What is reportable under RIDDOR?

Employers, the self-employed and anyone in control of work premises must report and record particular categories of work-related accidents and “near misses” under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).

On 6 April 2012, a new category of “over-seven-day” injuries replaced “over-three-day” injuries under the RIDDOR regulations. The change means that employers must now report an injury that causes a person to be off work (or unable to do the full range of their normal duties) for eight consecutive days or more, starting from the day after the injury was sustained. The consecutive period includes weekends and rest days.

And in August 2012, the HSE opened a 12-week consultation on further proposals to “simplify and clarify” reporting requirements. Under the changes, self-employed people will no longer have to report injuries or illness to themselves, and employers will no longer be under a duty to report dangerous occurrences outside of high-risk sectors and activities — the proposals will amend the list of reportable major injuries and dangerous occurrences from October 2103.

Originally the proposals included the removal of requirements to report most occupational diseases and non-fatal injuries to members of the public. However in March 2013 the HSE board rejected these proposals. Employers will still be under a duty to report injuries to members of the public and to report occupational cancers, diseases attributable to biological agents, hand-arm vibration syndrome, dermatitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, severe cramp of the arm, tendonitis and occupational asthma. Together these currently account for 90% of all ill-health RIDDOR reports to the HSE. The consultation document can be found at: www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd243.htm

Unions say these latest changes will further downgrade safety reporting and that companies will be less likely to take action to prevent injuries from re-occurring.

While the HSE has backed down over the reporting of occupational diseases, unions say that the changes due to take effect in October 2013 will significantly reduce the number of major injuries requiring an automatic RIDDOR report.

Construction union UCATT says these include:

• an electrical shock leading to unconsciousness, resuscitation or admittance to hospital;

• a temporary loss of eyesight;

• dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine;

• unconsciousness or acute illness caused by a biological agent its toxins or infected material;

• an acute illness requiring medical treatment; and

• loss of consciousness due to absorbing or inhaling a substance.

The proposals also downgrade the need to report injuries to members of the public unless “they are taken from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment for that injury.”

And the types of dangerous occurrences which do not result in an accident (near misses) that must be reported have been reduced from 27 to 21.

“The reduction in the requirement to report major injuries is dangerous. Many of these type of injury are potentially life changing for those involved,” said UCATT general secretary Steve Murphy, “if companies no longer have to report them then they are less likely to take preventive measures to stop them re-occurring.”

Details of the latest proposed changes to RIDDOR are available on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/press/2013/hse-riddor-changes.htm

In summary, incidents which must be notified under RIDDOR include:

• any fatality;

• major injuries;

• “over-seven-day injuries”;

• work-related diseases (which include, for example, occupational asthma, or occupational dermatitis); and

• near misses (also described in the RIDDOR guidance as “dangerous occurrences”.)

According to the HSE, “stress” is not reportable as an occupational injury, even when accompanied by a medical certificate stating that it is work-related, because it does not relate to a single definable accident.

Injuries must be reported within 15 days (up from 10 days under the pre-April 2012 regime).

Details about the extent of the reporting obligation, including detailed guidance on what amounts to a “major injury”, a “work-related disease”, and a “near miss” or “dangerous occurrence”, can be found in HSE guidance: A Guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2012 available at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l73.htm

Draft guidance on the HSE website will apply from October 2013 (subject to Parliamentary approval) see: www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/october-2013-changes.htm

There is a brief guide, Reporting accidents and incidents at work, available at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg453.htm

There is also as an updated Information Sheet containing guidance on the reporting obligation for employers in health and social care at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsis1.pdf

Under Regulation 7 of RIDDOR, a record of all notifiable events must be kept for three years.

Employers remain obliged to record over-three-day injuries even though they are no longer obliged to report them and they should use this information to review their health and safety procedures.

Acceptable recording arrangements include using the accident book, keeping photocopies of completed forms for reporting purposes in a suitable file, or recording the details of each accident or reportable disease on a computer, as long as the details can be retrieved and printed out easily.