Reporting of accidents, incidents and work-related disease.

Not all accidents must be reported to the HSE, but all should be recorded in your accident book.  

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What must be reported to the HSE?

Specific Types of Injury: 

  • All deaths.
  • Specified injuries: 
    • A fracture, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes; 
    • Amputation of an arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe;
    • Permanent loss of sight or reduction of sight; 
    • Crush injuries leading to internal organ damage; Serious burns (covering more than 10% of the body, or damaging the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs); 
    • Scalpings (separation of skin from the head) which require hospital treatment; 
    • Unconsciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia; 
    • Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space, which leads to hypothermia, heat-induced illness or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours. 
  • Over 7-day injuries to workers.
  • Injuries to non-workers – members of the public or people who are not at work. 

Reportable Occupational Diseases:

Occupational diseases such as: 

  • 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

Dangerous occurrences are certain, specified ‘near-miss’ events (incidents with the potential to cause harm.) Not all such events require reporting. There are 27 categories of dangerous occurrences that are relevant to most workplaces, examples are: 

  • The collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment; 
  • Plant or equipment coming into contact with overhead power lines; 
  • Explosions or fires causing work to be stopped for more than 24 hours.

Reportable gas incidents

f you are a gas engineer registered with the Gas Safe Register, you must provide details of any gas appliances or fittings that you consider to be dangerous to the extent that people could die, lose consciousness or require hospital treatment from such things as: 

    • An accidental leakage of gas; 
    • Inadequate combustion of gas; 
    • Inadequate removal of products of the combustion of gas.

Recording requirements:

Records of incidents covered by RIDDOR are also important.  They ensure that you collect sufficient information to allow you to properly manage health and safety risks. This information is a valuable management tool that can be used as an aid to risk assessment, helping to develop solutions to potential risks. In this way, records also help to prevent injuries and ill health, and control costs from accidental loss. 

You must keep a record of: 

  • Any accident, occupational disease or dangerous occurrence which requires reporting under RIDDOR; 
  • Any other occupational accident-causing injuries that result in a worker being away from work or incapacitated for more than three consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident but including any weekends or other rest days). 
  • You do not have to report over-three-day injuries, unless the incapacitation period goes on to exceed seven days. 

If you are an employer who has to keep an accident book, the record you make in this will be enough. You must produce RIDDOR records when asked by HSE or local authority.

How to report:

Online: 

Follow our link to make your report.  Remember to take a note of your record number as soon as possible, in case you need to amend your report!  : How to make a RIDDOR report – RIDDOR – HSE