RIDDOR?' resource has been adapted in accordance with the Open Government Licence for public sector information. Always check the latest local guidance or consult with a Chartered Professional when assessing your legal obligations.
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