What Business Owners Need to Know about Accident Report Books
What is Accident Report Book Legislation in the UK?
Are you a UK business owner, employer or manager? It is essential that you are aware of your responsibilities around workplace health and safety, including accident report book legislation.
All UK workplaces with more than ten employees are legally required to have access to an accident report book. In a work-related accident, you, or a staff member familiar with the event, must complete an accident report entry in that designated book to comply with Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) UK guidance.
Additional accident report book legislation from the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations of 1979 requires all workplaces to formally record and investigate all workplace accidents in a designated accident report book where a work-related injury results in seven or more days of incapacitation. For each business or workplace, accident report book records must be stored securely for three years.
The best practice for accident report book use in the workplace is to ensure all accidents and injuries, as a result of work or in the workplace, are formally recorded and investigated, regardless of their severity. It is never possible to determine how long the casualty will be incapacitated at the time of any injury. For this reason, we recommend that all workplace accidents be recorded thoroughly and accurately in your designated workplace accident report book to ensure you have all the required information you could need in line with the governing bodies’ accident report book legislation.
When assessing and managing your workplace health and safety provisions for your business, use a designated and specially designed health and safety accident report book. This will ensure you are compliant with accident report book legislation and are taking the appropriate measures to manage and maintain good health and safety practices in your workplace. In addition, using your accident report book to track the history of incidents, accidents and injuries at work will help you to re-assess and maintain optimal risk reduction in your workplace.
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So, who completes reports in an accident book in the workplace? It doesn’t necessarily need to be the business owner, manager, employer, or first aid representative. The most important thing is that an accident or injury is swiftly recorded, accurately and in detail. It can be filled out by anyone, but it should be checked by the qualified first aider in your workplace. The details written in the accident book must be accurate regardless of who fills it out. Ask someone with first-hand involvement in the accident to write the record straight into the accident report book —ideally, this should be someone who has witnessed the incident in full or performed first aid to treat the workplace injury.
When it comes to a serious work-related injury, that requires reporting in line with RIDDOR accident report book legislation. Only someone considered a ‘responsible person’ should report workplace accidents or injuries online to RIDDOR to comply with the law. Employers, self-employed staff, or people in control of a work premises (such as general managers) should report these accidents. Bystanders or the injured person should not report it, instead referring to a more senior ‘responsible person’ to formally report any workplace injuries or accidents using the records in the accident report book.
RIDDOR states that keeping records of incidents is “important” because they ensure that you formally “collect sufficient information to allow you to properly manage health and safety risks” in the workplace.
RIDDOR states that you must keep a record of:
- any accident, occupational disease or dangerous occurrence which requires reporting under RIDDOR
- any other occupational accident causing injuries that result in a worker being away from work or incapacitated for more than three consecutive days
“If you are an employer who has to keep an accident book, the record you make in this will be enough.
You must produce RIDDOR records when asked by HSE, local authority or ORR inspectors.”
When should an accident be reported?
While accident report book legislation requires the provision and use of a designated accident report book, not all accidents in the workplace need to be reported to RIDDOR. Generally, a RIDDOR report is only required if an injury or illness has been caused as a result of an identifiable work-related accident. It must be a standalone incident rather than an injury or illness that has been caused by a series of exposures to a workplace hazard over time. It must also be related to work practices. If an accident or injury took place on the work premises, it could not be automatically classed as work-related.
In line with this, UK accident report book legislation states that:
“For the purposes of RIDDOR, an accident is a separate, identifiable, unintended incident that causes physical injury. This specifically includes acts of non-consensual violence to people at work.
Not all accidents need to be reported, a RIDDOR report is required only when:
- the accident is work-related; and
- it results in an injury of a type which is reportable.
When deciding if the accident that led to the death or injury is work-related, the key issues to consider are whether the accident was related to:
- the way the work was organised, carried out or supervised;
- any machinery, plant, substances or equipment used for work; and
- the condition of the site or premises where the accident happened.
