Accident Reporting FAQs

Reporting accidents and near misses is important because it helps to:

• Prevent future incidents by identifying hazards and weaknesses before someone is seriously harmed.
• Protect workers and others by improving safety controls and systems of work.
• Ensure legal compliance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
• Create an official record in case of insurance claims, enforcement action, or legal proceedings.
• Enable investigation and enforcement by the Health and Safety Executive where required.
• Support a positive safety culture, where risks are dealt with rather than ignored.

Near misses are especially valuable to report because they highlight serious risks before an injury or fatality occurs.

Accidents and injuries are required to be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

These regulations set out which workplace incidents must be reported, who must report them, and the time limits for doing so to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

A reportable accident under RIDDOR is a workplace incident that must be formally reported to the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

These include:

• Work-related deaths
• Specified injuries (such as fractures excluding fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations, serious burns, loss of sight, or internal organ damage)
• Over-seven-day injuries to workers
• Injuries to non-workers that result in hospital treatment
• Certain occupational diseases
• Dangerous occurrences (serious near misses)
• Gas-related incidents

If an incident meets any of these criteria, it must be reported within the legal time limits.

The 7-day rule for RIDDOR means that if a worker is unable to do their normal job for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident) because of a work-related injury, the incident must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

The employer must submit the report within 15 days of the accident.

How long you have to report an accident at work depends on whether it is reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

For reportable accidents and incidents:

• Work-related deaths and specified dangerous occurrences must be reported immediately.
• Most reportable injuries must be reported within 10 days.
• Over-seven-day injuries must be reported within 15 days of the accident.

For non-reportable accidents and near misses:

• There is no legal time limit for reporting them to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
• However, they should still be reported internally as soon as possible, recorded in the accident book or internal system, and investigated where needed to prevent future incidents.

All employers still have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to manage health and safety risks and keep appropriate records, even where incidents are not reportable to the HSE.

Responsibility for reporting workplace accidents under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) lies with the ‘responsible person’, which is usually:

• The employer, for incidents involving their employees
• The self-employed person, if they are injured while working
• The person in control of the premises, for incidents involving non-workers (such as visitors or contractors)

Workers themselves are not legally responsible for making RIDDOR reports, but they should report accidents and near misses internally to their employer as soon as possible.

To report an incident under RIDDOR, you must submit the report to the Health and Safety Executive using their online RIDDOR reporting forms.

Different forms are available depending on whether you are reporting an injury, dangerous occurrence, or case of occupational disease.

For fatalities and major incidents, reports can also be made by telephone to the HSE Incident Contact Centre on 0345 300 9923.

Only incidents that meet the criteria under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 must be reported.

The employer, self-employed person, or person in control of the premises is legally responsible for submitting the report.

The key steps of accident reporting in the workplace are:

1. Make the area safe – give first aid if needed and prevent further risk.
2. Report the accident immediately – inform a manager, supervisor, or responsible person.
3. Record the details – enter the incident in the accident book or internal reporting system.
4. Check if it is RIDDOR-reportable – assess whether it meets the criteria under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.
5. Report to the HSE if required – submit a report online or by telephone within the legal time limits.
6. Investigate the incident – identify root causes and contributing factors.
7. Take corrective action – update controls, risk assessments, and training to prevent recurrence.

These steps support legal compliance and continuous improvement in workplace safety.

The 7 key steps of an accident investigation are:

1. Make the area safe – give first aid and prevent further harm.
2. Secure the scene – preserve evidence where possible.
3. Gather information – collect witness statements, photos, CCTV, and records.
4. Establish what happened – identify the sequence of events.
5. Identify root causes – look beyond immediate causes to underlying failures.
6. Record findings – complete the accident investigation report.
7. Implement corrective actions – update controls, training, and risk assessments to prevent recurrence.

These steps align with good practice promoted by the Health and Safety Executive.

If an accident at work is not reported, what happens depends on whether it was reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR):

• If it was reportable and not reported: the employer may face HSE enforcement, fines, prosecution, and insurance issues, as failure to report is a criminal offence.
• If it was not reportable: there is no direct legal penalty but failing to record and investigate it can increase the risk of repeat accidents, weaken legal defences, and indicate poor safety management.

Employers still have a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect workers even where incidents are not HSE-reportable.

An accident involving a remote worker at home is only reportable if it is work-related.

Under RIDDOR, you must report it only if the injury was caused by:

• the work activity being carried out, or
• work equipment provided by the employer (for example, an electric shock from a faulty company laptop).

Accidents that are part of normal domestic life (such as tripping over a rug or slipping in the kitchen) are not classed as workplace accidents and do not need to be reported, even if they happen during working hours.

Accidents that happen on the public highway while travelling for work (for example, driving between sites) are normally covered by road traffic law, not RIDDOR, and do not need to be reported to the HSE.

However, you must report the accident under RIDDOR if it is work-related, such as where:

• the injury occurred during loading or unloading a vehicle,
• the person was working on or beside the road (rather than just travelling), or
• the accident was caused by a work-related factor, such as a defect in the work vehicle or unsafe work arrangements.

Work-related stress, mental ill health, suicide, or self-harm are not reportable under RIDDOR.

However, employers still have legal duties to manage work-related stress as a health risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. That means assessing psychosocial risks (such as workload, bullying, or lack of control) and taking reasonable steps to reduce them, even though they are not RIDDOR-reportable.

An incident of workplace violence is reportable under RIDDOR in certain cases.

You must report it if the violence:

• causes a specified injury, or
• results in the worker being unable to do their normal work for more than 7 consecutive days.

Incidents involving verbal abuse, threats, or minor physical assault without serious injury are not reportable under RIDDOR, but they must still be recorded internally and addressed through health and safety or HR procedures.

Even where RIDDOR does not apply, employers have a duty to assess and manage the risk of violence at work under health and safety law.

Who records and reports the accident depends on who employs the injured person.

• If the injured person works for a contractor, their employer is responsible for recording and reporting the accident.
• If the injured person is self-employed and working under your control, you are responsible.
• Regardless of who reports it, the person in control of the site should record the incident internally and investigate it.

You can use a digital accident book instead of a paper one, provided it:

• is secure,
• restricts access to authorised users only, and
• complies with UK GDPR and data protection requirements.

If you use a paper accident book and employ 10 or more people, accident records must be detachable so individuals cannot see others’ personal or medical information.

By law, RIDDOR records must be kept for at least 3 years from the date of the incident.

However, many organisations keep accident records for 6 years as good practice, because this aligns with the limitation period for personal injury claims under civil law.

Yes, in most cases you are entitled to a copy of an accident report.

If your injury is recorded in the workplace accident book, you have the right to access the personal information held about you under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. This means you can request a copy from your employer.

You are not automatically given a copy, but you can ask for one, and it should be provided within a reasonable time.