RIDDOR is the acronym for Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. The RIDDOR definition or an incident that is classed as ‘RIDDOR reportable’ is ‘A work-related death, a work-related specified major injury, a work-related over-7-day incapacitation injury, a work-related 3-day work incapacitation injury, a work-related disease or work-related dangerous occurrence’. A full list of RIDDOR Reportable Accidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences is listed on the HSE.
Concerning employers – a Summary of these RIDDOR categories (taken from the HSE Website)
1. The Death of any Person
All deaths of workers and non-workers, except for suicides, must be reported if they arise from a work-related accident, including an act of physical violence to a worker. The key here is to identify if and how an incident is work-related.
Do you need H&S Support with a RIDDOR Incident?
If you are on this page, maybe you are researching RIDDOR for interest or perhaps its becasue you have had an incident that needs reporting.
If it is the latter, we can help
Either as a one off piece of consultancy (accident investigation, RIDDOR reporting support, follow up risk assessments etc), or
With ongoing support thorugh our Retained H&S Adviser Service. The Retained H&S Adviser Service is a package of work including telephone and emails support which would include support around RIDDOR incidents.
3. A Work-Related Over-7-day Incapacitation Injury
With any accident at work, it’s important to have a system of reporting accidents so that you have early warning of accidents that result in lost time. This will help identify accidents that result in employees being away from work, or unable to perform their normal work duties, for more than seven consecutive days as the result of their injury. This seven-day period does not include the day of the accident but does include weekends and rest days. The report must be made within 15 days of the accident.
4. A Work-Related 3-day Work Incapacitation Injury
Accidents must be recorded, but not reported where they result in a worker being incapacitated for more than three consecutive days. If you are an employer, you must keep an accident book under the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, and that record will be enough. The requirement to report all accidents and record them in an accident book is given by the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979 under Regulations 24 and 25 and not RIDDOR as some believe.
5. A Work-Related Disease (Occupational Disease)
Employers must report diagnoses (by a medical practitioner) of certain occupational diseases, where these are likely to have been caused or made worse by their work
carpal tunnel syndrome;
severe cramp of the hand or forearm;
occupational dermatitis;
hand-arm vibration syndrome;
occupational asthma;
tendonitis or tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm;
any occupational cancer;
any disease attributed to an occupational exposure to a biological agent.
Dangerous occurrences are certain, specified near-miss events. Typically, they are serious near misses which, if persons were near involved would lead to fatalities or specified injuries to one or more persons. There are 27 Categories of Dangerous Occurrences (the specific details of each are given in the link) that are relevant to most workplaces, for example:
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)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published significantly improved guidance to help employers manage infection risks and biological hazards in the workplace.
Following a workplace accident in their warehouse, the business needed urgent expert guidance on the RIDDOR reporting process and reassurance that their existing Health & Safety arrangements were robust
The Health & Safety Executive is making it clear that psychological health now sits on equal footing with traditional physical safety – and employers of all sizes need to take notice.
The HSE newly-launched consultation on proposed changes to RIDDOR is aimed at improving clarity, relevance and usability for employers and duty holders
Whether you operate a retail environment, leisure site, public venue, mixed‑use building, or host events, Martyn’s Law will change how you plan, train, and manage risk across your organisation.
We have worked with Safewell for many years and are retained clients, so we have developed an excellent working relationship with the team. However, this really came into its own when Covid 19 appeared.
As a Plumbing and Heating business, we were able to carry on working during the lockdown but only for responding to emergencies. We were obviously very concerned about the health and safety of our employees and before we even had chance to get in touch with Safewell, they had emailed us offering their assistance. It is hard to put down on paper how that made us feel - we like everyone else felt totally at sea, which way to turn, what to do? But Safewell were there guiding, supporting and being totally brilliant. Their attention to detail is very impressive and reassuring and we feel able to ask lots of questions without feeling silly.
During the pandemic Safewell helped us to write risk assessments, safety procedures and protocols. They kept in touch regularly, issuing new guidance as soon as it appeared and checking in with us. They held group Q&A sessions over Zoom which were helpful, and knowing other businesses were facing the same challenges and having the opportunity to discuss issues was invaluable. Their help during the preparation for a full return to work was brilliant, they enabled us to be fully prepared and feel in control, and when we had our first case of Covid within the team, because we had planned our response it felt ok.
I think our team felt very reassured by our robust approach and that our office was Covid secure. We are extremely grateful to all the team at Safewell
