A warehouse worker trips on a loose cable, falls heavily, and fractures their wrist. The supervisor is called. First aid is administered. The employee is taken to hospital.

Now what?

For many UK businesses, the immediate aftermath of a workplace accident is confusion. Who needs to know? What paperwork is required? Does this need reporting to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)? What if the employee cannot return to work for two weeks?

Accident reporting procedure in the workplace is not just good practice, it is a legal requirement. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013 sets out exactly when and how employers must report workplace incidents. Get it wrong and you face fines, enforcement action, and reputational damage.

This guide provides a step-by-step framework for reporting workplace accidents in the UK, covering legal requirements, RIDDOR obligations, and best practices for incident documentation.

What Is a Workplace Accident?

A workplace accident is an unplanned event that occurs during work activities and results in injury, illness, or damage.

Understanding the Distinction: Accident vs Incident vs Near Miss

Before diving into procedures, it is essential to understand the difference:

Understanding this distinction matters because not all events need reporting under RIDDOR, but all should be recorded internally. Our guide on incident vs accident reporting explains why getting the label right changes what you are legally required to do next.

Who Is Responsible for Reporting Accidents in the Workplace?

The employer is ultimately responsible for ensuring accidents are reported and recorded correctly.

The Responsible Person Under RIDDOR

Under RIDDOR, the responsible person must report certain incidents. This includes:

• Employers in relation to their employees
• Self-employed persons if they are in control of the premises where an incident happened
• Persons in control of work premises in cases involving non-employees, such as members of the public

Employer Duties

Employers must:

• Ensure the accident book is available and accessible to all staff
• Ensure accidents are recorded accurately and completely
• Report reportable incidents to the HSE under RIDDOR
• Keep accident records for at least three years
• Investigate accidents to prevent recurrence

Employee Duties

Employees must:

• Report any accident, injury, or dangerous occurrence to their supervisor
• Record the accident in the accident book where possible
• Cooperate with investigations

Lone workers are a particular gap here, because there is often no supervisor on site to tell. If your teams work alone, a lone worker check-in system gives them a way to raise an incident the moment it happens rather than at the end of a shift.

What Is the Accident Book?

An accident book is a formal record of workplace accidents. While the law does not explicitly require a specific accident book, businesses with 10 or more employees must have a means of recording accident details.

When Is an Accident Book Required?

• Businesses with 10 or more employees: must keep a record of any accident resulting in injury
• All employers: must keep records of reportable injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences for at least three years
• Best practice: all workplaces should keep an accident book regardless of size

What Information Should Be in an Accident Book?

An accident book entry should include:

Who Fills In the Accident Book?

Anyone can complete the accident report. However, best practice is:

• The injured person should fill out the form where possible, as they can give the most accurate account
• The report should be checked and signed by one of the employer’s qualified first aiders
• The employer remains responsible for ensuring the accident book is completed

One point that is widely missed: entries must be kept confidential. Under data protection rules, one worker should not be able to read another worker’s accident details, which is why loose-leaf or digital records have largely replaced bound books.

Accident Reporting Procedure: Step by Step

A clear, consistent accident reporting procedure ensures workplace incidents are documented correctly, legal obligations are met, and hazards are addressed to prevent recurrence. Follow these seven steps, from immediate first aid through to HSE reporting and corrective action.

Step 1: Provide Immediate Medical Attention

Health comes first. Get first aid or medical help immediately, even for minor injuries, because symptoms can worsen.

What to do:

• Administer first aid at the scene if trained
• Call 999 for serious injuries, poisoning, fires, or hazardous substance incidents
• Give the emergency services the nature of the incident, the address of the location, and details of the injuries or symptoms

Step 2: Notify a Supervisor or Manager

Inform the line manager or supervisor as soon as possible.

What to communicate:

• What happened
• When and where it occurred
• Any injuries sustained
• Any hazards still present

Step 3: Record the Accident in the Accident Book

Record the accident while the detail is still fresh.

Step 4: Determine If the Accident Is Reportable Under RIDDOR

Not all workplace accidents need reporting to the HSE. Only specific categories are reportable under RIDDOR.

