What Does RIDDOR Stand For?

If you’re looking into accidents at work, you’ll likely come across the acronym ‘RIDDOR’.

RIDDOR Means

RIDDOR stands for ‘Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013’. It’s a set of health and safety rules that apply to every workplace, regardless of size or industry.

Read on to find out more about what accidents at work are covered under RIDDOR and what RIDDOR means for you and your employer.

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Why Is RIDDOR Important?

RIDDOR is in place to keep employers accountable and hold them responsible for any negligent or unsafe workplace conditions or practices. The benefits of this pass down onto all employees - RIDDOR forces investigations into accidents to be made, meaning steps can be taken to prevent similar things from happening in the future to keep you all safe.

RIDDOR also helps the UK government collect data on work-related accidents and injuries through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Having this information helps them spot any trends in common accidents and provide guidance on how to stop them in the future.

What Is RIDDOR For?

RIDDOR is all about reporting accidents. It makes it a legal requirement for employers to report serious workplace accidents, diseases and certain dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive.

Just because an accident happens in a place of work doesn’t automatically mean it counts as a workplace accident.

A ‘work-related accident under RIDDOR must:

• Be a result of the way work was carried out
• Involve any machinery, equipment or substances required to carry out the work
• Be related to the condition of the premises or site where work was carried out

Incidents and Injuries Reportable Under RIDDOR

Not all work-related illnesses or injuries fall under RIDDOR, so let’s look at which injuries are. Please be aware that this next section will describe injuries or death, so if that’s something you want to avoid reading, skip to the end of the article.

Types of Reportable Injury

Deaths: Any death, whether a worker or non-worker, must be reported. Deaths caused by suicide do not need to be reported as they are not the result of a work-related accident.

Specified injuries to workers: There is a long list of specific injuries to be reported under RIDDOR, including (but not limited to):

• Fractures or broken bones (barring fingers, thumbs and toes)
• Any injury likely to lead to permanent loss or reduction insight
• Amputations (including at the time of the accident and surgical amputations afterwards)
• Crush injuries to the head or torso that causes internal organ damage
• Serious burn injuries
• Serious head injuries that cause loss of consciousness or scalping

Over-seven-day injuries to workers: Any injury that causes the worker to be away from work or unable to carry out their work duties for more than seven days must be reported.

Injuries to non-workers: If a member of the public or other non-worker is injured on-site and has to be taken to hospital for treatment (not just as a precaution) it must be reported.

Occupational Diseases

If a disease is likely to have been caused or made worse by work, it must be reported. This includes diseases such as carpal tunnel syndrome, hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), occupational dermatitis, asthma, severe cramp or tendinitis of the hand or forearm and any cancer or disease attributed to exposure to a biological agent through work.

Dangerous Occurrences

There are 27 different categories of dangerous occurrences relevant to most workplaces. These are incidents where nobody was hurt this time, but it’s very likely someone could be in the future.

These types of incidents are ‘near misses’ with serious consequences, such as:

• Collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts or lifting equipment
• Explosions or fires causing work to be put on hold for more than 24 hours
• Certain gas-related incidents as a result of leaks or inadequate servicing

How Do You Report an Injury Under RIDDOR?

The responsibility to report under RIDDOR falls on 'responsible persons' - employers, those in control of work premises (foreperson or site supervisor, for example) or the self-employed.

As an employee, it's not your job to report incidents under RIDDOR. Of course, this doesn't mean you shouldn't follow your common sense - if you witness or are involved in an accident at work, report it to an appropriate manager or supervisor so they can take action. Your workplace should have an accident at work procedure explaining the steps you can take.

The RIDDOR regulations are very clear about how and when injuries should be reported. It's best practice to report injuries to the relevant authority as soon as possible, without delay. According to the regulations, a full report of the incident must be sent within ten days of the incident occurring, or 15 days if the affected person was off work for more than seven days.

Any reports must be submitted online via the HSE website where there is a form to fill out.

The form will ask for information such as:

• Name, job title and contact details of the person submitting the report
• Details of the company
• Location, date and time of the incident
• Details of the person (or people) involved in the accident
• A description of the incident, including injury or illness details

These reports should also be logged internally as it’s in the employer’s best interest to have them on hand if the HSE or other local authority pay a visit. Employers must hang onto these for a minimum of three years, but six years is recommended in case of legal action.

Failing to Report Under RIDDOR

RIDDOR reporting is a legal requirement. If a report isn’t submitted within the timeframe, then an employer is breaking the law. The consequences of not reporting RIDDOR injuries can be huge - prison sentences and unlimited fines are not unheard of.

If an incident or injury isn’t reported, it can’t be investigated. The HSE wants to investigate all serious or fatal injuries at work to find out what went wrong and how anything similar can be prevented going forward. If the accident was not that serious, the HSE may choose to just monitor the situation and only investigate further if there are more incidents reported.

How Can Money Savings Advice Help You With Making a Personal Injury Compensation Claim?

Here at Money Savings Advice, we have partnered with some of the UK’s leading Personal Injury Claims management companies. They have already helped thousands of people claim compensation for injuries they have incurred, and they can do the same for you.

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