Quick answer
RIDDOR requires the responsible person to report defined work-related incidents, rather than every accident or near miss. Great Britain includes specified injuries and over-seven-day incapacity; Northern Ireland retains a different regime including over-three-day injuries. Check the location, incident category, responsible person and deadline against the relevant regulator’s criteria.
An accident record and a RIDDOR report serve different purposes
A business should respond to a safety problem even when it does not meet a statutory reporting category. RIDDOR reporting is a separate decision about defined events and conditions.
HSE lists the reportable categories for Great Britain. HSENI explains the Northern Ireland regime, which has not adopted the same reporting changes. Do not use one undifferentiated UK threshold.
1. Check the work connection and the category
Establish what happened, who was affected and how it arose from work. Then use the official criteria, including exclusions and special cases.
| Possible category | What to check |
|---|---|
| Work-related death | Whether the circumstances meet the reportable work-related accident criteria. |
| Injury to a worker | Whether it is a specified injury or causes the relevant period of incapacity for normal work. |
| Injury to someone not at work | The separate non-worker criteria, including the accident and treatment circumstances. |
| Occupational disease | The listed condition, diagnosis and relevant occupational exposure criteria. |
| Dangerous occurrence | Whether it matches a defined dangerous occurrence; an injury need not always occur. |
| Specialist events | Any specific rules, such as certain gas incidents or specialist industries. |
The table is a route into the criteria, not a replacement for them. Avoid diagnosing an injury or deciding that every worrying near miss is automatically a defined dangerous occurrence.
2. Establish who should make the report
HSE’s responsible-person guidance identifies employers, certain self-employed people and people controlling premises, depending on the circumstances. An injured employee or member of the public should not simply submit the employer’s responsible-person form.
Where agencies, contractors or shared premises are involved, clarify the actual responsibility. Record who is making the decision and arranging the report. Workers who are concerned about a failure to report can use the regulator’s concern route rather than assuming that they hold the reporting duty.
3. Use the correct deadline for the incident and country
| Location and situation | Published timing |
|---|---|
| GB incidents requiring urgent notification | Notify without delay; HSE says the report must be received within ten days for these cases. |
| GB over-seven-day incapacity | Notify within fifteen days of the incident. |
| GB reportable occupational disease | Report as soon as the responsible person receives the relevant diagnosis. |
| NI over-three-day injury | HSENI guidance states reporting within ten days. |
Use HSE’s current timing guidance and HSENI’s published NI reporting guidance for the applicable detail. A later outer deadline is not permission to postpone notification that must happen without delay. Check the official counting rules for incapacity and any special circumstances.
4. Keep the decision, report and follow-up traceable
In Great Britain, the record-keeping duty also covers work-related injuries that incapacitate a person for routine work for more than three consecutive days, excluding the accident day. RIDDOR regulation 12 requires each entry to be kept for at least three years from the date it was made. This recording threshold is separate from the GB over-seven-day reporting threshold.
HSE explains the required reporting records and confirmation. Keep the relevant facts, decision basis, person responsible, submission information and reference. Recording and retention duties are separate from whether a form has been sent.
Hypothetical example: a falling object
A box falls in a warehouse and narrowly misses a worker. The manager makes the area safe and investigates the storage arrangement. They check whether the facts match a listed dangerous occurrence instead of assuming that all near misses are reportable. Regardless of that decision, the faulty arrangement needs action.
If someone is injured, gather the facts needed for the worker/non-worker and injury criteria promptly. Do not wait for the whole internal investigation to finish before considering a reporting deadline.
Common reporting mistakes
- Importing GB’s seven-day threshold into NI. Use the applicable regime.
- Counting only days of absence without checking normal duties. Apply the official incapacity test and counting rules.
- Treating a report as an admission or an investigation conclusion. Report the relevant facts accurately and investigate separately.
- Ignoring incidents that are not reportable. The underlying risks may still need control.
Next steps
- Respond to immediate safety and care needs.
- Identify the country, people affected and possible reporting category.
- Confirm the responsible person and applicable deadline promptly.
- Keep the decision and report record, then investigate and control the causes.
Check HSE’s reportable incident criteria — Use the official category guidance before making a Great Britain reporting decision.
Relevant next resource
Level 3 Health & Safety in the Workplace
The verified Level 3 workplace course covers incident investigation and corrective action for managers; statutory reporting decisions still need the current regulator criteria.
From £43.50 GBP
Available
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