1. Work-related fatalities

Any work-related death, excluding suicides, must be reported.

2. Specified injuries

• Fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs, and toes
• Amputations
• Permanent loss or reduction of sight
• Crush injuries to the head or torso causing internal organ damage
• Serious burns covering more than 10 percent of the body, or significantly damaging the eyes, respiratory system, or other vital organs
• Scalping requiring hospital treatment
• Loss of consciousness from head injury or asphyxia
• Injuries from working in enclosed spaces leading to hypothermia or heat illness, or requiring resuscitation or hospital admission for more than 24 hours

3. Over-seven-day incapacitation

Where a worker cannot perform their normal duties for more than seven consecutive days, excluding the day of the accident but including weekends and rest days.

4. Over-three-day recording

This one is regularly missed. An accident that keeps a worker off their normal duties for more than three consecutive days must be recorded, even though it does not have to be reported to the HSE. Firms that only log the seven-day cases end up with gaps an inspector will find.

5. Injuries to non-workers

Where a member of the public is injured in a work-related accident and taken directly to hospital for treatment.

6. Occupational diseases

Reportable once the responsible person receives a diagnosis of a specified disease, including:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Hand-arm vibration syndrome
• Occupational dermatitis
• Occupational asthma
• Tendonitis or tenosynovitis
• Occupational cancer

7. Dangerous occurrences

Certain events with the potential to cause serious harm must be reported even where nobody is injured:

• Collapse or failure of lifting equipment
• Explosion or fire causing work stoppage
• Accidental release of hazardous substances
• Collapse of scaffolding over a certain height

Fire is the category most often under-reported, largely because nobody is hurt. A current fire safety risk assessment checklist helps you spot the conditions that create a reportable event before one happens.

Step 5: Report to the HSE If Applicable

If the incident is reportable under RIDDOR, it must go to the HSE.

Deadlines:

Who must report: only the responsible person, meaning the employer, self-employed person, or person in control of the premises, can make a RIDDOR report.

Step 6: Investigate the Incident

The employer should investigate what happened, why it happened, and what will stop it happening again.

• Speak to witnesses
• Review CCTV footage
• Examine the scene
• Check maintenance logs and safety procedures
• Record environmental conditions such as slippery floors or poor lighting

Step 7: Implement Corrective Actions

Based on what the investigation found, the employer should:

• Improve safety protocols
• Repair or replace faulty equipment
• Provide additional training
• Update risk assessments

The last point is the one that closes the loop. Reworking your lone working risk assessment after an incident turns a single report into a control that protects the next person on shift.

How to Write an Incident Report

A well-written incident report should be clear, factual, and easy to follow months later.

What to Include in an Incident Report

Seven Steps to Write an Effective Incident Report

1. Start with the facts. Gather the essentials: who, when, where, and what happened before the event.
2. Describe the incident clearly. Use neutral language and follow the sequence of events. Avoid assumptions.
3. Record injuries or damage. Note the injury, its severity, and the first aid or medical care given. Document visible property damage.
4. Interview witnesses. Speak to anyone who saw the event or arrived shortly after. Include names, job titles, and a short summary of what they observed.
5. Identify contributing factors. Consider unsafe conditions, equipment failure, unclear instructions, or other relevant context.
6. Attach supporting evidence. Photos, diagrams, maintenance logs, and medical reports all help a future reviewer understand what happened.
7. Submit the report promptly. Detail is sharpest in the first 24 hours, and witness recollection degrades quickly after that.

How Long Should Workplace Accident Records Be Kept?

Employers must keep records of all reportable injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences.

Records may be needed for HSE inspections, insurance claims, or personal injury claims. If a worker develops a long-term condition traced back to a workplace accident, the original incident record is the evidence that decides the case.

Consequences of Failing to Report Accidents

Failure to report workplace accidents carries real consequences.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

For employees, failing to report an accident can undermine a later claim for compensation or statutory benefits, because there is no record showing the injury happened at work.

