The union Unite has recently issued a safety rep alert around the current position with regards to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations SI 1995/3163 (RIDDOR).
The alert was issued following reports that some employers believed that a change in the law had already taken place in respect of when injuries should be reported. Unite points out that the change from the existing legal requirement to report injuries requiring over three days off work, to only those requiring over seven days off is still only a proposal.
The alert says, "The changes have not yet become law, and if these proposals are adopted by the Government the law is not likely to change before at least 1 April 2012. Even if the law on reporting changes from over three days to over seven day incapacitation, employers must still record over three days injuries."
Unite concludes, "Safety reps need to be alert to this and ensure that all injuries and incidents are reported to their employer, and as a minimum their employer keeps records in accordance with the continuing requirements of RIDDOR."
In August, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board recommended to the Government that the absence period that triggers an accident report to the HSE or local authority under RIDDOR should increase from three days to seven days.
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