The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) places legal duties on employers, the self-employed, and people in control of premises to report certain workplace incidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). However, not every accident or near-miss in the workplace falls within its scope, and understanding the boundaries of the legislation is just as important as knowing what must be reported.
Several categories of incident are explicitly excluded. Minor injuries that do not result in an employee being incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days are not reportable, nor are injuries sustained by members of the public that do not require hospital treatment beyond basic first aid administered at the scene.
What Sort of Things Are Reported Under RIDDOR?
Before examining what falls outside RIDDOR, it helps to understand what the regulations are designed to capture. Reportable incidents include deaths in the workplace, specified injuries to workers (such as fractures, amputations, and crush injuries), and over-seven-day incapacitation injuries where an employee cannot perform their normal work duties.
Dangerous occurrences, sometimes called near misses, are also reportable if they fall within a defined list set out in Schedule 2 of the regulations. These include events such as the collapse of a scaffold, the explosion of a closed vessel, and certain electrical incidents. Occupational diseases such as carpal tunnel syndrome, occupational dermatitis, and hand-arm vibration syndrome must also be reported when a diagnosis is confirmed by a medical professional.
| Reportable Under RIDDOR | Not Reportable Under RIDDOR |
|---|---|
| Deaths at work | Minor cuts requiring only first aid |
| Specified injuries (e.g. fractures) | Injuries to self-employed on own premises |
| Over-7-day incapacitation injuries | Public injuries not requiring hospital admission |
| Dangerous occurrences (Schedule 2) | Road traffic accidents (covered by other law) |
| Occupational diseases (confirmed diagnosis) | Mental health conditions without physical injury |
| Gas incidents causing injury or death | Injuries during commute to/from work |
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What Are the 8 Types of Reportable Incidents?
RIDDOR identifies eight broad categories of reportable event, and being clear on these helps organisations identify the boundaries of their obligations. The eight types are: deaths of workers, specified injuries to workers, over-seven-day incapacitation injuries, deaths of non-workers, injuries to non-workers requiring hospital treatment, dangerous occurrences, occupational diseases, and gas incidents.
Each category carries specific criteria. For instance, an injury to a member of the public is only reportable if it arises from a work activity and results in the person being taken directly from the scene to a hospital for treatment. If a visitor trips in your car park, sustains a minor sprain, and declines hospital attendance, that incident does not meet the RIDDOR reporting threshold regardless of how it occurred.
What is Not Reported to RIDDOR?
Several common workplace situations frequently cause confusion because people assume they are reportable when they are not. Injuries that occur during a worker’s commute, for example, fall outside RIDDOR entirely since the journey to and from work is not considered part of the work activity itself, even if the employee is travelling in a company vehicle.
Road traffic accidents are another area where RIDDOR does not apply in most cases, as these are governed by separate road traffic legislation rather than health and safety law. Similarly, incidents involving the self-employed that occur on their own premises and only affect themselves are excluded. The HSE guidance on this is clear: RIDDOR applies where there is a duty holder responsible for the health and safety of others.
For full details on your reporting obligations, the HSE publishes comprehensive guidance at https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/.
| Incident Type | Reportable? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Employee off work 4 days with back injury | No | Below 7-day incapacitation threshold |
| Employee off work 8 days with back injury | Yes | Exceeds 7-day threshold |
| Customer trips, treated on site with plaster | No | No hospital treatment required |
| Customer trips, taken to A&E by ambulance | Yes | Hospital treatment from work premises |
| Worker injured on commute | No | Not part of work activity |
| Self-employed injured on own premises | No | No duty holder over a third party |
| Confirmed diagnosis of vibration white finger | Yes | Reportable occupational disease |
| Stress-related absence | No | No physical workplace injury |
What Counts as First Aid Under RIDDOR?
First aid treatment is a significant determining factor in many borderline RIDDOR cases, particularly when injuries to members of the public are involved. If an injury sustained on your premises is treated entirely with first aid, with no onward referral to hospital, it does not meet the threshold for a RIDDOR report under the non-worker injury category.
The government defines first aid in this context as treatment that can be administered by a first aider on site, such as applying a bandage, cleaning a wound, or treating a minor burn. Once a person requires hospital treatment, even if they choose to travel there independently rather than by ambulance, the incident moves into reportable territory if it arose from a work activity. This distinction is one that many smaller businesses misunderstand, often under-reporting injuries to workers or over-reporting first-aid-only incidents involving visitors.