If none of these factors are relevant to the incident, it is likely that a report will not be required”
Take note of the list below to determine whether an accident, incident, or illness (that is considered to be work-related) should be reported to RIDDOR inline with accident report book legislation.
The death of any person
All deaths of workers and non-workers, except for suicides, must be reported if they arise from a work-related accident, including an act of physical violence to a worker.
Specified injuries to workers
Specified injuries listed in RIDDOR 2013 legislation (regulation 4) are:
- fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs, and toes
- amputations
- any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight
- any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
- serious burns (including scalding) which:
- covers more than 10% of the body
- causes significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs
- any scalping requiring hospital treatment
- any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
- any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which:
- leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness
- requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
RIDDOR adds that:
“Reporting certain incidents is a legal requirement. The report informs the enforcing authorities (HSE, local authorities and the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR)) about deaths, injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences, so they can identify where and how risks arise, and whether they need to be investigated. This allows the enforcing authorities to target their work and provide advice about how to avoid work-related deaths, injuries, ill health and accidental loss.”
Make sure to take note of your legal responsibilities regarding how soon you should report any necessary workplace accidents or incidents.
- All reportable accidents must be reported within ten days.
- If the workplace accident leads to seven-day incapacitation from work, this must be reported within 15 days.
- Keep an account of all reportable injuries in your workplace accident report book in order to have access to a full account to refer to when filling out the RIDDOR report form.
Your RIDDOR report should be submitted online. Go to www.hse.gov.uk/riddor and complete the appropriate online report form. The form will then be submitted directly to the RIDDOR database. You will receive a copy for your records.
Be aware that the online RIDDOR form will split up into sections, including basic contact information for your organisation, the nature of the incident and information about the injured individual. Make sure you have all the information you need to complete the form easily.
Only fatal, specified, and major incidents can be reported over the phone. Call the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 300 9923 (opening hours Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 5 pm).
An Accident Report Book Example
You’ll need the following main pieces of information to be able to complete the minimum information required on a standard accident report book template:
- The contact details of the injured person and of the person filling out the report.
- Details of the accident – the date it occurred, time, and location.
- Details of the injury sustained:
- What type of injury is it? (e.g. cut/concussion/bruise/fracture?)
- Where on the body is the injury sustained? (e.g. head/arm/foot/eye?)
- How severe is the injury? (e.g. did the injured person fall unconscious/need to be resuscitated/be hospitalised?)
- How did the accident happen?
- What events led up to the accident?
- Was it caused by working conditions/faulty equipment/stress/fatigue?
- What actions were taken to deal with the accident and injury aftermath?
- Supporting evidence (e.g. CCTV footage, photographic evidence, cleaning logs)
The pages of our RIDDOR, GDPR and HSE compliant book follow a standard, easy-to-follow accident report book template. Use the following accident report book example page as a guide for how to approach completing an accurate and thorough accident report compliant with UK legislation.
Now that you know who completes an accident report book, how to fill one out, and your legal responsibilities around accident reporting in the workplace, it is well worth taking stock of what health and safety provisions you have in place in your workplace. This is not only to comply with UK legislation but also to keep your staff safe.
Steroplast offer a wide range of health and safety products and equipment to support and improve your first aid and health and safety measures at work. We have specially designed first aid books, charts, and leaflets available, which include our HSE-compliant accident report book and first aid CPR leaflet, as well as a wide range of specialist first aid kits, eye wash kits, first aid stations, and burncare kits to meet all your needs in any work setting.
For more information on the first aid and health and safety requirements of your workplace, check out our blog:
- First Aid in the Office or Workplace
- Workplace First Aid Kits: What are The UK Legal Requirements?
- What Should be in a Workplace First Aid Kit?
- Workplace First Aid Kits: Where to Install Them and How Many you Need
- Workplace Defibrillators: Everything You Need to Know
- The Public Access Trauma (PAcT) First Aid Kit: What Business Owners Need to Know
- Serious Workplace Injuries—Is Your Company Prepared for the Worst?
- Safe Return to Work Practices: The Importance of Infection Control in the Workplace
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