RIDDOR Reportable Incidents: What Counts and Who Reports

RIDDOR is the short name for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, the law that requires certain serious work-related incidents to be reported to the enforcing authority. It does not cover every accident. It covers specific categories, which HSE sets out on its website. This article gives you the meaning and the main categories in plain English, and it is independent study material that is not affiliated with CSCS or CITB.

Key takeaways

What RIDDOR means

RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. The word "reporting" is the key. The regulations are not a way of deciding who is to blame, and they are not about every cut or bruise. They exist so that the enforcing authority hears about serious events and can see patterns in how people are being hurt at work.

HSE's RIDDOR reporting page explains who must report, what must be reported and how to do it. Because the detailed rules include conditions and exceptions, this article stays at the level of definitions. When you need to decide whether a real incident is reportable, use the HSE website and follow your employer's procedure.

What kinds of incident does RIDDOR cover?

HSE's page on types of reportable incidents sets out the categories. In general terms they are:

Treat the table as a map, not a rulebook. Each category has its own conditions, and HSE keeps the detail up to date. If you are unsure, check the page before you decide.

A note on dangerous occurrences

Dangerous occurrences are events that did not necessarily injure anyone but could have. Examples in Schedule 2 include the collapse of a scaffold over 5 metres high, the failure of lifting equipment, or plant or equipment unintentionally touching an uninsulated overhead electric line over 200 volts. Each type has its own definition in Schedule 2 of the Regulations, so do not assume that any collapse or any near miss is automatically reportable.

Who reports and what you should do as a worker

The law places the duty to report on the responsible person. In general practice that is usually the employer, the self-employed person, or the person in control of the premises or site. A site worker does not usually submit the RIDDOR report personally, but the report can only be made if the worker tells the right people quickly.

If an incident happens, a sensible order of actions is:

• [ ] Get first aid or emergency help for anyone who is hurt.
• [ ] Make the area safe, if you can do so without putting yourself at risk.
• [ ] Tell your supervisor or site manager straight away.
• [ ] Follow your site's procedure for recording the incident.
• [ ] Help whoever is responsible to understand what happened, and avoid disturbing the scene unnecessarily unless it is needed for safety.
• [ ] Leave the decision about whether it is reportable, and the reporting itself, to the responsible person, who should check HSE's guidance.

This is general guidance, not a substitute for your employer's own arrangements or for legal advice. Sites vary, and the procedure on your contract is the one to follow.

Why the rules exist

The reports that come in help the enforcing authority to see where and how people are being hurt, and to decide where to focus advice and inspection. For the people on site, the same information helps employers learn from incidents, so that the cause is fixed and the same thing does not happen to the next person.

RIDDOR is not the same as an accident book entry

Telling the difference between a report, a record and an investigation clears up a lot of confusion about the term. A report goes to the enforcing authority. A record stays with the employer. An investigation looks for the root cause so that it can be put right.

It is easy to treat "reportable" and "recorded" as the same thing. They are not. Many accidents and near misses are not reportable under RIDDOR but should still be recorded and investigated within the site's own system, so that causes can be put right before someone is seriously hurt. Equally, reporting to HSE does not replace the internal investigation. Both matter.

Another common mix-up is between RIDDOR and the risk assessment process. A risk assessment tries to prevent harm before it happens. RIDDOR deals with what must be reported after something has happened. You can read more about the planning side in the site safety terms overview, and about the reporting side in RIDDOR reporting on site.

How RIDDOR can appear in test questions

Practice questions about RIDDOR usually test understanding rather than detail. A scenario might describe an incident and ask what the sensible next step is, or ask what RIDDOR is for. The safest thinking is:

• The injured person comes first, so get help.
• Tell the right person quickly, usually your supervisor.
• Do not decide on your own to hide or ignore an incident because it seems minor.
• Remember that RIDDOR is about reporting to the authorities, and your site will have its own recording system too.

You can try questions of this kind on the free practice questions page. Practice results are not an official result, and for the real test format you should check the official CITB pages.

A worked example: a fall from a stepladder

Here is a made-up incident to show the order of events. This is not a ruling on whether any real incident is reportable, because that depends on the details and on the HSE guidance.

A plasterer on a refurbishment loses their footing on a stepladder and falls to the floor. They are conscious but in pain and cannot get up.

Immediately. A colleague calls for first aid and, if needed, emergency help. Nobody moves the person unless there is a danger that requires it. Another worker stops anyone using that ladder.

Within the next few minutes. The supervisor is told straight away. The area is made safe so that nobody else is hurt, and the ladder is left alone for now so that its condition can be looked at later.

After the person has been cared for. The incident is recorded under the site's own procedure. The responsible person then checks the HSE types of reportable incidents page to decide whether the injury falls into a reportable category, such as a specified injury, or whether the worker is off work for the period the page describes. If it does, they report it in the way HSE sets out.

Afterwards. The site looks at why it happened. Was the ladder the right equipment? Was the task suited to it? What needs to change? That investigation happens whether or not the incident is reportable.

The worker's job in all of this is to get help, tell the right person quickly, and cooperate. The decision to report belongs to the responsible person.

What to have ready when you tell your supervisor

Clear facts help the responsible person decide quickly and accurately. This is general practice rather than a legal requirement, and your site may have its own form.

• [ ] What happened, in the order it happened.
• [ ] Where and when it happened.
• [ ] Who was involved, and who saw it.
• [ ] What the injured person was doing and what equipment or plant was involved.
• [ ] What first aid or treatment was given, and whether the person went to hospital.
• [ ] Whether anything was left in place or moved, and why.
• [ ] Whether anyone not employed on the site, such as a visitor or a member of the public, was affected.

Stick to what you saw. Do not guess at causes or blame in the first report, because the investigation is there to work that out. For more on the practical side of reporting, see RIDDOR reporting on site, and for the wider vocabulary the site safety terms overview.

FAQ

Sources

• HSE: RIDDOR reporting
• HSE: Types of reportable incidents
• Legislation.gov.uk: RIDDOR 2013, Schedule 2

Independent guide, not affiliated with, authorised by, approved by or endorsed by CSCS or CITB. Last updated 2026-10-08.