Recording and reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
Under RIDDOR the ‘responsible person’ is: “An employer; or a self-employed person working on your own premises or domestic premises and can also be a person in control of premises.”
These responsible persons must record and report serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases, specified dangerous occurrences (near misses) and certain incidents and injuries that involve employees, self-employed workers and members of the public via an online form on the HSE website. Additionally, the type of incident, injury, dangerous occurrence or individual injured will dictate WHEN you need to make a report. A comprehensive list of what to report can be found on the HSE website. The form will then be submitted directly to the RIDDOR database and you will receive a copy for your records. The report can be amended and should be updated as circumstances change.
All incidents can be reported online, but a telephone service is also provided for reporting fatal/specified, and major incidents only. Reports may also be made by post, however, online reporting is the preferred method.
Are all Covid-19 cases classed as RIDDOR? In short, No.
There is no requirement under RIDDOR to report incidents of disease or deaths of members of the public, patients, care home residents or service users from COVID-19. The reporting requirements relating to cases, or deaths from, COVID-19 only apply to occupational exposure, that is as a result of a person’s work.
You should only make a report under RIDDOR when one of the following circumstances applies:
- An accident or incident at work has, or could have, led to the release or escape of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). This must be reported as a dangerous occurrence. Dangerous occurrences are certainly unintended, specified events, which may not result in a reportable injury, but which do have the potential to cause significant harm. The list of dangerous occurrences in schedule 2 of RIDDOR includes the requirement for the responsible person (usually the employer) to report any accident or incident which results – or could have resulted – in the release or escape of a biological agent likely to cause severe human infection or illness. This includes coronavirus (COVID-19).
- A person at work (a worker) has been diagnosed as having COVID-19 attributed to an occupational exposure to coronavirus through either deliberately working with the virus or being incidentally exposed to it. This must be reported as a case of disease due to exposure to a biological agent
- A worker dies as a result of occupational exposure to coronavirus through either deliberately working with the virus or being incidentally exposed to it. This must be reported as a work-related death due to exposure to a biological agent
For an incident to be reportable as a death under RIDDOR, there must be reasonable evidence that the death was caused by an occupational exposure to coronavirus.
For an incident to be reportable as a dangerous occurrence, it must have, or could have, resulted in the release or escape of coronavirus leading to possible or actual exposure.
You should make a reasonable judgement as to whether the circumstances gave rise to a real risk and had the potential to cause significant harm.
Examples of reportable dangerous occurrences include:
- Incidental exposure: for example, a sample from a COVID-19 patient breaks in transit, leading to spillage and the driver becoming exposed
- The person’s work activities involved deliberate work with coronavirus, for example, working with the virus in a laboratory where a laboratory worker smashing a vial containing coronavirus on the floor (outside a microbiological safety cabinet). This leads to people being exposed to the virus
- The person’s work activities involved work in environments with people who are known to have COVID-19, such as in a health or social care setting
- There was any specific, identifiable incident that led to exposure as part of the work activity, such as a dangerous occurrence
Covid 19 cases where an employee has infected another employee through general transmission in the workplace are not reportable to RIDDOR, unless infection is likely to have occurred from working in an environment with a person known to have COVID-19 (as above).
Unlike with usual diagnosis of occupational disease, many cases of COVID-19 are confirmed without a registered medical practitioner’s written diagnosis, for example on the basis of laboratory test results. HSE do not require confirmation of results like these for a RIDDOR report.
You should treat any confirmation of COVID-19 infection, such as from a public testing body or a positive lateral flow test (LFT), as being equivalent to a registered medical practitioner’s diagnosis
Details required for RIDDOR reporting include Information about you and your organisation, the date, time and place of the event, details of the kind of accident, the personal details of those involved, and of course a brief description of the injuries, event or disease.
It is always best to record details of all incidents and accidents in an accident book, and where necessary, to report as soon as is practicable after the event to ensure that information given is as accurate and recent as possible.
How do we support customers with accident reporting & investigations? Accident investigations are undertaken by our qualified health and safety consultants. In most cases an accident investigation will include:
- Reviewing accident/incident forms and RIDDOR reports
- Reviewing witness statements and/or talking to those involved
- Reviewing a range of documentation including risk assessments, safe systems, inspection and maintenance records
Where necessary we will visit the site, take photographs and examine workplaces, machinery and equipment, liaising with other agencies as required.
If in doubt on aspects of RIDDOR reporting (either Covid-19 based or general reporting), our consultants are always happy to help so feel free to contact us
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