What is RIDDOR reportable? Injuries, diseases and deadlines

What is RIDDOR reportable?

RIDDOR reportable incidents are work-related deaths, specified injuries to workers, and worker injuries that stop normal duties for more than seven days. If the injured person is not at work, report it only when they are taken directly from the scene to hospital for treatment of that injury. Listed occupational diseases, dangerous occurrences and some gas incidents are reportable too.

The rules are the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1471). They came into force on 1 October 2013, replaced the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 and apply to Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own RIDDOR regulations, and reports there go to HSENI.

Who reports and what "work-related" means

The responsible person reports. For employees that's the employer. For a self-employed worker it's usually the person in control of the premises, but self-employed people report themselves for incidents on their own or domestic premises and for a diagnosed disease. Mines, quarries and offshore installations have their own dutyholders. A member of the public should raise a concern, not file the report.

Every accident has to be work-related, meaning it arose "out of or in connection with work". An accident includes "an act of non-consensual physical violence done to a person at work" (reg 2). But an accident on site is not automatically work-related: "Just because an accident occurs on work premises, this does not make it a work-related accident" (HSE examples).

Deaths

Any death from a work-related accident is reportable, for workers and non-workers alike (reg 6). If a reportable worker injury causes an employee's death within one year of the accident, the employer must notify without delay. Suicides are not reportable "as there is no accident causing the death or injury" (HSE).

RIDDOR specified injuries

Regulation 4(1) lists the specified injuries to workers:

• a fracture diagnosed by a doctor, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes
• amputation of an arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe
• an injury diagnosed as likely to cause permanent blinding or reduced sight in one or both eyes
• a crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
• a burn or scald covering more than 10% of the body, or significantly damaging the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs
• any degree of scalping that needs hospital treatment
• loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
• any other injury from working in an enclosed space that leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness, or needs resuscitation or more than 24 hours in hospital

HSE's specified injuries guidance includes cracks and chips confirmed by a doctor, including on a GP fit note. A self-diagnosed "suspected fracture" doesn't count. A fracture of a finger, thumb or toe is not a specified injury. It can still be reportable if it stops normal duties for more than seven days. If the extent of an injury is unclear, no precautionary report is needed. Notify as soon as a specified injury is confirmed.

Over-seven-day injuries

A worker injury is reportable when the person "is incapacitated for routine work for more than seven consecutive days (excluding the day of the accident)" (reg 4(2)). The count includes weekends and rest days. It also covers days at work when the person cannot do their normal duties.

Over-three-day injuries are a common mix-up. Since 6 April 2012, injuries causing more than three days' incapacity need a record. They need no report unless another reporting threshold is met. Regulation 12 still requires that record.

Injuries to members of the public

A non-worker's injury is reportable when they are injured in a work-related accident and "taken directly from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment to that injury" (HSE). X-rays and diagnostic tests alone are not treatment. A precautionary hospital visit with no injury is not reportable, and you don't need to chase the hospital to find out what it did (HSE examples). If the accident happens in a hospital, report it only if it's a specified injury (INDG453). Pupils and students count as members of the public, unless on work experience or a recognised training scheme.

Occupational diseases

Regulation 8 covers six diseases, each only with a specific work link:

• carpal tunnel syndrome, with regular use of percussive or vibrating tools
• cramp in the hand or forearm, with prolonged repetitive movement of the fingers, hand or arm
• occupational dermatitis, with significant or regular exposure to a known skin sensitiser or irritant
• hand arm vibration syndrome, with regular use of percussive or vibrating tools, or holding materials subject to those processes
• occupational asthma, with significant or regular exposure to a known respiratory sensitiser
• tendonitis or tenosynovitis in the hand or forearm, with physically demanding, frequent repetitive work

Carpal tunnel from typing is excluded. Regulation 9 adds any occupational cancer and any disease caused by occupational exposure to a biological agent. A "diagnosis" means a doctor identifying new or significantly worse symptoms, in writing for an employee (reg 2).

RIDDOR dangerous occurrences

A dangerous occurrence is one of a set of listed near misses with "a high potential to cause death or serious injury". It is reportable even if nobody is hurt (HSE). Schedule 2 splits the list by sector: paragraphs 1-22 apply everywhere, 23-27 everywhere except offshore, then separate parts cover mines, quarries, rail and tram systems, and offshore. Examples from the general list:

• collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifting equipment
• failure of a pressure system with the potential to cause death
• plant or equipment touching overhead electric lines above 200 volts
• an explosion or fire from an electrical short circuit or overload
• release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human infection or illness
• collapse of a substantial part of a scaffold more than 5 metres high
• an unintended structural collapse in construction work involving a fall of more than 5 tonnes of material

The list is longer. Check each Schedule 2 threshold.

RIDDOR reporting timescales

Sources: HSE reporting deadlines and gas reporting rules. A gas conveyor, filler, importer or supplier reports a death, loss of consciousness or hospital admission linked to gas they conveyed or supplied (who reports). Gas Safe registered engineers report dangerous gas fittings.

Reports go through HSE's online forms. For a death or a specified injury to a worker, you can also phone 0345 300 9923 (HSE). The line is open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm (HSE contact FAQ). Keep a record of every reportable incident, diagnosis and over-three-day injury for at least three years from the record entry date.

RIDDOR examples

From HSE's examples of reportable incidents:

• A driver is badly hurt in a motorway collision. Not reportable: road traffic accidents are exempt and go to the police.
• A delivery driver is hit by a car while unloading his van on the road and breaks his leg. Reportable, because loading and unloading is an exception to the road exemption.
• Two staff are injured when a truck hits a lift truck on a genuinely private site road. Reportable. The road exemption does not apply, but the injury still has to meet a reporting threshold.
• A receptionist is assaulted at work by her partner over their personal life. Not reportable, because it isn't work-related.
• A security guard's arm is broken by a thief escaping in a car. Reportable as violence if it happened on private land; not if the car was on a road.
• A pupil is hurt in a PE lesson. Usually not reportable. It is reportable if the pupil is killed, or taken to hospital for treatment, and the cause was the school's work, such as faulty equipment or poor supervision.

What is not reportable

Regulation 14 exempts injuries from medical or dental treatment, most road traffic accidents, armed forces on duty, and incidents notifiable under other regimes such as nuclear or civil aviation law. HSE also excludes suicide and self-harm, verbal abuse without physical injury, and most injuries from normal sports participation (HSE examples).

Changes on the way

Use the current revised text, not an old PDF. HSE consulted from April to July 2026 on clarifying "work-related", adding diseases, allowing other practitioners to diagnose and revising dangerous occurrences. Those ideas are proposals, not the current reporting rules.

To check a specific case with citations to the HSE source, you can ask RegAffairs AI what injuries are RIDDOR reportable.