Report a workplace injury, disease or dangerous occurrence under RIDDOR

What RIDDOR requires you to do

RIDDOR 2013 (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) requires employers to report certain workplace incidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Failing to report is a criminal offence with serious penalties.

This guide explains what you must report, when, and how. The regulations apply to all employers in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland has separate regulations administered by HSENI.

Key principle: You must report incidents that arise out of or in connection with work. Personal health conditions (like a heart attack at work with no work-related cause) are not reportable.

Reporting deadlines at a glance

Different incidents have different reporting windows. Getting these wrong is a common cause of non-compliance.

Who must report

Under Regulation 3, the 'responsible person' must make RIDDOR reports. This is typically:

• Employee injured at work: The employer reports
• Non-worker injured on your premises: The person in control of the premises reports
• Self-employed person injured: If at your premises, you report. If at their own premises, they report (or arrange for someone else to)
• Dangerous occurrence: Person in control of premises where it happened
• Occupational disease diagnosed: The employer (or self-employed person)

Who should NOT report: Injured workers themselves (unless self-employed), members of the public, or witnesses. Concerned individuals can raise issues with HSE but should not file RIDDOR reports.

Deaths and specified injuries (report immediately)

You must report immediately if a work-related accident causes:

Work-related deaths (Regulation 6)

• Any death arising from a work-related accident
• Deaths occurring within one year of a reportable injury (report when the death occurs)

Exclusions: Suicides are not reportable. Deaths from occupational diseases are not reportable under RIDDOR (they are recorded separately).

Specified injuries to workers (Regulation 4)

These 8 categories of serious injuries require immediate reporting:

1. Fractures - All fractures except to fingers, thumbs, and toes. Must be diagnosed or confirmed by a doctor.
2. Amputations - Amputation of arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot, or toe. Includes both traumatic amputation and surgical amputation following injury.
3. Loss of sight - Permanent blindness or significant sight reduction in one or both eyes. Must be diagnosed as permanent.
4. Crush injuries - Injuries to brain or internal organs in chest or abdomen caused by crushing.
5. Burns - Burns covering more than 10% of body surface, OR causing significant damage to eyes, respiratory system, or vital organs. Includes heat, chemical, and radiological burns.
6. Loss of consciousness - From head injury or asphyxia (oxygen deprivation). Duration of unconsciousness is irrelevant. Fainting from illness is not reportable.
7. Scalping - Traumatic separation or peeling of skin from the head.
8. Enclosed space injuries - Injuries causing hypothermia or heat-induced illness requiring resuscitation OR hospital admission exceeding 24 hours.

Over-7-day incapacitation (report within 15 days)

This is the most commonly misunderstood RIDDOR requirement. You must report when an employee is incapacitated for more than 7 consecutive days.

How to calculate the 7 days

• Day 0: The day of the accident does NOT count
• Days 1-7: Count from the day after the accident
• Include: Weekends, bank holidays, and days the worker would not normally work
• Incapacity means: Unable to perform their normal work duties. Light duties or modified work may not count as 'normal work'

Example: Accident on Monday. You start counting from Tuesday. If the worker cannot do normal duties through the following Monday (7 days), but returns Tuesday, it is NOT reportable. If they cannot return until Wednesday or later, it IS reportable.

Report deadline: Within 15 days of the accident date (not 15 days from when you realise it's over 7 days).

Reporting method: Online only. Telephone reporting is not available for over-7-day injuries.

Important: 3-day recording vs 7-day reporting

Even though only over-7-day injuries are reportable to HSE, injuries causing more than 3 days incapacitation must still be recorded in your accident book. This threshold changed in April 2012.

Injuries to non-workers (Regulation 5)

You must report if a member of the public, customer, visitor, or anyone else who is not a worker is injured in a work-related accident AND:

• They are taken directly to hospital for treatment
• The treatment includes: dressing, stitches, plaster cast, or surgery
• The injury arose from or in connection with work activity

Not reportable:

• Person goes home and later decides to visit hospital
• Minor first aid treatment only (even if at hospital)
• Injury not connected to your work activity

Dangerous occurrences (Regulation 7)

Dangerous occurrences are 'near misses' with potential for serious harm. They are reportable based on what could have happened, not whether anyone was actually injured.

Common reportable dangerous occurrences

• Lifting equipment failure: Collapse, overturning, or failure of any load-bearing part
• Pressure system failure: Failures with potential to cause death (scalding, chemical exposure)
• Electrical equipment fire/explosion: Putting equipment out of action for more than 24 hours
• Scaffold collapse: Scaffolds more than 5 metres high
• Structural collapse: Fall of more than 5 tonnes of material
• Explosion or fire: Causing work suspension exceeding 24 hours
• Hazardous gas release: 10kg+ inside a building OR 500kg+ in open air
• Hazardous substance escape: Uncontrolled release exposing people to significant risk
• Breathing apparatus malfunction: Causing significant risk to the user
• Overhead electric line contact: Contact with uninsulated lines exceeding 200 volts

The full list is in Schedule 2 of RIDDOR 2013. Some dangerous occurrences are sector-specific (mines, quarries, offshore, railways).