You can cross-reference RIDDOR reporting requirements alongside the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 obligations via the legislation portal at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1471/contents/made.
Understanding What is Not Reportable Under RIDDOR in Your Workplace
Understanding RIDDOR exemptions is not simply a compliance exercise; it is a practical necessity for any business that takes workplace safety seriously. Organisations that misclassify incidents risk either failing to report when they should, which is a criminal offence, or wasting time and resource reporting events that sit outside the legal framework entirely.
Training managers and supervisors to distinguish between first-aid-only incidents, over-seven-day injuries, and specified injuries is one of the most effective steps a business can take. The correct classification of an incident from the moment it occurs determines whether a RIDDOR report is needed, whether an investigation is legally required, and how the employer’s incident log should be maintained under the general duties of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
If you are uncertain whether a specific incident falls within RIDDOR, the HSE Infoline can provide guidance, and professional health and safety advisers can review your incident management procedures. Getting this right protects your employees, limits legal exposure, and contributes to a workplace culture where incidents are recorded and reviewed honestly rather than ignored or misclassified.
What is Not Reportable Under RIDDOR: Frequently Asked Questions
No, injuries that occur during a worker’s journey to or from work are not covered by RIDDOR because the commute is not classified as part of the work activity. RIDDOR only applies once the employee is engaged in duties connected to their employment.
Mental health conditions and stress-related absences are not reportable under RIDDOR in the absence of a related physical injury or diagnosed occupational disease. RIDDOR covers physical injuries, specified occupational diseases, and dangerous occurrences rather than psychological conditions alone.
If an employee is incapacitated and unable to carry out their normal work duties for more than seven consecutive days following a workplace accident, the injury becomes reportable to the HSE. The day of the accident itself is not counted within those seven days.
No, injuries to members of the public are only reportable if they arise from a work activity and the injured person is taken directly from the scene to a hospital for treatment. If a customer is treated with first aid on site and does not require hospital attendance, the incident is not reportable.
Road traffic accidents are generally not reportable under RIDDOR as they are governed by separate road traffic legislation. The exception applies if the accident occurs on a private road or premises that falls under the control of an employer and involves a work activity.
Self-employed individuals who work on their own premises and are their own duty holder are excluded from RIDDOR reporting requirements if they are the only person affected. However, if a self-employed person is injured while working on another organisation’s premises, the duty holder for that site carries the reporting obligation.
A dangerous occurrence is a specific type of near-miss event listed in Schedule 2 of the RIDDOR 2013 regulations that must be reported even if no one was injured. Examples include the unintentional collapse of scaffolding, the failure of a closed vessel, or an electrical incident that causes a fire or explosion.
Not every fracture is automatically reportable; fractures to fingers, thumbs, and toes are specifically excluded from the specified injuries list under RIDDOR. Fractures to other bones, including the spine, pelvis, and limbs, do fall within the specified injury category and must be reported.
Deaths and specified injuries must be reported to the HSE without delay, and in practice this means as soon as reasonably practicable after the incident. Over-seven-day incapacitation injuries must be reported within 15 days of the accident occurring.
An accident book entry is an internal record kept by the employer under general health and safety duties and must be completed for all workplace accidents regardless of severity. A RIDDOR report is an external notification to the HSE and is only required when an incident meets one of the specific reportable categories defined in the regulations.
No, an occupational disease only becomes reportable under RIDDOR once a doctor confirms the diagnosis in writing and the affected person is currently employed in work that could cause the condition. Symptoms alone, without a formal diagnosis, do not trigger a RIDDOR reporting obligation.
In the case of injuries to non-workers such as members of the public, an injury treated solely with first aid on site does not meet the RIDDOR reporting threshold. For workers, the reporting obligation is determined by the nature and severity of the injury rather than whether first aid was administered.
Failing to report a RIDDOR-notifiable incident is a criminal offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and can result in prosecution, fines, or enforcement action by the HSE. For a full explanation of RIDDOR and its legal basis, the Wikipedia entry on RIDDOR provides a useful overview at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporting_of_Injuries,_Diseases_and_Dangerous_Occurrences_Regulations.
Employers can submit RIDDOR reports directly to the HSE through the online reporting system available at https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm, which is the official and most efficient method of notification. Telephone reporting is available for fatal and specified injury incidents only.