RIDDOR 2013: What Tradespeople Must Report and How

Quick Answer: RIDDOR — the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1471) — requires employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises to report certain serious workplace incidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). You must report deaths, specified injuries, over-7-day injuries, certain occupational diseases, dangerous occurrences and gas incidents, normally online via the HSE reporting forms (e.g. form F2508). Records must be kept for at least three years.

Summary

RIDDOR applies to almost every tradesperson in the UK, whether you run a firm with employees or work alone as a sole trader. If you are self-employed, you are still a "responsible person" under the regulations and must report reportable incidents that happen to you or that you have control over. Many trades wrongly believe RIDDOR is only for big contractors with safety departments — it is not. A self-employed electrician who fractures a wrist on a job, or a plumber who develops carpal tunnel syndrome from years of repetitive work, both fall within scope.

The purpose of RIDDOR is to give HSE and local authorities the information they need to identify where and how risks arise, investigate serious incidents, and target enforcement. It is not about apportioning blame — reporting an incident is a legal duty, not an admission of fault. Failing to report, however, is a criminal offence and can itself lead to enforcement action and prosecution.

The most common misconceptions are: (1) that you report every cut and bruise — you do not; only specified injuries, over-7-day incapacitations and listed diseases are reportable; (2) that over-3-day injuries must be reported — they must be recorded, not reported; and (3) that domestic clients are responsible for reporting — they are not, the responsible person is the employer, self-employed worker, or whoever controls the premises where the work is being carried out. Getting these distinctions right keeps you compliant and out of trouble.

Key Facts

• Regulation name — Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, SI 2013/1471, in force from 1 October 2013.
• Enforced by — the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and local authorities for some lower-risk premises.
• Who must report — the "responsible person": employers, the self-employed, and people in control of work premises. Self-employed tradespeople are NOT exempt.
• Deaths — any work-related death must be reported without delay (by the quickest means, e.g. phone) and followed up with a report within 10 days.
• Specified injuries (reg 4) — reportable include fractures (other than to fingers, thumbs and toes), amputations, permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight, crush injuries to head/torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs, serious burns covering more than 10% of the body or damaging eyes/respiratory system, scalpings requiring hospital treatment, loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia, and any injury from working in an enclosed space leading to hypothermia, heat illness or requiring resuscitation/24-hour hospital admission.
• Over-7-day injuries (reg 4(2)) — where a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident, but including weekends and rest days) and cannot do their normal work, you must report within 15 days of the accident.
• Over-3-day injuries — must be recorded (e.g. in an accident book) but NOT reported. This is the most commonly confused threshold.
• Occupational diseases (regs 8 & 9) — reportable when a doctor diagnoses a listed condition linked to work, including Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), carpal tunnel syndrome, occupational dermatitis, occupational asthma, tendonitis/tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm, and certain occupational cancers.
• Dangerous occurrences (reg 6, Schedule 2) — "near misses" with high potential for harm that are reportable even if nobody was hurt, e.g. collapse or overturning of lifting equipment, scaffold collapse, electrical short circuit causing fire/explosion, accidental release of a substance that could cause injury.
• Gas incidents — registered gas engineers and gas suppliers have specific reporting duties for dangerous gas fittings and gas-related deaths/injuries.
• Reporting route — almost all reports are made online through HSE's website using the relevant form (the injury/death form is commonly referred to as F2508). A telephone service is available only for fatal and major incidents that need immediate reporting.
• Record keeping — records of reportable incidents must be kept for at least three years from the date the report is made.
• Timescales summary — death: by quickest means + 10-day written report; specified injury: without delay then within 10 days; over-7-day injury: within 15 days; disease: as soon as a diagnosis is received.
• Non-workers (members of the public) — injuries to a member of the public are reportable if the person is taken directly from the scene to hospital for treatment of that injury.

Quick Reference Table

Detailed Guidance

Who is the "responsible person"?

For an employee's injury, the responsible person is the employer. For a self-employed person injured on premises they control, it is the self-employed person themselves. If you are self-employed and injured on premises someone else controls (for example a principal contractor's site), the person in control of those premises is responsible for reporting — but you should still notify them in writing. Domestic clients are never the responsible person; if you are working in someone's home, the duty falls on you or your employer.

What counts as "work-related"?

An incident is reportable only if it "arises out of or in connection with work". HSE applies three tests: whether the way the work was organised, carried out or supervised contributed; whether plant, equipment or substances were involved; and whether the condition of the premises contributed. A tradesperson tripping over their own laces in a way unrelated to the work or the premises may not be reportable; the same trip over poorly stacked materials on site usually is.

How to report

Go to the HSE website and select the appropriate online form. The injury form (F2508) asks for details of the injured person, the incident, the injury, and the workplace. After submitting you receive a copy for your records. For fatal incidents and major incidents requiring an immediate response, HSE operates a telephone line during working hours — but the routine route for everything else is online. Keep the confirmation: it is part of your three-year record.

Recording vs reporting

Recording and reporting are different duties and trades constantly mix them up. Recording means logging the incident in your accident book (or equivalent) — required for over-3-day injuries and good practice for anything. Reporting means notifying HSE — required for deaths, specified injuries, over-7-day injuries, listed diseases, dangerous occurrences and gas incidents. An over-3-day injury is recorded but not reported; an over-7-day injury is both recorded and reported.

Occupational diseases that hit trades hardest

The diseases most relevant to UK trades are HAVS and carpal tunnel syndrome (from prolonged use of vibrating tools such as breakers, grinders and SDS drills), occupational dermatitis (from cement, epoxies, solvents and frequent wet work), occupational asthma (from wood dust, isocyanates in paints and adhesives, and flux fumes), and hand/forearm tendonitis. A report is triggered when a doctor gives a written diagnosis linking the condition to the person's work — keep that diagnosis and report promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm a sole trader with no employees — does RIDDOR apply to me?

Yes. The self-employed are explicitly "responsible persons" under RIDDOR. If you suffer a reportable injury or disease arising from your own work, or a reportable dangerous occurrence happens on premises you control, you must report it.

A worker was off for five days — do I report it?

No. Five days is over three but not over seven, so it is recorded in your accident book, not reported. Reporting is triggered at more than seven consecutive days of incapacitation, with a 15-day reporting deadline.

Do I report a near miss where nobody was hurt?

Only if it is a listed "dangerous occurrence" under Schedule 2 — for example a scaffold collapse, an overturning crane or hoist, or an electrical incident causing fire or explosion. Ordinary near misses are good to record internally but are not RIDDOR-reportable.

What happens if I don't report something I should have?

Failing to report is a criminal offence. HSE can take enforcement action and, for serious failures, prosecute. Late or missing reports also weaken your position if the incident is later investigated. Report within the legal deadline and keep the confirmation.

Regulations & Standards

• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1471) — the primary regulations; defines specified injuries (reg 4), dangerous occurrences (reg 6, Schedule 2) and reportable diseases (regs 8 & 9).
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — the parent Act under which RIDDOR is made; sets the general duty of care.
• Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979 — underpins the requirement to keep an accident book.