Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences 2013
Statutory Instrument

Citation 2013 No. 1471
Introduced by Paul Beresford – Department of the Environment
Territorial extent United Kingdom, overseas[1]
Dates
Made 12 June 2013
Laid before Parliament 10 June 2013
Commencement 1 October 2013 (2013-10-01)[2]
Other legislation
Made under
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, often known by the acronym RIDDOR, is a 2013 Statutory Instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It regulates the statutory obligation to report deaths, injuries, diseases and "dangerous occurrences", including near misses, that take place at work or in connection with work.[3][4]

One of the worst colliery explosions - The Oaks colliery disaster killed more than 300 people in 1866.[5] Even today, hundreds are killed at work each year in the UK

The regulations require "responsible persons" to report deaths at work, major injuries caused by accidents at work, injuries to persons not at work that require hospital treatment, injuries arising from accidents in hospitals, and dangerous occurrences (reg.3(1)). Additionally, the law requires registered gas fitters to report poor and dangerous gas installations (reg.6).

Responsible persons are generally employers but also include various managers and occupiers of premises (reg.2). Though the regulations do not impose a specific obligation on employees, they have a general obligation under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to take care of safety. The Health and Safety Executive recommends that they report incidents to their employer and encourages voluntary notification to the relevant regulating authority.[3]

There are specific regulations as to mines and quarries (reg.8/ Sch.5), and offshore installations (reg.9/ Sch.6).

Medical treatments are exempt, as are injuries arising from road traffic accidents[6] and to members of the armed forces (reg.10).

Breach of the regulations is a crime, punishable on summary conviction with a fine of up to £400. If convicted on indictment in the Crown Court, an offender can be sentenced to an unlimited fine.[7] Either an individual or a corporation can be punished[8] and sentencing practice is published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.[9] For example, in 2000, Salford City Council were fined £115,000 for a breach of the regulations.[10]

It is a defence that the responsible person was not aware of the event requiring reporting or notification and that he had taken all reasonable steps to have such events brought to his notice (reg.11). The burden of proof of such a defence is on the defendant, on the balance of probabilities.[11]

Background

The reporting of accidents and ill health at work has long been a legal requirement in the UK. The information enables the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local government authorities "to identify where and how risks arise, and to investigate serious accidents".[3]

During 2006-2007 about 30 million working days were lost due to work-related ill health, and 6 million due to workplace injury. In the same period, there were 141,350 incidents reported although it has been estimated that some 274,000 ought to have been reported. Further, 241 people were killed at work during this time. This figure obscures the fact that in 2005, 2037 people died from mesothelioma arising from previous exposure to asbestos and "thousands more from other occupational cancers and lung diseases".[12]

The Regulations were intended to consolidate a number of earlier regulations on the reporting of accidents and diseases, generally in the workplace and specifically in the railway and offshore industries.[13]

Notification

Notification must be made by a responsible person to the relevant enforcing authority which is a body, possibly the local government authority, to which the HSE has delegated its powers.[14] Notification must be made when any person, not necessarily an employee (reg.3):

— or, when any person other than an employee suffers:

— or, when an employee:

— or, there is a dangerous occurrence.

"Accident" includes assaults on employees and suicides on transport systems (reg.2). The report must be made by the "quickest practicable means" and confirmed by a written report within ten days (reg.3(2)). When an accident at work results in a reportable injury that, within a year of the accident, causes the death of the employee, the death itself must be reported, even if the accident and injury have already been reported (reg.4). On occasions, an injury may caused a member of staff to be off work for more than seven working days, or prevent them from completing their normal work duties. If this situation arises then the company must notify the enforcing authority of the incident. When calculating the seven consecutive days, the day of the accident is not counted but the period after is, including weekends. For example, if an employee normally works Monday to Friday, is injured on a Tuesday and does not return to work until the following Thursday, then the incident will be required to be reported. This is because he/she will have been off work for eight days i.e. Wednesday to Wednesday inclusive.[16]

Major injuries

"Major injuries" are defined as (reg.2(1)/ Sch.1):

Fracture, other than to fingers, thumbs or toes Amputation
Dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine Loss of sight, temporary or permanent
Chemical or hot metal burn to, or penetrating injury of, the eye Injury from electric shock or burn leading to unconsciousness or requiring resuscitation or more than 24 hours in hospital
Injury leading to hypothermia, heat-induced illness or to unconsciousness Injury requiring resuscitation
Injury requiring admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours Loss of consciousness through asphyxia or exposure to a harmful substance or biological agent
Acute illness requiring medical treatment or loss of consciousness, resulting from the absorption of any substance by inhalation, ingestion or through the skin Acute illness requiring medical treatment where there is reason to believe that it resulted from exposure to a biological agent or its toxins or infected material.

