RIDDOR is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. It places a legal duty on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises to report certain serious workplace incidents to the Health and Safety Executive. Deaths and specified injuries must be reported without delay and in any event within 10 days; over-seven-day injuries within 15 days; and records must be kept for at least three years.
RIDDOR reporting is a legal obligation, separate from any insurance claim, and the responsible person, usually the employer, carries the duty. Failing to report a reportable incident is an offence. It also matters for insurance, because employers’ liability claims frequently turn on whether an incident was properly recorded and reported at the time.
What must be reported under RIDDOR?
The main categories are work-related deaths; specified injuries to workers, such as fractures other than to fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations, serious burns and loss of consciousness; over-seven-day injuries; certain occupational diseases; and dangerous occurrences, which are specified near-miss events. Injuries to members of the public that result in them being taken directly to hospital for treatment are also reportable.
What are the RIDDOR reporting deadlines?
Deaths and specified injuries must be reported without delay, and in any event within 10 days of the incident. Over-seven-day injuries, where a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days not counting the day of the accident, must be reported within 15 days of the incident. Occupational diseases are reportable once the responsible person receives a written diagnosis. Reports are made through the HSE reporting system.
What is the difference between over-three-day and over-seven-day injuries?
An injury that keeps a worker off their normal duties for more than three days must be recorded, but only an injury of more than seven days must be reported to HSE. In other words, three-to-seven-day injuries are a record-keeping duty, not a reporting one; beyond seven days, the report to HSE becomes compulsory.
Who is the responsible person?
The duty to report falls on the responsible person, which is generally the employer of an injured worker, a self-employed person, or the person in control of the premises where the work is carried out. It is not the injured worker’s duty to report.
How long must RIDDOR records be kept?
Records of reportable incidents must be kept for at least three years from the date the record was made. Good records matter beyond compliance: if an employee later brings a claim, a clear contemporaneous RIDDOR record of what happened is valuable evidence.
Where insurance fits
RIDDOR is a safety-reporting duty, not insurance, but the two connect. A workplace injury that is RIDDOR-reportable can also become an employers’ liability claim, and insurers expect incidents to have been recorded and reported correctly. Keeping cover in place and incidents properly documented protects the business on both fronts. To review your commercial cover, get a quote or speak to the team.