Employers, self-employed persons, and persons in control of work premises, have legal duties under RIDDOR to report and record certain work-related accidents by the quickest means possible.
Exercise
The following accidents must be reported:
The easiest way to report an accident, in most cases, is via the appropriate online report form at http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor.
The form is submitted directly to the RIDDOR database and a copy is provided for the responsible persons records.
A telephone service is available for reporting fatal and major injuries only through the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 300 9923. The service is available during office hours – Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5 pm.
The HSE has an out of hours duty officer available for responding in emergency situations such as:
- a work-related death;
- a serious accident with a need to collect physical evidence before it is lost with time; or
- a major incident where the severity of the incident, or degree of public concern, requires an immediate public statement from the HSE or government.
A suitable record should be kept of any reportable injury, disease or dangerous occurrence.
The record should include:
- the date and method of reporting;
- the date, time and place of the event;
- personal details of those involved; and
- a brief description of the nature of the event or disease.
The record can be kept in any suitable format, e.g.
- A file of hard copies of report forms;
- Electronic records on a computer; or
- Accident Book entries.
If the incident is reported by telephone or through the HSE web site, the ICC will send a copy of the record held within its database.
