From Lawpack's Health & Safety at Work Essentials.
Even companies that follows health and safety law to the letter will experience an accident in the workplace at some time or other. It may only be a secretary with a paper cut requiring a plaster or a bruise following a trip down a staircase, but when injuries and accidents occur, you must be able to deal with them. If an incident does happen, then you should complete the following procedure:
- Take the action required to deal with the immediate risk
If first aid is required, ensure that the first aid box is replenished. - Complete the accident book
This should be completed for all accidents at work. - Fill in a RIDDOR form
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) requires employers, the self-employed or those in control of workplaces to report some work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Reporting of accidents can be made via the internet, phone, fax and email or by post to the Incident Contact Centre in Caerphilly (tel. 0845 300 9923).
The accidents you must report are:
- Death or major injury: if an employee, self-employed person or person working on your premises is killed or suffers a major injury, or a member of the public is killed in an accident connected with work, you must notify the HSE or your local authority immediately. Within 10 days, you must follow this up by completing an accident form (Form F2508).
- Over 3-day injury: if an accident connected with work results in an employee or a self-employed person working on your premises having 3 days away from work or being unable to do the full range of duties, then Form F2058 must be completed and sent to the HSE or your local authority (depending on the appropriate enforcing authority) within 10 days.
- Disease: if a doctor notifies you that an employee suffers from a reportable work-related disease, then you must complete Form F2508 and send it to the HSE or your local authority within 10 days. A list of reportable diseases can be obtained from the HSE's Infoline.
- Investigate the accident
It's essential to ascertain the cause of an accident and, once the cause has been established, to prevent a recurrence of that accident. Consider whether you need to take witness statements and record other information for future use, for example, in case there may be a prosecution or a civil claim. Find out what happened and why. Also look at near misses, as often it's only by chance that someone wasn't injured. Most accidents have more than one cause so try and deal with the root causes. - Do a post-accident risk assessment
This should be considered in any case and certainly undertaken in the case of a serious or recurring accident. - Tell your insurer
It will be a term of your policy that certain accidents must be reported. Check your own employer's liability insurance policy for details.