HSENI delay RIDDOR changes until 2013

In a change from normal customs, Regulations to provide for changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 1997/455 (RIDDOR) will not come into force closely after those in Great Britain.

RIDDOR's over three day injury reporting requirement will change in Great Britain from 6 April 2012, when new amending Regulations come into force. From then, the trigger point for reporting work-related injuries will increase from over three days' to over seven days' incapacitation.

However, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the District Councils are currently working together to consider the merits of establishing a central point of contact for reporting work-related incidents. If a new reporting system is agreed, the HSENI believe that it would make sense for it to be implemented at the same time as the legislative change.

The HSENI also wish to:

• avoid a mid-year change to the reporting requirement, which may cause confusion to RIDDOR duty-holders, and would cause a difficulty in reconciling accident statistics for the year 2012/13; and
• update Northern Ireland's detailed RIDDOR reporting guidance, the guidance leaflet, and the RIDDOR report forms (to reflect all changes), and to make these available to stakeholders well in advance of the changes.

For these reasons, it is planned that Regulations effecting the trigger point change in Northern Ireland will come into force in April 2013. This means that, in the interim, the trigger point for RIDDOR reporting in Northern Ireland will remain at over three days' incapacitation.

For more information, see:

• HSA 31 - A guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997.