Occupational diseases (Regulation 8)

You must report when a doctor diagnoses an employee with a work-related disease AND the work involves specific exposures. Report as soon as you receive written confirmation of diagnosis.

Reportable occupational diseases

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - From regular use of percussive or vibrating power tools (drills, sanders, grinders, chainsaws). NOT reportable for typing-related cases.
• Cramp of hand or forearm - From prolonged repetitive finger, hand, or arm movements (chronic condition only).
• Occupational dermatitis - From significant or regular contact with skin irritants (epoxy resins, latex, rubber chemicals, cleaning products).
• Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) - From regular exposure to high vibration from power tools or vibrating materials.
• Occupational asthma - From significant or regular contact with respiratory sensitisers (epoxy fumes, solder fume, grain dusts, wood dusts, flour).
• Tendonitis/Tenosynovitis - Of hand or forearm from frequent, repetitive physically demanding movements.

Occupational cancers (Regulation 9)

Report cancers with established causal link to work-related carcinogen or mutagen exposure:

• Mesothelioma from asbestos exposure
• Bladder cancer from aromatic amines
• Lung cancer from silica exposure
• Leukaemia from benzene exposure

Diseases from biological agents

Report infections causally linked to occupational exposure:

• Legionnaires' disease from cooling towers
• Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) from rat urine exposure
• Hepatitis from needlestick injuries
• Q fever from farm animal contact

Gas incidents (Regulation 11)

Special reporting requirements apply to incidents involving flammable gas.

Who must report gas incidents

• Gas conveyors (distributors)
• Gas fillers, importers, and suppliers
• Gas Safe registered engineers (for dangerous fittings)

What to report

• Gas-related death or injury: Person died, lost consciousness, or was taken to hospital in connection with gas (including carbon monoxide from combustion)
• Dangerous gas fittings: Fittings classed as 'immediately dangerous' under Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure
• Gas release: 10kg+ inside a building OR 500kg+ in open air (sudden, unintentional release)

Not reportable under RIDDOR: Incidents caused by vandalism, attempted suicide, or theft/unauthorised interference (though may require reporting under Gas Safety Regulations).

Reporting deadline: Immediately to HSE, followed by written report within 14 days using the gas incident form.

How to report

Online reporting (preferred method)

• Website: https://notifications.hse.gov.uk/riddorforms/
• Available: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Use for: All incident types
• Confirmation: You receive a RIDDOR reference number and can download a PDF copy

Telephone reporting (limited availability)

• Number: 0345 300 9923
• Available for: Fatal accidents and specified injuries to workers ONLY
• Hours: Monday to Friday, office hours

All other incidents must be reported online. You cannot report over-7-day injuries, diseases, or dangerous occurrences by telephone.

Information required

• Date and time of incident
• Location of incident
• Details of injured person(s)
• Nature of injury or disease
• Description of what happened
• Details of any dangerous occurrence
• Responsible person details

Record-keeping requirements (Regulation 12)

You must keep records of all RIDDOR reports and certain other incidents for a minimum of 3 years from the date of entry.

What to record

• All reportable injuries
• Over-7-day injuries
• Occupational diseases diagnosed
• Dangerous occurrences

Required particulars for incidents

• Date and time of accident/occurrence
• Full name of injured person
• Occupation of injured person
• Nature of injury
• Place where incident occurred
• Description of circumstances
• Date and method of notification/reporting

Acceptable record methods

• Downloaded PDF copy of online RIDDOR form
• Accident book (BI 510) for injuries
• Separate records system for diseases

Location: Records must be kept at the workplace or at the responsible person's usual business location.

GDPR: Ensure records are stored in compliance with data protection principles.

What is NOT reportable

Understanding exclusions helps avoid unnecessary reporting:

Exemptions under Regulation 14

• Medical treatment accidents: Injuries arising from medical or dental treatment conducted by or supervised by a registered practitioner
• Road traffic accidents: Accidents involving moving vehicles on public roads (EXCEPT loading/unloading, roadside work, substance escapes from vehicles)
• Armed forces: Accidents to members of armed forces on duty

Where parallel legislation applies

Some incidents are reported under other specific legislation instead:

• Nuclear installations (Nuclear Installations Act 1965)
• Merchant shipping (Merchant Shipping Act 1988)
• Civil aviation
• Ionising radiation incidents (Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017)

Penalties for non-compliance

Failing to report a reportable incident is a criminal offence under health and safety law.