RIDDOR Changes due in April 2012
Insight Contacts
Date: 31/01/12
After 16 years of RIDDOR, the rules on when a workplace accident needs to be notified to the HSE are changing. Siân Wall, Associate at DWF LLP discusses the implications for businesses operating in the UK.
From 6 April 2012 new rules will apply on when businesses must report workplace accidents and incidents which occur in the UK. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) Bill is to be introduced as part of the Government’s commitment to reducing the health and safety burden on businesses. It will result in businesses having to report minor accidents less frequently than before. But will a reduction in reporting actually help businesses operate safely?
What you need to know
The key changes to the reporting regime are:
- Employers will only have to report over-seven-day injury absences rather than the current over-three-day injury absence trigger; and
- Employers will also be given 15 days from the day of such an accident to formally report the incident to the HSE. This is also an extension from the current 10 day reporting requirement.
An over-seven-day injury is one which is not ‘major’ but does cause the injured person to be absent from work or unable to do the full range of their normal duties for more than seven consecutive days. The seven consecutive days does not include the day of the accident but does include any weekends, holidays or any other days the employee would not normally work.
Post April 2012, employers continue to be required to report fatal and serious workplace accidents/ occurrences to the HSE immediately, followed up by written report within 10 days of the accident. As before, employers can be prosecuted if they fail to make the necessary reports within the permitted timescales.
What does this mean for your business?
The aim of the change is to ensure employers need only formally report the more serious workplace accidents. Businesses currently find themselves having to report minor injuries which the regime simply was not designed to apply to. As well as placing unnecessary reporting burdens on employers, an organisation’s accident statistics become an inaccurate reflection of its true safety performance and its formal record with the HSE becomes distorted.
The changes to RIDDOR will result in a significant reduction in the number of less serious accidents that will be reported. From April 2012 your organisation’s reporting procedure will need to be updated and those responsible for making the formal reports required by RIDDOR trained on its new requirements.
This will relieve the burden of reporting but businesses should beware of failing to investigate such accidents for themselves.
DWF message: Don’t lose vital information
Since 1996, RIDDOR has been a sound indicator of the safety performance of companies. This information has been put to good use by businesses and insurers to identify key hazards within organisations and help focus incident reduction efforts.
Just because a workplace accident has to be reported at a later date or even at all, does not mean that a claim for personal injury won’t be brought, or that the HSE won’t subsequently become aware of the accident or that valuable lessons cannot be learnt from the episode.
Important information about the cause of accidents will be lost if businesses internal investigations are avoided or postponed in the hope the employee returns to work before the new seven day limit expires. Data gathered at the outset will best position your organisation to:
- Learn from accidents regardless of the severity of the injury sustained and the eagerness of an employee to return to work. Such information can be used to review current risk assessments and safe systems of work as is required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999;
- defend any subsequent civil claim (remembering injured parties have up to three years to bring such claims) or future safety prosecution;
- facilitate more accurate safety KPI assessment; and
- enable the business’ insurer to base premiums on more accurate safety performance.
DWF therefore urges employers to continue to investigate all accidents thoroughly, regardless of the changes to reporting requirements. Information is power and without it the ability to best protect the business from the wide range of knock on effects will be severely restricted.
The Bill is expected to be passed and brought into force by 6th April 2012. The HSE has pre-empted the completion of Parliamentary approval process by updating its Approved Code of Practice to reflect the expected changes to RIDDOR. The new ACoP can be found and downloaded for free on the HSE’s website.
