Industry views are being sought on the proposal to relax rules about reporting workplace injuries, with seven days off work instead of three being the trigger for injuries to be reported.
The Health & Safety Executive has begun a three-month consultation on proposed changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995.
Changes to RIDDOR were recommended in Lord Young’s report on health and safety published last year, which contained a proposal to increase the threshold for reporting workplace injuries to seven days.
Under current rules when an employee is absent from work for more than three days following an incident, employers are required to report the injury to the relevant enforcing authority - either HSE or the local council. The proposed amendment increases this 'over three day' period to over seven consecutive days.
The change would align the incident reporting threshold 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 paper is available online at www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd233.htm[1]. The deadline for responses is 9 May 2011.
The HSE will consider the responses and expects to submit recommendations to the secretary of state for work and pensions.
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) are regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). This law requires businesses to report to regulators the more serious work related injuries and ill health as well as incidents that have the potential to cause serious harm. Certain injuries to members of the public affected by the business undertaking are reportable too.
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