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What Are My Employers Responsibilities After An Accident?

Employers have a  duty to protect the health and safety of their employees. This includes the following: :
• Providing health and safety training.
• Providing  Protective Equipment,  such as hard hats, boots and gloves.
• Training on how to use machinery.
• Proper maintenance of machinery
• Conducting risk assessments.
• Displaying warning signs such as ‘wet floor’ signs.

What should my employer do if I am injured at work?
Firstly your employer should ensure that you are free from immediate danger and seek medical attention from the first aider.

What should be put in the Accident Book
Your employer should record the details of your injury and how the incident happened. This is legally required by all employers.  The following information should be recorded:

• The name and details of the injured worker.
• The name and details of the person reporting the accident.
• Details of the accident: date, time and location
• Details of the injuries
• How the accident happened:
• Details of any faulty machinery or equipment involved.
• Details of what actions were taken to help the injured person.
• Any evidence in the form of photographs of the scene of the accident.

Why is it important to record accidents in the accident book?

The accident book provides employers with the insight needed to implement new and improved health and safety measures, to prevent future accidents from happening

It is also important to record the details of the accident, as proof that the accident happened, which can be used as evidence for your work accident claim.

What is a RIDDOR report?

Your employer is required to make a RIDDOR report.

RIDDOR stands for “Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations “. It is health and safety legislation that requires employers, and people in charge of premises to report certain types of accidents.

The following type of  accidents must be reported :

• Fatal and serious injuries
• Industrial illnesses like Asbestosis
• Dangerous occurrences – i.e. a near miss when an accident could have caused a serious accident.
• Accidents where gases have been involved

Reports submitted under RIDDOR must be submitted to the HSE website, within 10 days of the incident happening.; The report must include the following details:

• The date of submission to RIDDOR
• The details of the person making the submission
• Where the accident occurred.
• The location, date and time of the accident
• The name and details  of the injured person
• A description of the accident

Any incident that results in an employee being left incapacitated for over 3 consecutive days should be recorded by the employer in their own accident book but does not necessarily need to be reported to RIDDOR.