Dangerous occurrences reportable in all workplaces

Dangerous occurrences that are reportable by all responsible persons are defined as (reg.2(1)/ Sch.2, Pt.1, paras.1-17):

Lifting machinery, etc. - Collapse, overturning, or failure of any load-bearing part of a lift or hoist, crane or derrick, mobile powered access platform, access or window cleaning cradle, excavator, pile-driving frame or rig taller than 7 metres, or forklift truck.

Pressure systems - Failure of a closed vessel, including a boiler or boiler tube, or of any associated pipework, in which the internal pressure was above or below atmospheric pressure, and the failure has the potential to cause death.

Freight containers - Failure of a freight container[17] in any of its load-bearing parts while it is being raised, lowered or suspended.

Overhead electric lines - Unintentional incident in which plant or equipment either:

Electrical short circuit - Electrical short circuit or overload accompanied by fire or explosion which results in the stoppage of the plant involved for more than 24 hours or which has the potential to cause death.

Explosives - Various incidents with explosives.[18]

Biological agents - An accident or incident which resulted, or could have resulted, in release or escape of a biological agent likely to cause severe human infection or illness.

Malfunction of radiation generators, etc. - Incident in which:

Breathing apparatus - Malfunction of breathing apparatus while in use or in testing as a preliminary to use.

Diving operations - Any of the following incidents during underwater diving:

Collapse of scaffolding - Complete or partial collapse of a scaffold:

— or the complete or partial collapse of the suspension arrangements, including any outrigger, of any slung or suspended scaffold that causes a working platform or cradle to fall.

Train collisions - Unintended collision of a train with any other train or vehicle, other than one reportable under Pt.4 of Sch.3 of the regulations, which caused, or might have caused, death or major injury.

Wells - Any of the following incidents in relation to a well, other than a water well:

Pipelines or pipeline works - The following incidents in respect of a pipeline or pipeline works:

Fairground equipment - The following incidents on fairground equipment, in use or under test:

Carriage of dangerous substances by road tankers - Incident involving a road tanker or tank container used for the carriage of a dangerous substance[20] in which:

Carriage of dangerous substances by road in packages - Incident involving a vehicle used for the carriage of a dangerous substance[21] in which:

Dangerous occurrences reportable save in offshore workplaces

Dangerous occurrences that are reportable by responsible persons, save in offshore workplaces, are defined as (reg.2(1)/ Sch.2, Pt.1, paras.18-21):

Collapse of building or structure - Unintended collapse or partial collapse of:

Explosion or fire - Explosion or fire, due to ignition of material, in any plant or premises that results in the stoppage of that plant, or as the case may be the suspension of normal work, for more than 24 hours.

Escape of flammable substances - Sudden, uncontrolled release inside a building of:

— or, in the open air, of 500 kilograms or more of a flammable liquid or gas.

Escape of substances - Accidental release or escape of any substance in a quantity sufficient to cause death, major injury or any other damage to health.

Dangerous occurrences reportable in specific industries

There are also specific reporting requirements for mines (Sch.2/ Pt.2, paras.22-40), quarries (Sch.2/ Pt.3, paras.41-48), rail transport systems (Sch.2/ Pt.4, paras.49-72) and offshore installations (Sch.2/ Pt.5, paras.73-83).

Reporting of cases of disease

The responsible person must make a report "forthwith" if he is notified by a registered medical practitioner that an employee is suffering from (reg.5/ Sch.3 Pt.1):

