Reform of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 has come into force this week.
The aim is to clarify and simplify the reporting requirements, while ensuring that the data collected still gives an accurate and useful picture of workplace incidents. The change affects all employers, including the self-employed.
The main changes are in the following areas:
- The classification of 'major injuries' to workers is replaced with a shorter list of 'specified injuries'
- The existing schedule detailing 47 types of industrial disease is replaced with eight categories of reportable work-related illness
- Fewer types of 'dangerous occurrence' require reporting
There are no significant changes to the reporting requirements for:
- Fatal accidents
- Accidents to non-workers (members of the public)
- Accidents resulting in a worker being unable to perform their normal range of duties for more than seven days
How an incident at work is reported and the criteria that determine whether an incident should be investigated remain the same.
Dave Charnock, HSE policy lead for the revisions to RIDDOR, explained: "Reporting under RIDDOR is a legal requirement for companies. RIDDOR reports, along with all other complaints and information received by HSE, will continue to be examined in conjunction with our incident selection criteria to determine the need for investigations – this is not something new.
"It will not alter the current ways to report an incident at work. The principles of what must be recorded remain largely unchanged - everything that is reportable must also be recorded (other than gas events), together with over-3-day lost time accidents.”
The changes follow Professor Ragnar Löfstedt's 2011 review of health and safety legislation, which made recommendations to reduce the burden of health and safety legislation on businesses without comprising workplace safety.
For further details on RIDDOR and your legal obligations, see www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/index.htm
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