What Does RIDDOR Stand For?

RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, and understanding it is a legal obligation for virtually every employer, self-employed person, and premises controller across the United Kingdom. Whether you run a construction site, a busy office, or a small retail unit, RIDDOR applies to you. This guide explains what the regulations require, who they affect, and what you need to do to stay on the right side of the law.

RIDDOR is a set of UK health and safety regulations that make it a legal requirement to report certain workplace incidents to the relevant enforcing authority. The regulations cover deaths, specified injuries, occupational diseases, and dangerous occurrences that arise out of or in connection with work activities.

The enforcing authority is usually the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), though local authorities and the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) also have enforcement responsibilities depending on the type of workplace. When a reportable incident occurs, the responsible person must notify the relevant authority by the quickest practicable means and submit a formal report within the specified timescale.

RIDDOR is not simply a bureaucratic exercise. The data collected through RIDDOR reporting helps enforcing authorities identify emerging risk patterns across industries, target inspections and awareness campaigns more effectively, and build the national accident statistics that businesses and safety professionals rely on each year to benchmark their own performance. Without consistent reporting, this picture would be incomplete and less useful to everyone involved.

Compliance is not optional. Failing to report a notifiable incident under RIDDOR is a criminal offence and can result in prosecution, fines, and reputational damage. For most businesses, the practical risk of non-compliance far outweighs the administrative effort of making a report.

What is RIDDOR?

RIDDOR has been part of UK health and safety law since the 1980s, though it has been updated twice to reflect changes in working practices and regulatory priorities. The original version, RIDDOR 1985, came into force on 1 April 1986. A significant revision followed a decade later, with RIDDOR 1995 taking effect on 1 April 1996.

The current version, RIDDOR 2013, has been in force since 1 October 2013. It simplified the reporting framework considerably compared to its predecessor, most notably by replacing the previous categories of major injury with a tighter list of specified injuries and by extending the over-seven-day incapacitation reporting period from three days to seven. These changes were intended to reduce administrative burden on businesses while maintaining meaningful data collection.

Understanding which version of RIDDOR applies is straightforward: RIDDOR 2013 is the current law. Any reference to older guidance based on the 1995 regulations should be treated with caution, as some of the thresholds and categories differ in ways that matter for compliance purposes.

When was RIDDOR introduced?

The first version of RIDDOR, RIDDOR 1985, came into force on the 1st of April 1986.

RIDDOR was updated ten years later – RIDDOR 1995, coming into force on the 1st of April 1996.

And the latest version of RIDDOR – RIDDOR 2013 – has been in force since the 1st of October 2013.

What is the purpose of RIDDOR?

RIDDOR’s main purpose is to ensure that specific incidents get reported to enforcing authorities.

The report informs the enforcing authorities (HSE, local authorities and the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR)) about deaths, injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences, so they can identify where and how risks arise, and whether they need to be investigated.HSE Reporting accidents and incidents at work pg. 1

RIDDOR reporting isn’t just for prosecutions; it’s also so that enforcing authorities can know where to target and conduct awareness and inspections to improve safety.

RIDDOR reports form the basis for many of the accident statistics released each year, which can help businesses identify areas of risk by industry and accident type.

What does RIDDOR do?

RIDDOR places duties on employers, self-employed, and people in control of work premises, so it is important to know and understand what RIDDOR stands for so that you can comply.

Under RIDDOR, you need to report RIDDOR reportable injuries at work, including:

• Serious workplace accidents
• Occupational diseases
• Specified dangerous occurrences

RIDDOR applies at work, so only work-related accidents (other than specific gas-related incidents) need to be considered. An accident is work-related if any of the following is a factor:

• The way the work was carried out
• Any machinery, plant, substances or equipment used for the work or
• The condition of the site or premises where the accident happened

Not all injuries are reportable. Accidents that only involve very minor injuries might not need to be reported. The regulations are specific on what needs to be reported, so let’s look at what RIDDOR stands for, letter by letter.

The R in RIDDOR stands for Reporting.

RIDDOR is all about reporting. The regulations themselves specify what events should be reported and when.

In all cases, reports under RIDDOR should be made without delay. The enforcing authority (usually the HSE) may want to investigate, so the sooner they know about it, the better.

1. notify the relevant enforcing authority of the reportable incident by the quickest practicable means without delay; and
2. send a report of that incident in an approved manner to the relevant enforcing authority within 10 days of the incident […].

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 Schedule 1

The I in RIDDOR stands for Injuries

I stands for the injuries you need to report under RIDDOR.

These are deaths, specified injuries (such as fractures, amputations, crush injuries to the head or torso and serious burns), any injury that results in a worker being unable to perform normal work duties for more than 7 days, and injuries to non-workers which result in them being taken directly to a hospital for treatment.

Without question, fatalities must always be reported under RIDDOR. Where any person dies as a result of a work-related accident, regardless of whether or not they are an employee, it must be reported.

Non-fatal injuries must also be reported. These could be one of the specified injuries or any other injury that has prevented the worker from carrying out normal duties for more than seven days.

Specified injuries to workers include:

• Bone fractures
• Amputations
• Blindness or reduction in sight
• Crush injuries to the head or torso
• Burn injuries
• Scalping
• Loss of consciousness
• Hypothermia or heat-induced illness
• Resuscitation
• Hospital admittance

Where any non-worker is taken to a hospital for treatment of an injury, it is also reportable under RIDDOR.

The D in RIDDOR stands for Diseases.

Not just accidents need to be reported under RIDDOR. If workers have been exposed to things that have harmed their health, you may need to do so.

These reports are for occupational diseases likely to have been caused or made worse by work, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, hand-arm vibration syndrome, occupational cancer, occupational dermatitis, tendonitis, or severe cramps of the hand or forearm.

The DO in RIDDOR stands for Dangerous Occurrences

These near-miss events did not cause injury but could have resulted in serious injury. Not every near-miss must be reported, but the more serious ones do.

The types of dangerous occurrences you need to report are specified in the regulations and include:

• The collapse or failure of lifts and lifting equipment, plant or equipment.
• Contact with power lines.
• The accidental release of dangerous substances.
• Electric incidents cause serious fires and explosions, among others.

7. Where there is a dangerous occurrence, the responsible person must follow the reporting procedure

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 Dangerous occurrences

The final R stands for Regulations

RIDDOR is a set of regulations, which means that it is a legal requirement. The reporting responsibilities must be complied with by law.

Usually, reports must be made within 10 days, and for over 7-day incapacitation, within 15 days. Find out more about when you need to report in RIDDOR reporting timescales explained.