RIDDOR Reporting

RIDDOR puts duties on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses).

When must I report under RIDDOR?

You must only make a report under RIDDOR (The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) for the following:

Reportable injury

• The death of any person – All deaths involving anyone, whether they are employees or not, with the exception of suicide, must be reported. This includes any act of physical violence to a worker.
• Specified injuries – Any injury that includes fractures other than fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations, serious burns, any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight in one or both eyes, Crush injury to the head or torso, any degree of scalping, any injury from working in an enclosed space and loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia are all RIDDOR reportable.
• Injuries lasting more than 7 days – This means that if someone was injured at work and needed 7 or more days off work or is unable to perform their normal work duties including the weekend. 3 day injuries are still to be recorded but not reportable.
• Injuries to members of the public – If a member of the public is injured because of your work activities, and they get taken to hospital for treatment, this needs to be reported under RIDDOR. Any hospital treatment is reportable, not just major, or serious injury.
• Non-fatal injuries to non-workers – Where any person not at work, as a result of a work-related accident, suffers an injury, and that person is taken from the site of the accident to a hospital for treatment in respect of that injury; or a specified injury on hospital premises.

Reportable diseases

These are listed under sections 8 and 9 of the regulations. The types of diseases include:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from the use of percussive or vibrating tools
• Cramp in hand or forearm from prolonged periods of repetitive movement of fingers, hands or arms
• Occupational dermatitis from exposure to known skin sensitisers or vibrating tools or materials
• Hand Arm Vibration (HAV) Syndrome from regular use of percussive or vibrating tools or materials
• Occupational asthma from exposure to respiratory sensitisers
• Tendonitis or tenosynovitis in the hand or forearm from frequent repetitive movements
• Diagnosis of cancer attributed to occupational exposure
• Any disease attributed to occupational exposure to biological agents

Reportable dangerous occurrences

There are several types of dangerous occurrences that require reporting under RIDDOR. These include:

• The collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment
• Plant or equipment coming into contact with overhead power lines
• The accidental release of any substance which could cause injury to any person
• Electrical incidents causing fire or explosion
• Failure of pressure systems (specified circumstances and parameters)
• and more

Find out more about RIDDDOR here.