What Does RIDDOR Stand For?

RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, which is a bit of a mouthful, so it is usually shortened to RIDDOR.

• R(eporting of)
• I(njuries)
• D(iseases and)
• D(angerous)
• O(ccurrences)
• R(egulations)

You will have probably heard of RIDDOR because this set of health and safety regulations apply to pretty much all workplaces. But what does it mean? And what do you need to do?

What is RIDDOR?

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations are a set of health and safety regulations. As the name suggests, the RIDDOR regulations are about the reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences. This means that, if something bad happens at work, and someone is harmed, it may need to be reported under RIDDOR.

Because RIDDOR is part of the law, it's a legal requirement to comply with it. If an accident, injury, disease or dangerous occurrence happens, RIDDOR makes it a legal requirement to report it.

You don't need to report all accidents under RIDDOR, but anything that results in a trip to the hospital or a few days off work is likely to come under RIDDOR.

When was RIDDOR introduced?

The first version of RIDDOR, RIDDOR 1985, came into force on the 1st of April 1986.

RIDDOR was updated ten years later - RIDDOR 1995, coming into force on the 1st of April 1996.

And the latest version of RIDDOR - RIDDOR 2013 - has been in force since the 1st of October 2013.

What is the purpose of RIDDOR?

The main purpose of RIDDOR is to make sure that certain incidents get reported to enforcing authorities.

The report informs the enforcing authorities (HSE, local authorities and the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR)) about deaths, injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences, so they can identify where and how risks arise, and whether they need to be investigated.

RIDDOR reporting isn't just for prosecutions, but also so that enforcing authorities can know where to target and awareness and inspections for improving safety.

RIDDOR reports form the basis for many of the accident statistics released each year, which can help businesses identify areas of risk by industry and accident type.

What does RIDDOR do?

RIDDOR places duties on employers, self-employed and people in control of work premises, so it is important to know and understand what RIDDOR stands for so that you can make sure you comply.

Under RIDDOR, you need to report RIDDOR reportable injuries at work, including:

• Serious workplace accidents
• Occupational diseases
• Specified dangerous occurrences

RIDDOR applies at work, so it is only (other than certain gas-related incidents) accidents that are work-related that need to be considered. An accident is work-related if any of the following was a factor:

• The way the work was carried out
• Any machinery, plant, substances or equipment used for the work or
• The condition of the site or premises where the accident happened

Not all injuries are reportable. Accidents that only involve very minor injuries might not need to be reported. The regulations are specific on what needs to be reported, so let's take a closer look at what RIDDOR stands for, letter by letter.

The R in RIDDOR stands for Reporting.

RIDDOR is all about reporting. The regulations themselves specify what events should be reported and when.

In all cases, reports under RIDDOR should be made without delay. This is because the enforcing authority (usually the HSE) may want to investigate, and so the sooner they know about it, the better.

1. notify the relevant enforcing authority of the reportable incident by the quickest practicable means without delay; and
2. send a report of that incident in an approved manner to the relevant enforcing authority within 10 days of the incident [...].

The I in RIDDOR stands for Injuries

I stands for the injuries you need to report under RIDDOR.

These are deaths, specified injuries (such as fractures, amputations, crush injuries to the head or torso and serious burns), any injury that results in a worker being unable to perform normal work duties for more than 7 days, and injuries to non-workers which result in them being taken directly to a hospital for treatment.

Without question, fatalities must always be reported under RIDDOR. Where any person dies as a result of a work-related accident, regardless of whether or not they are an employee, it must be reported.

Non-fatal injuries must also be reported. These could be one of the specified injuries, or any other injury resulting in the worker being unable to carry out normal duties for over 7 days.

Specified injuries to workers include:

• Bone fractures
• Amputations
• Blindness or reduction in sight
• Crush injuries to the head or torso
• Burn injuries
• Scalping
• Loss of consciousness
• Hypothermia or heat-induced illness
• Resuscitation
• Hospital admittance

Where any non-worker is taken to a hospital for treatment of an injury, it is also reportable under RIDDOR.

The D in RIDDOR stands for Diseases

It's not just accidents that need reporting under RIDDOR. If workers have been exposed to things that have harmed their health, then you may need to report this under RIDDOR.

These reports are for occupational diseases likely to have been caused or made worse by work, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, hand-arm vibration syndrome, occupational cancer, occupational dermatitis, tendonitis or severe cramp of the hand or forearm etc.

The DO in RIDDOR stands for Dangerous Occurrences

These are near-miss events that did not cause injury but could have resulted in serious injury. Not every near-miss needs to be reported, but the more serious ones do.

The types of dangerous occurrences you need to report are specified in the regulations and include:

• the collapse or failure of lifts and lifting equipment, plant or equipment
• contact with power lines
• the accidental release of dangerous substances
• electric incidents causing serious fires and explosions etc.

7. Where there is a dangerous occurrence, the responsible person must follow the reporting procedure

The final R stands for Regulations

RIDDOR are a set of regulations - this means that RIDDOR is a legal requirement. The reporting responsibilities must be complied with, by law.

Usually, reports must be made within 10 days, and for over 7-day incapacitation, within 15 days. Find out more about when you need to report in RIDDOR reporting timescales explained.

The HSE can (and does) prosecute for failing to report under RIDDOR. In 2018, a contractor was fined £2,700 for failing to report an injury within the specified timeframe.

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For more information on RIDDOR, you can take our RIDDOR eLearning course. On successful completion of the course, you can download a certificate for your training records.