The accident book


Under the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987, employers of 10 or more people must record all accidents, however minor the injuries. The record, which is normally an accident book, should be kept in an accessible place and may be inspected by enforcing officers. Accident books should be kept for three years after the date of the last entry.


New rules governing the accident book came into force in 2004, following a ruling by the Information Commissioner who is responsible for the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 98). Most accident books allowed personal details and information to be seen by anyone reading or making an entry in the book and so did not comply with the DPA 98. The HSE published a revised version of the accident book. This points out that safety reps have a legal right to the information. The HSE also amended the accident forms to include a tick-box indicating that the injured worker agrees to their personal information being given to the safety rep. If an individual does not agree to this, the employer must still give the rep the information, but should conceal the individual’s identity and details. Safety reps are entitled to see records created for the purposes of RIDDOR except to the extent that they reveal personal health information about individuals.