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    RIDDORReporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations

    Definition

    Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations — duties to report specified work-related events in Great Britain.

    Editorial definition: The QHSE Standard, updated 3 October 2026 · https://qhsetech.com/glossary/riddor

    Scope: Apply the relevant event definition and reporting route; an internal incident report is not automatically a RIDDOR report.

    Sources checked: . Examples are editorial illustrations.

    What RIDDOR 2013 and HSE say is reportable

    The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1471) require a responsible person to report specified work-related events to the enforcing authority in Great Britain. HSE's page groups the reportable events as specified injuries to workers, occupational diseases, exposure to carcinogens, mutagens and biological agents, dangerous occurrences, and a set of exemptions. Regulation 4 lists the specified injuries, among them a bone fracture diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner other than to a finger, thumb or toe, amputations, injuries likely to cause permanent blindness or reduced sight, crush injuries to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs in the chest or abdomen, burns over more than 10 per cent of the body surface or causing significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs, scalping needing hospital treatment, loss of consciousness from a head injury or asphyxia, and certain injuries in enclosed spaces.

    The event decides the route, and the timing differs. An accident that leaves a worker unable to do their normal work for more than seven consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident, must be reported within 15 days using an approved method. HSE says that when the extent of an injury is unclear at first, no precautionary report of a specified injury is required: the enforcing authority is notified or updated once the injury is confirmed, and the accident may still be reportable under the seven-day rule. The HSE page on specified injuries gives no deadline for them, so check the current guidance for the reporting route and time limit before building an alert.

    Regulation 12 separates reporting from recording. The responsible person keeps a record of reportable incidents and diagnoses, and also of work-related injuries that incapacitate an employee for more than three consecutive days, although those shorter absences are not reportable. Entries are kept for at least three years from the date they were made, at the workplace or the responsible person's usual place of business, and a record kept for another purpose can serve if it covers every recordable injury and the required particulars. This page is general information, not legal advice, and an internal incident report does not by itself decide whether a RIDDOR report is due.

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    What a RIDDOR record holds in software

    • The event type as RIDDOR names it (specified injury, over-seven-day incapacity, disease, dangerous occurrence), held apart from the company's own severity class.
    • The dates that matter: the accident date, the days of incapacity counted as the Regulations count them, the date any report was made and its reference.
    • The status of the person involved, such as employee, contractor's worker or a person not at work, because the rules for each differ.
    • A decision log for borderline events, including a note when a specified injury was not yet confirmed.
    • A separate list of injuries with more than three consecutive days of incapacity that are recordable but not reportable.
    • The retention date of at least three years from each entry.

    RIDDOR report, incident report and OSHA record

    An internal incident report is a company record that may or may not meet a RIDDOR definition, and a RIDDOR report is a statutory notification and not an investigation. US OSHA recordkeeping uses different criteria and forms, so a case recordable under one regime is not automatically reportable under the other.

    A hypothetical example: a fall that is not clear on day one

    This scenario is invented and describes no real employer or injury. A warehouse operative falls from a loading dock on a Monday and goes to hospital, where a wrist is X-rayed and the first reading shows no fracture. The supervisor logs an internal incident, and the safety adviser sets the RIDDOR field to 'decision pending' with the reason, so the entry does not disappear into the general incident list.

    On Thursday a registered medical practitioner confirms a fracture of the wrist, which is not a finger, thumb or toe. The adviser records the confirmation date, makes the report through the HSE route and attaches the reference to the incident. A second operative who strained a shoulder on the same shift is off for five days. That case is not reportable, but it is recorded because the absence exceeds three consecutive days, and the entry is held for at least three years.

    Common misunderstandings about RIDDOR

    • RIDDOR does not cover every injury. It names specified injuries, over-seven-day incapacity, diseases and dangerous occurrences, and HSE lists exemptions.
    • Seven days is not three days. Incapacity for more than seven consecutive days is reportable within 15 days, while more than three consecutive days is a recording duty.
    • Waiting for confirmation is not a breach. HSE says no precautionary report of a specified injury is required when the extent is unknown, but the report is due once the injury is confirmed.
    • A report does not replace an investigation. It notifies the enforcing authority, and the causes are still found through the company's own process.
    • A system label is not a determination. A tool that tags an event as RIDDOR has applied a rule someone wrote, and a competent person still checks the event against the Regulations.

    How RIDDOR relates to other glossary terms

    RIDDOR is one statutory outlet for information that starts in the incident process.

    • Near miss: an event with no injury, though some dangerous occurrences are reportable without one.
    • Incident investigation: the process that finds causes after a reportable event.
    • Recordable incident: the US OSHA recording concept, which uses different criteria.
    • CDM Regulations: the construction duties that run alongside RIDDOR on a project, each with its own triggers.

    Records and evidence that usually exist for RIDDOR

    • The original incident report, with witness statements and photographs.
    • Medical confirmation dates for injuries classed as specified.
    • The decision record for whether and when a report was due.
    • The report submitted to the enforcing authority and its reference.
    • Absence records showing the days of incapacity.
    • The record of injuries with more than three consecutive days of incapacity.

    What a software tool needs to capture for RIDDOR

    • A RIDDOR category field set by a named person and kept separate from internal severity.
    • Date logic for days of incapacity that leaves out the day of the accident and flags the seventh consecutive day.
    • A pending-decision status for injuries whose extent is not yet confirmed, with an owner and a reminder.
    • Storage of the submitted report and its reference on the incident.
    • A recordable-but-not-reportable list for the more-than-three-day cases.
    • Retention of entries for at least three years, with an export for an inspector.
    • A field for the person's status, such as employee, contractor or member of the public.

    Catalog profiles documenting incident reporting or management

    The list follows the incident reporting or management rule. It does not show that a product applies the RIDDOR definitions, counts the days of incapacity or prepares a report for HSE.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Incident Management” or “Incident Reporting”, with a sourced incident reporting or management capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

    All 56 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.

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    Frequently asked questions

    Is every lost-time injury reportable under RIDDOR?

    No. Incapacity for more than seven consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident, is reportable within 15 days, while an injury that incapacitates a worker for more than three consecutive days only has to be recorded. Check the current HSE guidance on how the days are counted.

    Who makes the report?

    The Regulations place the duty on the responsible person, and for injuries to employees that is the employer. Other people can hold the duty in other cases, so confirm who does on a shared site.

    How long must RIDDOR records be kept?

    Regulation 12 requires entries to be kept for at least three years from the date they were made. Records kept for another purpose can count if they cover every recordable injury and hold the particulars the Regulations require.

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