The regulations themselves and their legal requirements have not been affected, but following stakeholder feedback a number of improvements have occurred. The HSE information highlights these areas, including:
- More direct links to guidance on types of reportable incidents;
- 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; and
- Increased clarity on when an ‘over-7-day’ absence should be reported.
Further changes to the reporting process itself has seen the frontloading of questions about severity of injuries and pop-up messages redirecting users if the incident is not reportable.
The primary aim of the changes is to help those looking to report decide more quickly and easily if indeed a RIDDOR report is needed and, if so, that the forms are easier to use. Over 60,000 non-fatal work-related injuries to employees were reported by employers under RIDDOR in 2022/23. What we don’t know is how many were erroneously reported, and more importantly how many that should have been reported but were not. Hopefully these changes will bring greater clarity to the process.
Here is a link to the HSE information on RIDDOR: Go to the updated guidance on RIDDOR