RIDDOR Reporting: A Plain-English Guide for UK Trades Businesses

What Is RIDDOR?

RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. It's the law that requires UK employers, self-employed people, and people in control of work premises to report certain workplace accidents, diseases, and near misses to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

For trades businesses — construction, electrical, gas, plumbing, maintenance — RIDDOR matters more than most industries, because the sector has one of the highest injury rates in the UK workforce.

Who Must Report?

The duty to report falls on the "responsible person," which is usually:

• The employer (if a worker is injured at work)
• The self-employed person (for their own injuries in certain circumstances)
• The person in control of the premises (if a member of the public is injured)

If you run a trades business, you are likely the responsible person for your employees and any subcontractors you deploy under your direction.

What Must Be Reported to the HSE?

Deaths

Any work-related death must be reported immediately by telephone, followed by a written report within 10 days.

Specified Injuries (to employees)

Specified injuries include:

• Fractures (excluding fingers, thumbs, or toes)
• Amputations
• Any injury resulting in permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight
• Any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
• Any burn injury (including scalding) that covers more than 10% of the body
• Any degloving or scalping requiring hospital treatment
• Any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
• Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space that leads to hypothermia, heat-induced illness, or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours

Specified injuries must be reported immediately and then followed up in writing within 10 days.

Over-7-Day Incapacitation

If a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident), this must be reported within 15 days of the accident.

Note: The over-3-day threshold (where an accident is recorded internally) is still required to be kept in your accident book, but is not reported to the HSE.

Dangerous Occurrences (Near Misses)

These are defined events that have the potential to cause death or serious injury but didn't. Examples relevant to trades include:

• Collapse, overturning, or failure of load-bearing equipment (e.g. scaffolding collapse)
• Accidental release of flammable liquids that could ignite
• Unintentional ignition or explosion of explosives
• Contact with overhead power lines
• Accidental release of any substance in a quantity sufficient to cause death or major injury

Occupational Diseases

Certain occupational diseases must also be reported when a worker is diagnosed by a doctor. For trades, relevant examples include:

• Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) from prolonged use of power tools
• Occupational asthma from dust or chemical exposure
• Work-related carpal tunnel syndrome
• Dermatitis from exposure to substances like cement, solvents, or adhesives
• Noise-induced hearing loss

How to Report

RIDDOR reports are submitted to the HSE online at hse.gov.uk/riddor. You'll need:

• Details of the person injured (name, job title, nature of employment)
• Date, time, and location of the incident
• A description of what happened
• The nature of the injury
• Whether the injured person was taken to hospital

Keep a copy of every RIDDOR report you submit. Enforcement officers can request evidence up to three years after an incident.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Failing to report a RIDDOR incident is a criminal offence. The HSE can prosecute under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and penalties include:

• Fines (no upper limit in serious cases)
• Improvement notices
• Prohibition notices stopping work

In practice, a missed RIDDOR report is often discovered during an HSE investigation following an incident — at which point you're dealing with both the investigation and the non-compliance.

Best Practice: Record Everything

Even incidents that don't meet RIDDOR thresholds should be recorded in your accident book. This creates an audit trail, helps identify patterns, and demonstrates good faith to the HSE if they ever investigate.

A compliance management platform can automate this: log incidents, check whether they meet RIDDOR thresholds, generate pre-filled reports, and set reminders for follow-up reporting deadlines.

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