Reporting Accidents – What are your duties?

No one wants their employees to come to harm whilst at work, but when things don’t go to plan, how do you record accidents and illnesses correctly, in line with your legal duties?

First of all, if you employ more than 10 employees you must hold an accident book under social security law.  This accident book should be accessible to all employees but must not contain any personal information – records completed should be removed on completion and stored securely.

Your accident book report form will include information such as name, date of birth, occupation of the injured party and a brief statement on how the accident happened and any first aid measures taken.

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)

For an accident to be RIDDOR reportable it must be:

• an accident which caused the injury
• work-related
• the accident resulted in an injury which is reportable

Reportable injuries include:

• The death of any person
• Specified Injuries to workers
• Injuries to workers which result in their incapacitation for more than 7 days
• Injuries to non-workers which result in them being taken directly to hospital for treatment, or specified injuries to non-workers which occur on hospital premises.

Occupational Diseases

Occupational diseases, diagnosed by doctors must be reported under RIDDOR by the employer.

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Cramp of the hand or forearm
• Occupational dermatitis
• Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome
• Occupational asthma
• Tendonitis or tenosynovitis

Occupation cancers such as mesothelioma or lung cancer in a person who is occupationally exposed to asbestos fibres or cancer of the nasal cavity or sinuses in a person who is occupationally exposed to wood dust must also be reported.

Over-seven-day injuries to workers must be reported where an employee, or self-employed person, is away from work or unable to perform their normal work duties for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident) as a result of a work-related accident.

Accidents involving non-workers i.e work-related accidents involving members of the public or people who are not at work must be reported if a person is injured, and is taken from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment to that injury. There is no requirement to establish what hospital treatment was actually provided, and no need to report incidents where people are taken to hospital purely as a precaution when no injury is apparent. If the accident occurred at a hospital, the report only needs to be made if the injury is a ‘specified injury’.

For assistance with your legal duties in regard to reporting accidents or other consultancy services, please do not hesitate to contact Altrurisk on 01942 318043.