Disease Activity Disease Activity
Inflammation, ulceration etc. of the skin or bone, or blood dyscrasia Work with ionising radiation Cataract Work with electromagnetic radiation
Decompression illness, barotrauma, dysbaric osteonecrosis Breathing compressed gases, including diving Cramp in hand or forearm Handwriting, typing etc..
Subcutaneous cellulitis of the hand (beat hand) Heavy work involving friction or pressure on the hand Bursitis or subcutaneous cellulitis of the knee (beat knee) Heavy work involving friction or pressure on the knee
Bursitis or subcutaneous cellulitis of the elbow Heavy work involving friction or pressure on the elbow (beat elbow) Traumatic inflammation of hand or forearm tendons or associated tendon sheaths Frequent or repeated movements, constrained postures, extremes of extension or flexion of the hand or wrist
Carpal tunnel syndrome Work with hand-held vibrating tools Hand-arm vibration syndrome Various work
Anthrax Work with infected animals or on infested sites Brucellosis Work with animals or specimens
Avian chlamydiosis Work with infected birds Ovine chlamydiosis Work with infected sheep
Hepatitis Work with human blood or sources of viral hepatitis Legionellosis Work on air conditioning or other water services
Leptospirosis Various places likely to be infested by small mammals, including dog kennels Lyme disease Outdoor work involving exposure to ticks
Q fever Contact with animals Rabies Contact with infected animals
Streptococcus suis Work with infected pigs Tetanus Work involving contaminated soil
Tuberculosis Work with any potential biological source of infection Any reliably attributable infection Work with micro-organisms, cadavers and animal products
Poisoning from various specified substances Any work Cancer of bronchus or lung Work where nickel is produced from a gaseous nickel compound or involving exposure to chloromethyl ether or various electrolytic chromium processes
Primary carcinoma of the lung with evidence of silicosis Various activities Cancer of the urinary tract Exposure to various substances
Bladder cancer Aluminium smelting by the Soderberg process Angiosarcoma of the liver Work in the polymerisation of vinyl chloride monomer
Peripheral neuropathy Exposure to n-hexane or methyl n-butyl ketone Chrome ulceration of nose, throat, hands or forearm Exposure to chromic acid or other chromium compound
Folliculitis Exposure to mineral oil, tar, pitch or arsenic Acne Exposure to mineral oil, tar, pitch or arsenic
Skin cancer Exposure to mineral oil, tar, pitch or arsenic Pneumoconiosis (excluding asbestosis) Various activities
Byssinosis Work with cotton or flax Mesothelioma Work with asbestos
Lung cancer Work with asbestos or asbestos textiles Asbestosis Cleaning equipment used for working asbestos/ exposure to asbestos dust
Cancer of nasal cavity or air sinuses Work in a building where furniture or footwear is manufactured, or where nickel is produced from a gaseous nickel compound Occupational dermatitis Work involving various substances
Extrinsic alveolitis (including Farmer's lung) Exposure to moulds, fungal spores or heterologous proteins Occupational asthma Work involving various substances

Certain work related diseases contracted in offshore facilities must also be reported (reg.5/ Sch.3 Pt.2).

Gas installations

Reports must be made to the HSE within 14 days where there is, or is likely to be, incomplete combustion of gas, leaking gas or inadequate removal of the results of the combustion of gas (reg.6).

Record keeping

The responsible person, such as an employer, must keep records of reportable incidents and diseases, and other matters specified by the HSE to demonstrate compliance. Records are to be kept for 3 years, either at the place where the relevant work is carried out or at the responsible person's usual place of business. The enforcing authority may demand copies of such records (reg.7/ Sch.4).

References

  1. ↑ Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.84; reg.12
  2. ↑ RIDDOR regulations first came into force on 1 April 1996
  3. 1 2 3 UK Government advice site accessed 5 March 2008
  4. ↑ Statutory Instrument 2013 No. 1471 The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations
  5. ↑ Memorial to the Oaks disaster accessed 9 March 2008
  6. ↑ R (on the application of Aineto) v. HM Coroner for Brighton and Hove [2003] EWHC 1896 (Admin)
  7. ↑ Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, ss.33(1)(c), 33(3)
  8. ↑ Interpretation Act 1978, s.5
  9. ↑ "(K) Miscellaneous offences - Health and Safety offences". Guideline Judgements Case Compendium. Sentencing Guidelines Council. 2005. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  10. ↑ R (on the application of Rowley) v. DPP [2003] EWHC 693 (Admin)
  11. ↑ Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, s.101
  12. ↑ HSE statistics
  13. ↑ "Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995: Explanatory note". Office of Public Sector Information. 1995. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  14. ↑ Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.18
  15. ↑ http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/reporting-change.htm
  16. ↑ http://www.citation.co.uk/health-and-safety/the-reporting-of-injuries-diseases-and-dangerous-occurrence-regulations The Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations (RIDDOR)
  17. ↑ Statutory Instrument 1984 No. 1890 Freight Containers (Safety Convention) Regulations 1984, SI 1984/1890 reg.2(1)
  18. ↑ Defined as Class I in Statutory Instrument 1983 No. 1140 The Classification and Labelling of Explosives Regulations 1983,
  19. ↑ Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985, SI 1985/1333, reg.2
  20. ↑ See the Road Traffic (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1992, SI 1992/743, reg.2(1)
  21. ↑ See the Road Traffic (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Packages etc.) Regulations 1992, SI 1992/742, reg.2(1); also SI 1993/1746 and SI 1994/669.
  22. 1 2 See the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 1994, SI 1994/3247, regs.5(2), (3), (5)

Bill Howard

Bibliography

External links

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