Further changes to RIDDOR

The second set of changes to the RIDDOR regime in two years have now been approved and are set to come into effect from 1^st October 2013.

Following a consultation triggered by recommendations from the Lofstedt report on health and safety law, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013 have been simplified

The HSE is making changes to RIDDOR 1995 that it says will clarify and simplify reporting and ensure data collected gives an accurate and useful picture of workplace incidents.

Key changes due to come into effect on the 1^st October 2013 include; the ‘major injuries’ classification being reduced to a smaller list of ‘specified injuries’ and that fewer types of ‘dangerous occurrences’ will need to be reported. The current list of 47 types of industrial disease is also to be simplified into eight categories of reportable work-related illness.

The HSE has made it clear that there will be no major changes to the reporting of accidents where there is a fatality, where a member of the public is involved or where an employee is incapacitated for more than a week.

The HSE states that this deregulation of RIDDOR will save business £5.9 million over a 10 year period.

This simplification comes as earlier this month, the HSE published figures showing a significant reduction is workplace accidents and Britain continues to have one of the lowest workplace death rates in Europe.  Figures show that workplace fatal injuries have halved in the past 18 years but still represent 1 worker per 200,000 employed and self employed.

Guidance on the changes to RIDDOR can be found on the HSE website.