The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published for consultation a proposed amendment to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). This follows a recommendation in the recent Government-commissioned report, ‘Common Sense – Common Safety’, on the state of health and safety legislation in the UK.
Currently, when an employee suffers an injury at work and is absent for more than three days following the incident, the employer or ‘responsible person’ is required to report the injury either to the HSE or the local council. The period excludes the day of the accident but includes days that would not have been working days. The proposal is to extend this period from three to seven days.
The change would bring the incident reporting threshold into line with that for obtaining a ‘fit note’ from a GP for sickness absence, and would ensure that someone who has suffered a reportable injury has had a professional medical assessment.
The consultation document is available on the HSE website. The deadline for responses is 9 May 2011.
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HSE Consultation on RIDDOR Change
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