After an incident, protect people, obtain medical help, make the area safe and preserve evidence. Then decide whether the event meets the RIDDOR tests. Reporting everything 'just in case' creates inaccurate data; failing to report a qualifying event can breach the law. The decision needs facts and clear reasoning.
RIDDOR does not cover every accident at work
RIDDOR requires specified work-related events to be reported. Categories include deaths, specified and over-seven-day injuries, certain injuries to non-workers, diagnosed occupational diseases and listed dangerous occurrences. Separate provisions cover particular gas incidents.
An accident is a separate, identifiable and unintended incident causing injury. A gradual problem from repetitive lifting is not an accident merely because pain appeared during a shift, although a diagnosed condition may need consideration as an occupational disease.
Test 1: identify the responsible person
Only the responsible person should report. For an employee, this is normally the employer. People controlling premises may have duties for incidents involving self-employed people or non-workers. Some self-employed people and gas businesses have their own duties.
For agency workers, the agency may be the legal employer while the host controls the site. Assign responsibility from the facts. The injured person, first-aider or safety adviser is not automatically the legal reporter.
Test 2: decide whether the accident was work-related
An accident is work-related when it arises out of or in connection with work. Consider how work was organised, supervised or performed; equipment or substances involved; and workplace conditions. Being on work premises is not enough by itself.
The test does not depend on proving blame or a breach. A report may be required where nobody was clearly at fault, while an unrelated illness at work is not reportable by location alone. Record the facts and the connection relied on.
Test 3: check deaths and specified injuries immediately
Specified injuries include fractures other than fingers, thumbs and toes; amputations; injuries likely to cause permanent loss or reduction of sight; and crush injuries to the head or torso causing brain or internal-organ damage.
The list also includes serious burns over 10% of the body or significantly damaging vital organs; scalping requiring hospital treatment; and loss of consciousness from head injury or asphyxia. Certain enclosed-space injuries involving hypothermia, heat illness, resuscitation or hospital admission over 24 hours are also specified.
Use available medical facts; do not turn suspicion into a diagnosis. Obtain enough information to apply HSE guidance without delaying notification where the threshold is evident.
Test 4: count over-seven-day incapacity correctly
Report a work-related accident when the worker is away or cannot perform normal duties for more than seven consecutive days. Exclude the accident day but count weekends, rest days and unscheduled days.
Modified duties count if normal work cannot be performed. The report is due within 15 days of the accident.
An over-three-day injury must be recorded but that category alone is not reportable. Monitor it in case incapacity crosses seven days.
Apply the correct test before the deadline passes.
HR + SAFETY can review the confirmed incident facts, affected person's status, injury or treatment threshold and reporting deadline, then record a clear reportability decision.
Discuss a RIDDOR reportability reviewTest 5: apply the separate rule for non-workers
A non-worker may fall within RIDDOR where a work-related accident causes injury and they are taken directly to hospital for treatment. A precautionary visit or diagnostic test such as an X-ray does not itself count as treatment.
HSE examples include a dressing, stitches, plaster cast or surgery. Confirm the treatment rather than reporting solely because an ambulance attended. At a hospital, the responsible person reports only if the non-worker suffers a specified injury.
Test 6: consider diseases and dangerous occurrences
Certain diagnosed occupational diseases are reportable where work likely caused or worsened them. Examples include occupational dermatitis, asthma, hand-arm vibration syndrome and specified upper-limb conditions with the relevant exposure. Symptoms alone are not a diagnosis.
Dangerous occurrences are listed high-potential events reportable without injury. Defined examples include lifting-equipment collapse, dangerous pressure-system failure, overhead-line contact, certain electrical fires, scaffold collapses and hazardous substance escapes. Check Schedule 2: not every breakdown, spill or near miss qualifies.
HSE: dangerous occurrences ↗ · Related guide: COSHH assessments and exposure →
Test 7: meet the deadline and keep the evidence
Notify deaths, specified injuries, qualifying non-worker injuries and dangerous occurrences without delay; the report must arrive within 10 days. Over-seven-day cases are due within 15 days. Report a qualifying disease when the responsible person receives the diagnosis.
Use the correct HSE form and download a copy. Keep the incident record, witness evidence, photographs, relevant medical facts, absence dates and decision together. If facts change, amend the notification rather than submit an inconsistent second report.
HSE: RIDDOR reporting deadlines ↗ · HSE: how to make a RIDDOR report ↗
Reporting does not replace an incident investigation
A RIDDOR report notifies the enforcing authority. It does not establish negligence, complete the investigation or correct the risk. Preserve evidence before equipment, layouts or instructions change unless immediate protection is needed.
Investigate immediate, underlying and root causes. Review risk assessments, work methods, supervision, competence, maintenance and emergency response. Track actions and share lessons across exposed sites or shifts.
Related case study: investigating a compressed-spring incident → · Related guide: PUWER inspection requirements →
Seven-point RIDDOR decision record
This short record gives managers a repeatable route without turning every accident-book entry into a regulatory report. Escalate borderline or serious events promptly so debate does not consume the deadline.
- Name the employer, premises controller or other responsible person.
- Record the identifiable event and why it was or was not work-related.
- Classify it as an accident, disease, dangerous occurrence or gas incident.
- Check the exact injury, incapacity, treatment, diagnosis or Schedule 2 threshold.
- Confirm whether the affected person was a worker or non-worker.
- Write down the dates, evidence considered and reporting deadline.
- Submit the correct form where required and continue the separate investigation.
Report the events RIDDOR requires, not every incident and not only those where somebody appears at fault. Identify the responsible person, establish the connection with work, apply the correct threshold and deadline, retain the decision evidence and investigate the causes separately.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.