HSE to support increasing RIDDOR reporting window

Health & Safety update 19/08/2011

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will recommend increasing the absence period that triggers an accident report under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) to the Secretary of State.

The HSE agreed that the absence period should be increased from three to seven days following a board meeting that had been called to discuss the recommendation in Lord Young’s 'Common Sense, Common Safety' report.

The work safety body carried out a consultation on the matter, which garnered 775 responses, 67 per cent of which supported the change.

An HSE spokesman said that they had come to the decision on the back of the consultation, in which business leaders had responded two to one in favour of the recommendations in the review.

The consultation asked respondents to state the key themes they believed could be aided by the increasing of the time frame. Many said it would obviously diminish administrative burdens and also allow time for a full investigation in to an incident to be carried out internally, before having to register it.

A number of employers said that they felt some employees extended their absence in order to have an incident officially reported. They said that requiring them to obtain a 'fit note' in order to return to work and to undergo the requisite medical examination before reports were made, would do much to eliminate this problem. The employers felt it would have a positive impact on the "claims culture".

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