Why RIDDOR Confuses So Many People
You've had an incident on site. Someone got injured, maybe badly enough that they need hospital treatment. The question comes: does this need to be reported to HSE? And if so, how? Most contractors in this situation either over-report everything or miss things they should have reported. Almost no one gets it right immediately without looking it up first.
That's not a criticism. RIDDOR, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, has become genuinely complex. The categories of reportable incident, the time limits, the online portal, the different thresholds for different types of event, it adds up to a system that trips up even experienced site managers.
This article is a contractor's practical guide to RIDDOR. Not the full legal text. Not a textbook explanation. Just what you need to know to do the right thing on a real job site.
What RIDDOR Actually Is
RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. It places a legal duty on employers, self-employed people, and people in control of premises to report certain workplace incidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The purpose is straightforward: HSE collects data about what goes wrong at work so they can identify patterns, target enforcement, and prevent the same incidents from happening again. But for contractors, the practical implication is simple: some incidents are legally required to be reported within a specific timeframe.
The Three Categories You Need to Know
Not every incident is reportable. RIDDOR splits reportable incidents into three broad categories. Understanding which category applies to your situation is the first step to getting the reporting right.
1. Deaths and Specified Injuries
If someone dies as a result of a work-related accident, this must be reported immediately. The phrase "as soon as reasonably practicable" is used in the regulations. In practice, this means straight away by phone, followed by the online report within 10 days.
Specified injuries (the list that replaces "major injuries" from the old system) includes:
If someone is seriously injured in a way that fits one of these descriptions, you report it. Simple as that.
2. Over-Seven-Day Injuries
If a worker is unable to work for more than seven consecutive days as a result of a work-related injury, this must be reported. The seven days start from the day of the accident. Not from when they first saw a doctor. Not from when they got a fit note. From the day of the incident itself.
There's a detail that catches people out: the seven days are calendar days, not working days. If someone gets injured on a Friday and can't work the following Friday, that's seven consecutive days, even if they only missed two working days. Report it.
3. Dangerous Occurrences
These are near-miss events that could have caused serious injury, even if no one was actually hurt. There are 27 categories of dangerous occurrence in Schedule 2 of RIDDOR. Some apply to all workplaces; some apply only to specific industries like construction, mines, and offshore oil and gas.
The ones most relevant to construction sites include:
Even if no one is hurt, a dangerous occurrence like a partial scaffold collapse must be reported. The fact that no one was injured doesn't make it non-reportable. It means the hazard control failed and HSE needs to know.
What Does Not Need to Be Reported
Equally important is knowing what falls outside RIDDOR's scope. A common mistake is reporting minor injuries that don't meet the threshold.
The following do not need to be reported under RIDDOR:
Road traffic accidents deserve a special note. If someone is injured in a collision while driving on a public road as part of their work, you report it to the police and to DVLA, not to HSE under RIDDOR. The HSE's jurisdiction for road traffic accidents is limited to vehicles used on a site, not the public highway.
How to Report: The Online Portal and Time Limits
All RIDDOR reports must be made through HSE's online reporting portal at www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm. There is no phone number for non-fatal incidents. The only exception is for fatal or specified injuries, where you should phone HSE's incident hotline immediately: 0345 300 9923.
The time limits are:
Note: the 10-day and 15-day deadlines are calendar days, not working days. Miss them and you are in breach of RIDDOR, regardless of whether you intended to report or not.
The Internal Record You Must Keep
RIDDOR reporting is not the end of your obligations. Even when an incident is not reportable, you still have a duty to keep a record of every occupational accident or injury that affects your workers. This is a requirement under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
Your accident book (Form B111 or equivalent) must be completed for every workplace injury, however minor. This record is your evidence that you took the incident seriously and recorded it properly. If an injury that seemed minor at the time turns out to be more serious later, having the record in the accident book makes the subsequent RIDDOR report straightforward.
Keep these records for at least three years. HSE can ask to see them as part of an investigation, even years after an incident.
What Happens After You Report
Reporting to HSE does not mean you will be visited by an inspector. In practice, most RIDDOR reports are logged and filed. HSE uses the data to identify trends and target interventions. If a pattern emerges in a particular type of work or a particular area, they may investigate.
However, if a fatality or serious injury is reported, an investigation is likely. HSE investigators will look at your RAMS documentation, your training records, your accident book entries, and your site's safety arrangements. They will want to know what happened, why it happened, and what you did to prevent it.
If they find that your arrangements were inadequate, that you hadn't done a proper risk assessment, or that you knew about a hazard and didn't act, they can prosecute. Fines and prison sentences are possible for the most serious failures.
How Good RAMS Helps You With RIDDOR
The connection between solid RAMS documentation and RIDDOR compliance is simple. When an incident is investigated, HSE will look at whether the hazards were identified, whether controls were in place, and whether those controls were actually followed. Your RAMS documents are the primary evidence of this.
A RAMS document that accurately reflects what was happening on site, not a generic template that doesn't match the job, is your best protection. It shows that you thought about the hazards, implemented controls, and briefed your workers.
RAMS Builder has RAMS templates for the most common construction activities, pre-loaded with the hazards, controls, and hierarchy steps that HSE expects to see. Keep your RAMS current, keep your accident book up to date, and report what needs to be reported. That's most of your legal obligations covered.