Accident and incident reporting

Irrespective of the severity of the accident or incident, it is vital that all such occurrences are reported and filed by the employer.

Anyone can complete the accident book, and this book must comply with Data Protection legislation. Online electronic reporting is an acceptable form of recording accidents and incidents as an alternative to the hand-written accident book.

The information that should be recorded includes:

The date, time and place of the incident
Name and job of the injured or ill person
Details of the injury/illness and what first aid was given
What happened to the casualty immediately afterwards? (e.g. went back to work, went home, went to hospital)
Name and signature of the person reporting the incident

RIDDOR 2013

Where the incident is of a severe nature, then the employer must comply with RIDDOR 2013.

RIDDOR is the law that requires employers and other people in control of work premises, to report and keep records of:

Work-related accidents which cause death
Work-related accidents which cause certain serious injuries (reportable injuries)
Diagnosed cases of certain industrial diseases
Certain ‘dangerous occurrences’ (incidents with the potential to cause harm)

Reporting certain incidents is a legal requirement. The report informs the enforcing authorities about deaths, injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences, so they can identify where and how risks arise, and whether they need to be investigated.

Please visit www.hse.gov.uk/riddor for full details of what is reportable.