While no changes have been made to Regulation itself the guidance on the HSE website has been updated, the intention being to help employers understand how and when they should submit a report under RIDDOR. The changes to the guidance have been based on feedback gathered from stakeholders who felt the previous guidance was unclear in some places.
The main changes to the guidance include:
- Direct links to guidance on the various types of reportable incidents to guide decisions on whether a report is actually required;
- Improved guidance on who should and should not report under RIDDOR;
- Improved guidance on what is meant by a ‘work-related’ accident;
- Information on when an occupational disease is not reportable;
- Increased clarity on when an ‘over-7-day’ absence should be reported.
The online RIDDOR reporting forms have also been updated, the changes to these include:
- Questions regarding the severity of injury are now at the beginning of the form which will help in deciding whether the incident is reportable;
- Pop-up messages now redirect you if the incident is not reportable;
- Guidance has been improved throughout the forms to make them easier to use.
If you have any questions on any of the issues raised in the above article, please contact Gary Foggo.