What is RIDDOR and why is it important?
Published on July 7th, 2022 | by Sophie West
According to the HSE, 1.7 million workers suffered from work-related ill-health in 2020/21 and it’s estimated that 441,000 injuries occurred at work during the same period.
What is the RIDDOR regulation?
The revised regulation came into force in October 2013. RIDDOR stands for Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. It is the law that requires the Responsible Person to report and keep records of work-related accidents and deaths.
Under RIDDOR, as an employer, you have a legal duty to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences such as near misses. A RIDDOR report is only required if the accident is work-related, so you don’t need to report every accident.
Why is RIDDOR important?
Like all health and safety regulations, RIDDOR is there to keep everyone safe and sets the priority for action for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The legislation holds employers responsible for negligence or bad working behaviours and encourages them to put measures in place and promote a positive safety culture within a company.
Not all incidents need to be reported under RIDDOR. The HSE outline that reported incidents need to be:
- A work-related accident which resulted in death,
- A work-related accident which resulted in serious injury,
- A diagnosis of certain occupational diseases,
- A dangerous occurrence, which can be defined as a significant near-miss event. The list of dangerous occurrences in Schedule 2 of RIDDOR is designed to obtain information primarily about incidents with a high potential to cause death or serious injury.
What is RIDDOR reportable?
Below we have included what types of accidents or near misses are reportable under RIDDOR.
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
How do I report a RIDDOR incident?
For types of incidents, including; accidents resulting in the death of any person, accidents resulting in specified injuries to workers, non-fatal accidents requiring hospital treatment to non-workers and dangerous occurrences, the responsible person must notify the enforcing authority without delay, in accordance with the reporting procedure (Schedule 1). This is most easily done by reporting online. Alternatively, for fatal accidents or accidents resulting in specified injuries to workers only, you can phone 0345 300 9923.
A report must be received within 10 days of the incident. For accidents resulting in the over seven-day incapacitation of a worker, you must notify the enforcing authority within 15 days of the incident, using the appropriate online form.
If you don’t report a RIDDOR incident, then you’re breaking the law and risk being taken to court by the HSE or your local authority. The results of this could result in a substantial fine or for serious offences, jail.
Want to learn more about RIDDOR?
A RIDDOR incident is the responsibility of the Responsible Person (RP) within your business. If you’re not sure if you have a competent person, or would like more information on RIDDOR, then give us a call on 01527 571 611 or contact us here. We have several solutions available to make sure you’re RIDDOR compliant, whether that’s the NEBOSH General Certificate, which goes through other regulations as well, a half-day RIDDOR course or even Health and Safety Consultancy where we can act as the responsible person within your business.
