Workplace injury reporting reduced

From 6 April, employers no longer have to report injuries which keep workers off normal duties for seven or fewer days – a move which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says will save "thousands of hours", with 30% fewer incidents falling into the 'reportable' bracket. Employers also have more time to file a report, increasing from 10 to15 days from the time of the incident. By increasing the reporting threshold from three to seven days, the change aligns with the 'fit note' system which ensures that someone who is off work because they suffered a reportable injury has a professional medical assessment. Employers and others with responsibilities under RIDDOR must still keep a record of all over-three-day injuries, for example through an accident book. HSE chair Judith Hackitt said: "The change to the RIDDOR regulations will cut paperwork, help employers manage sickness absence and ensure that the reporting system is focused on risks which have resulted in more serious injury. "This is just one of many changes we are making to the health and safety system to make it simpler, clearer and more easily understood - stripping unnecessary paperwork out of the system without compromising essential protections for workers." The change to RIDDOR was recommended in Lord Young's report, Common Sense, Common Safety, published in October 2010 -- for a copy, click the link below.