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On RIDDOR

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http www hse gov uk riddor report htm

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http www hse gov uk riddor reporting change htm

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2012 changes to accident reporting regulations

Worst kept secret

The fact that the RIDDOR are being amended is hardly a secret, and we’ve covered this on more than one occasion (yr.10, iss.1, pg.8, see The next step). Plus, because the consultation process has been a public affair, we’ve been able to predict what form the changes were likely to take. However, the time for guessing is now over, as the HSE has formally announced what’s changing and what will be expected of employers as of April 6 2012.

Guidance documents

The HSE has published new guidance material: INDG453: Reporting accidents and incidents at work, a brief guide to the RIDDOR. In addition, it’s updating both the Approved Code of Practice that supports the Regulations and the Regulations themselves.

Tip. You don’t need to buy these documents as they’re available from the HSE’s website for free (see The next step).

Headline changes

As expected, the most significant change is that you will, “only have to report injuries that lead to a worker being incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days, as the result of an occupational accident or injury (not counting the day of the accident but including weekends and rest days)”.

Tip. This report must be made within 15 days of the accident. As before, it should be made via the HSE’s RIDDOR website (see The next step).

What about plus three-day incidents?

These should still be recorded, but you will no longer have a legal duty to report the incident to the HSE.

Tip 1. To satisfy your legal requirements, you won’t need to do anything other than ensure the accident has been recorded in your accident book.

Tip 2. That said, an incident which incapacitates an individual for two to three days is likely to be pretty serious. So we suggest that you:

1. Investigate the incident to identify how it happened and what steps can be taken to prevent a recurrence.
2. Inform your insurer of the event and provide it with any details requested. This is because even though the incident doesn’t need to be reported to the HSE, the injured party may still decide to make a personal injury claim through the civil courts.

Note. The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, which require employers to keep an accident book, aren’t being amended.

Anything else?

No. Despite the fact that the HSE consulted on RIDDOR for months, discussed changes at board level etc., it was felt that the remainder of the Regulations are fine as they are.

For a previous article (HS 10.10.03A), a link to the HSE’s guidance (HS 10.10.03B) and a link to the RIDDOR website (HS 10.10.03C), visit http://healthandsafety.indicator.co.uk.