The importance of health and safety has done nothing but increase over the years, and the obligations and responsibilities that companies have towards their workers in respect of their safety has become a hotly discussed topic in boardrooms. It creeps higher and higher on the corporate agenda, in particular in industries such as manufacturing and construction.

But what must a company do if there is an incident involving health and safety in the workplace? Once the incident has been properly addressed and dealt with, e.g., emergency services called, the site cordoned off, etc., the company must turn its mind to whether or not that incident needs to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

This blog post will hopefully give companies some incite into what incidents might need to be reported and how that reporting should be managed.

Types of reportable injury

Death

First and foremost, all deaths to workers and non-workers will be expected to be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). The incident that results in the death, however, must be a work-related accident. This obviously extends company obligations to contractors and other individuals who, whilst not necessarily workers, may suffer work-related accidents whilst working on site.

There may be some exception where death is caused as a consequence of suicide.

Injury

Secondly, businesses will need to give some thought towards reporting obligations in the event of worker or non-worker injuries. Insofar as their obligations stretch to worker injuries, again they must be caused as a consequence of a “work-related” accident, and the injuries suffered in order to engage RIDDOR reporting obligations must appear in the “specified injuries” list, as below: 

• any bone fracture diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner, other than to a finger, thumb or toe;
• amputation of an arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe;
• any injury diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner as being likely to cause permanent blinding or reduction in sight in one or both eyes;
• any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs in the chest or abdomen;
• any burn injury (including scalding) which—
• i.        covers more than 10% of the whole body's total surface area; or
• ii.        causes significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs;
• any degree of scalping requiring hospital treatment;
• loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia; or
• any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which—
• i.             leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness; or
• ii.             requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours.

These are obviously relevant to worker’s injuries, whereas for non-workers there are more circumstances in which there is an obligation on a company to report under RIDDOR. The two simple conditions are where a person suffers:

1. an injury, and that person is taken from the site of the accident to a hospital for treatment in respect of that injury; or
2. a specified injury on hospital premises.

Examples of non-worker injuries may be where there is a contractor attending at a haulage company’s operating centre to undertake work, and, as a result of improper safety procedures, falls from height and suffers an injury requiring hospital attendance. If that contractor were crushed and killed by a heavy goods vehicle, that incident instantly becomes reportable as it is a fatality.  

The transport industry is faced with some interesting issues when it comes to reporting obligations, as questions can at times arise around what is considered a “work-related” accident. For example, if a truck, coach, or bus driver is out on the road as part of their employment and suffers an injury, questions could be asked of whether that injury is a “work-related” accident or not.

Occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences

Physical injuries are, obviously, not the only health problem workers and others may sustain as a consequence of a business’s activity. There are other potential issues such as occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences, which bring with them their own reporting obligations.

Both dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases have their own legislative definitions and being broadly defined terms, can cover a range of health issues. For example, the definition of occupational diseases within the RIDDOR regulations covers Carpal Tunnel Syndrome where the sufferers work involves the use of percussive or vibrating tools.

If there is concern that you as a business may have an instance of occupational disease or dangerous occurrence, then it is important that you seek legal advice to assess your reporting obligations.

Timings

Various injuries and incidents have different timeframes within which businesses need to report to the HSE. Some timeframes are longer than others due to the time required to assess the seriousness of the injury in question. However, regardless of the legal timeframe in which a business needs to report an incident, it is always wise to seek legal advice immediately after an incident that the business might think is reportable, to understand HSE enforcement policies and the options available.