11 Jul 2013
Proposed amendments to simply the mandatory reporting of accidents in the workplace have been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
It is hoped that changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (Riddor) 1995 will clarify and simplify reporting needs for businesses, and ensure that data provides an accurate picture of accidents in the workplace.
The main changes are as follows: the classification of “major injuries” replaced with a shorter list of “specified injuries”; eight categories of reportable work-related illness to replace the current list of 47 types of industrial disease, and less types of “dangerous occurrence” will need reporting.
There were not be any significant changes to reporting requirements for fatal accidents, accidents to non-employees and accidents that result in an employee being unable to perform their usual duties for more than a week.
The HSE has published the information now to allow firms and employers familiarise themselves with the changes which are on track for implementation in October, subject to Parliamentary approval.
The changes are estimated to save business a net benefit of £5.9 million over a 10-year period by requiring less incidents to be reported.
Copyright Press Association 2013