Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR)
Scope of this chapter
RIDDOR places duties on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses).
When people working, visiting or living in our homes have accidents, we will ensure that appropriate first aid treatment is available and that all accidents are recorded.
We understand that any incident or near miss, any work-related ill health e.g. food poisoning also needs to be recorded.
Additionally, any dangerous occurrence which could have resulted in serious injury will be reported and appropriate records maintained.
All incidents, accidents and near misses will be reported to the Residential Manager, Service Manager and Corporate Health and Safety including information relating to accidents and ill health at work that have been reported under RIDDOR (see www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/).
Related guidance
RIDDOR means the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 it came into force on 1 October 2013. It places duties on employers and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, some occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences (near misses) which ‘arise out of, or in connection with, work’.
When people working, visiting or living in our homes have accidents, we will ensure that appropriate first aid treatment is available and that all accidents are recorded, notified to other agencies as required included, where relevant the HSE under RIDDOR.
Furthermore, in relation to children living in the home, Regulation 40 requires that the registered person notify Ofsted and the placing authority of ‘any other incident relating to a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious.’
Deciding whether an incident is ‘serious’ and warrants notification to Ofsted will depend on many factors, including the age of the child, the frequency of the incident(s), the nature of any injuries sustained, any additional needs the child has and the context of the home. In some instances the cumulative effect of frequent incidents may make a notification appropriate even if in isolation the individual incident would not warrant this.
Incidents which are likely to be considered serious (and thus warrant notification to Ofsted as well as the placing authority) include serious illness or accidents involving children living in the home.
A serious illness or accident would include matters such as fractured bones, when a child loses consciousness or situations that require admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours. Ofsted (the regulatory authority) do not need to be notified about injuries such as sprains, strains or falls that have happened in the course of regular childhood experiences. This is the case even if the child is taken to the local accident and emergency department to have the injury checked out, unless it results in the child being admitted to hospital for more than 24 hours. Ofsted do not need to know if a child becomes ill and is not admitted to hospital.
For more information, please see the RIDDOR pages on the Health and Safety Executive Website.
RIDDOR requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It applies to all work activities, but not to all incidents.
Reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement. The information enables the Health and Safety Executive to identify where and how risks arise and to investigate serious accidents. This enables the Health and Safety Executive to offer help and advice on preventative action to reduce injury, ill health and accidental loss.
You must keep a record/report of any reportable injury, disease or dangerous occurrence for 3 years.
The record must include:
- Date and method of reporting;
- The date, time and place of the event;
- Personal details of those involved;
- Details of the injury;
- A brief description of the nature of the event or the disease.
For the purposes of RIDDOR, an accident is a separate, identifiable, unintended incident that causes physical injury. This specifically includes acts of non-consensual violence to people at work.
Not all accidents need to be reported as RIDDOR but this does not mean that the general provisions of Health and Safety at work will not apply; a RIDDOR report is required only when the accident is work-related; and it results in an injury of a type which is reportable as listed below.
- Death or specified injuries (see paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2);
- Over 7 day injury (see paragraph 4.3);
- Non-Workers (see paragraph 4.4);
- Diseases (Paragraph 4.5);
- Dangerous occurrences (see paragraph 4.6).
Death:
You must report the death of any person whether or not they are at work, if it is caused by an accident arising out of or in connection to work (please note - the Notifications of Serious Events Procedure explains the process for reporting the death of a child living in the home).
Specified Injuries:
You must report specified injuries that arise out of or in connection to work.
Reportable specified injuries include:
- Fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes;
- Amputations;
- Any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight;
- Any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs;
- Serious burns (including scalding) which: covers more than 10% of the body or causes significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs;
- Any scalping requiring hospital treatment;
- Any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia;
- Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which; leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours;
- A doctor may require that other injuries are notifiable.
Over 7 day incapacitation of workers:
Accidents must be reported where they result in an employee or self-employed person being away from work, or unable to perform their normal work duties, for more than 7 consecutive days as the result of their an occupational accident or injury. The 7 day period does not include the day of the accident, but does include weekends and rest days. The report must be made within 15 days of the accident.
Over 3 day incapacitation of worker - Accidents must be recorded, but not reported where they result in a worker being incapacitated for more than three consecutive days. The accident records kept by the home will suffice for this record.
Injuries to Non-Workers:
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.
Occupational Diseases: If a doctor notifies you that an employee/young person suffers from a reportable work-related disease, for example:
- 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 Occurrence or ‘Near Miss’ Events:
Dangerous occurrences are certain, specified near-miss events. Not all such events require reporting. There are 27 categories of dangerous occurrences that are relevant to most workplaces, for example:
- The collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment;
- The accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness;
- The accidental release of any substance which could cause major injury or damage to health;
- An electrical short circuit or overload causing fire or explosion;
- The explosion, collapse or bursting of any closed vessel or associated pipework forming a pressure system;
- An explosion or fire causing suspension of normal work for over 24 hours.
The Health and Safety Officer or the Residential Manager/person responsible for health and safety in their absence is responsible for ensuring RIDDOR reportable accidents are notified to the Health and Safety Executive by the following means:
Online: www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/ for all accidents other than a fatality or specified injury.
Telephone: 0345 300 9923 - Fatalities and specified injuries only (opening hours Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5 pm).
The duty officer may be contacted on 0151 922 9235 for a work-related death or situation where there is a strong likelihood of death following an incident at or connected with work outside these hours.
A copy of the completed form must be:
- Downloaded and saved;
- A copy printed and kept with the Accident Book entry, the Adverse Event Report and Investigation Form and the Incident Report if involving a child.
A copy must be sent to:
- The Service Manager / Head of Service responsible for the area where the accident occurred;
- Kirklees Corporate Health and Safety;
- Human Resources.
Last Updated: June 11, 2024
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