On a busy site, paperwork is rarely the first thing on a tradesman’s mind. But when something goes wrong, the law expects a specific report to land with the right authority inside a set window. That law is RIDDOR, and getting it wrong can cost a business its reputation, its insurance position, and in serious cases, its directors.
This guide breaks down RIDDOR reporting in plain terms for tradesmen, site managers, and anyone working towards CSCS, SSSTS, or SMSTS qualifications.
What RIDDOR Is and Why It Exists
RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. The current version, RIDDOR 2013 (Statutory Instrument 2013/1471), came into force on 1 October 2013 and sits under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It applies across Great Britain. Northern Ireland operates under a separate but very similar regime, RIDDOR (NI) 1997.
The purpose is straightforward. RIDDOR gives the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities a national picture of how, where, and why people are getting hurt at work. That data drives:
- Inspection priorities and enforcement campaigns
- Prosecution decisions
- Updated guidance for trades like construction, electrical, gas, roofing, and groundworks
According to the HSE’s 2024/25 statistics, 124 workers were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain. Construction accounted for 35 of those deaths, the highest of any sector, with falls from height remaining the single biggest killer. If you work on a site, the numbers behind the regulations are not abstract.
Who Has the Legal Duty to Report
RIDDOR is clear that reporting is the job of the “responsible person.” That means one of the following:
- The employer of an injured worker
- A self-employed person, where they are working on their own
- The person in control of the premises where the work is happening
What This Means in Practice
The injured worker does not have a legal duty to file a RIDDOR report. Neither does a member of the public who gets hurt on your site. Employees should flag incidents internally through the accident book and to their supervisor, but the formal report to the HSE is the dutyholder’s obligation.
This matters for subcontractors. If you trade as a sole trader plastering a kitchen for a main contractor and you injure yourself, the main contractor in control of the premises is normally the responsible person.
On CDM 2015 projects, the principal contractor coordinates overall site health and safety, but the RIDDOR duty itself still tracks the employment relationship and control of premises. Where two duties could overlap, agree in writing on site who is making the report before work starts.
Director and Manager Liability
Directors and managers should also be aware of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Where a RIDDOR-reportable incident is caused by the consent, connivance, or neglect of a senior officer, that individual can be prosecuted personally, either alongside the company or instead of it.
What Must Be Reported
Not every cut, bruise, or near-miss is a RIDDOR matter. The regulations capture seven specific categories.
1. Work-related Deaths
Any death of a worker or member of the public arising from a work-related accident is reportable. This also includes a death that happens within one year of the original accident, where the injury sustained at work was the cause. Suicides are currently excluded from the regulations.
2. Specified Injuries to Workers (Regulation 4)
The “specified injuries” must be reported without delay. They are:
- Fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs, and toes
- Amputation of an arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot, or toe
- Any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction of sight
- Any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
- Serious burns covering more than 10% of the body, or damaging the eyes, respiratory system, or other vital organs
- Any scalping requiring hospital treatment
- Any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
- Any injury arising from working in an enclosed space leading to hypothermia, heat-induced illness, or requiring resuscitation or hospital admission for more than 24 hours
A common mistake on site is treating a wrist or ankle fracture as too minor to report. It is not. Only fingers, thumbs, and toes are excluded.
3. Over-7-day Injuries to Workers
If a work-related accident leaves a worker unable to do their normal duties for more than seven consecutive days, that injury becomes reportable.
A few practical points trip people up:
- The day of the accident does not count, but weekends, bank holidays, and rest days do
- Light duties or restricted work still count as incapacitation
- The 15-day window for the report runs from the date of the accident, not the date you spot the threshold has been crossed
A worker injured on Monday who returns to full normal duties the following Tuesday week has crossed the threshold.
4. Injuries to Non-workers
If a member of the public, a delivery driver, or a visitor is injured by a work activity and is taken directly from the scene to hospital for treatment, the incident is reportable. The injury does not need to be a specified injury for non-workers. The trigger is the trip to hospital for treatment of an injury caused by the work activity.
5. Occupational Diseases
Eight categories of work-related disease must be reported when a doctor formally diagnoses them in connection with the work the person does. Of most relevance to tradesmen:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome where work involves regular use of percussive or vibrating tools
- Severe cramp of the hand or forearm from prolonged repetitive movements
- Occupational dermatitis from work with known skin irritants or sensitisers
- Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS)
- Occupational asthma linked to triggers such as isocyanates, wood dust, or flour
- Tendonitis or tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm caused by repetitive work
- Any occupational cancer linked to a workplace carcinogen
- Any disease attributed to occupational exposure to a biological agent
The reporting clock starts when the responsible person receives the written diagnosis, not when symptoms first appear.
6. Dangerous Occurrences
These are the near-misses serious enough to demand a report even when nobody was hurt. Schedule 2 of RIDDOR lists 27 categories for general workplaces, with separate parts for mines, quarries, offshore installations, and rail transport. The ones tradesmen are most likely to encounter include:
- Collapse, overturning, or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts, hoists, cranes, or excavators
- Failure of pressure systems or pressure vessels
- Plant or equipment coming into contact with overhead power lines
- Electrical short circuit or overload causing fire or explosion
- Collapse of a scaffold over 5 metres high, or any scaffold over water where there is a risk of drowning
- Unintentional collapse of a building or structure under construction where more than five tonnes of material falls
- Accidental release of any substance which may damage health
The test is reasonable judgement on whether the incident created a real risk of harm, not whether someone was actually hurt.
7. Gas Incidents
Two duties sit here. First, Gas Safe registered engineers must report any gas appliance or fitting they consider dangerous to the point it could cause death, loss of consciousness, or hospital treatment. Second, suppliers of flammable gas must report incidents linked to that gas where a person dies or is injured.
When Reports Must Be Submitted
The timeframes are strict. Miss them and you have committed an offence in your own right, separate from anything that caused the original incident.
| Incident type | Initial notification | Written report deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | Without delay (phone HSE) | 10 days |
| Specified injuries | Without delay | 10 days |
| Dangerous occurrences | Without delay | 10 days |
| Over-7-day injuries | Not applicable | 15 days from accident |
| Occupational diseases | On receipt of written diagnosis | As soon as practicable |
| Gas incidents | Without delay | 10 days (14 for combustion-related) |
“Without delay” generally means the same working day, or the next working day if the incident happens overnight. Records of all reportable incidents must be kept for at least three years under Regulation 12. The accident book is not a substitute for the report. The two duties run in parallel.
How to Submit a Report
The HSE’s online reporting portal is the default route. The forms (collectively still known as F2508, the standard report reference) cover:
- Injuries
- Dangerous occurrences
- Diseases
- Flammable gas incidents
- Dangerous gas fittings
The telephone route on 0345 300 9923 is reserved for fatal and specified injuries only, and only during office hours (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm).
Before you start the form, gather:
- Date and time of the incident
- The injured person's details
- A description of what happened
- The work activity at the time
- Any witnesses
- A description of what happened
You will receive a copy of the submitted report to keep on file. For railway incidents, reports go to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) instead of the HSE.
Common Reporting Failures on Site
Three patterns account for most enforcement action.
Logging the incident in the accident book only. Recording and reporting are different legal duties. Both must happen.
Miscounting the seven-day rule. Supervisors often count working days instead of consecutive days, or restart the clock when the worker comes back on light duties. Light duties still count as incapacitation.
Failing to report dangerous occurrences. A scaffold collapse with no injuries is still reportable. So is a digger bucket catching an overhead line. Treating these as “no harm, no foul” is a clear breach.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Failure to report under RIDDOR is a criminal offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Since the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, fines for health and safety offences are unlimited in both the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court. The most serious breaches carry custodial sentences of up to two years on indictment. Directors and senior officers can also face disqualification of up to 15 years under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
Beyond the fine, a missed report sits as an aggravating factor in any later HSE investigation, which can push a case from civil enforcement into criminal prosecution.
Insurers also treat late or missed reports as a red flag. Most employers’ liability and public liability policies require notification of any reportable incident within a set window, typically 24 to 48 hours. The exact timeframe is set by the policy itself, not by RIDDOR, so check your wording. A failure to notify can be cited as a breach of policy conditions. TradeFox helps learners build practical knowledge around construction work, site procedures, and everyday responsibilities that matter long after the job is finished.
Le bilan
RIDDOR is not bureaucracy for its own sake. It is the mechanism through which UK workplaces, particularly in trades with serious injury rates, are held to a baseline of safety.
Knowing the seven categories, the dutyholder rules, and the 10 and 15-day windows is part of operating professionally on site. If you run a small firm or work as a self-employed tradesman, build the question “is this RIDDOR reportable?” into your incident process. It is far cheaper to ask than to explain a missed report to an inspector.