Common Accident Reporting Mistakes to Avoid

What Is Changing in RIDDOR

RIDDOR 2013 is under review. The HSE opened a public consultation in April 2026 on amendments to the regulations, which ran until 30 June 2026. The proposals include:

• Clarifying definitions within RIDDOR that have caused confusion in practice
• Updating the list of dangerous occurrences to reflect modern workplace risks
• Revising reportable occupational diseases, bringing back some previously removed conditions and adding new ones
• Widening who can diagnose a reportable disease beyond GMC-registered doctors to other registered health practitioners
• Simplifying the online RIDDOR form, which the HSE says drives both under-reporting and over-reporting

Nothing has changed in law yet, so the duties set out above still apply in full. The practical takeaway is that the reportable disease list is likely to grow, so employers who only track injuries and ignore occupational health may find themselves with new obligations at short notice.

Accident and Incident Reporting Software

Accident and incident reporting software digitises the process, giving you real-time visibility, an audit trail, and prompts that keep RIDDOR deadlines from slipping.

Benefits of Incident Reporting Software

Conclusion

Accident reporting is a legal obligation, not an optional exercise. A robust accident reporting procedure in the workplace protects your employees, your business, and your reputation.

Your accident reporting checklist:

• Ensure an accident book is available and accessible
• Train staff on reporting procedures
• Record all accidents and near misses, even where RIDDOR does not apply
• Know which incidents are reportable under RIDDOR
• Report to the HSE within the required timeframes
• Investigate every incident to identify root causes
• Implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence
• Keep records for at least three years
• Review and update the procedure regularly

The organisations that get accident reporting right treat it not as a bureaucratic burden but as a working tool for safety and continuous improvement.

Smart Workforce is an all-in-one workforce management platform that brings incident management together with scheduling and time tracking, lone worker safety, and BS7858 staff vetting. It is purpose-built for UK security, care, construction, and service sector employers.

See how Smart Workforce supports incident reporting. Book a demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an accident in the workplace?

A workplace accident is an unplanned event that occurs during work activities and results in injury, illness, or damage. It differs from an incident, which has the potential to cause harm but does not, and a near miss, which could have caused harm but did not.

Who is responsible for reporting accidents in the workplace?

The employer is ultimately responsible for ensuring accidents are reported and recorded correctly. Under RIDDOR, the responsible person, meaning the employer, self-employed person, or person in control of the premises, must report reportable incidents.

How do you report an accident in the workplace?

Provide first aid and call 999 if needed, notify a supervisor, record the accident in the accident book, work out whether it is reportable under RIDDOR, report it to the HSE if required, then investigate and put corrective actions in place.

What should you do if an accident occurs in the workplace?

Get medical help immediately, notify your supervisor, make sure it is recorded in the accident book, and check that your employer has reported it to the HSE where required. Raise any hazard that is still present.

How soon should a workplace accident be reported?

Fatal and specified injuries must be notified without delay, with the written report received within 10 days. Over-seven-day injuries must be reported within 15 days of the accident. Occupational diseases are reported as soon as the diagnosis is received.

What information should be included in an accident report?

The name and address of the injured person, the date, time and location, how the accident occurred, the injury sustained, the action taken, the name of the person recording it, and details of any witnesses.

Do all workplace accidents need to be reported to the HSE?

No. Only specific categories are reportable under RIDDOR: deaths, specified injuries, over-seven-day absences, occupational diseases, dangerous occurrences, and injuries to non-workers requiring hospital treatment. Everything else still needs recording internally.

What is the difference between an accident, an incident, and a near miss?

An accident results in injury or damage. An incident has the potential to cause harm but does not. A near miss is an event that came close to causing harm without doing so.

When does a workplace accident need to be reported under RIDDOR?

When it involves a death, a specified injury such as a fracture or amputation, an over-seven-day absence, an occupational disease, a dangerous occurrence, or an injury to a non-worker requiring hospital treatment.

How long should workplace accident records be kept?

At least three years from the date of the incident, as required by RIDDOR. Six years is better practice, since it covers the limitation period for personal injury claims and long-term health conditions.

Does an accident have to be recorded if it is not reportable to the HSE?

Yes. An accident that keeps a worker off their normal duties for more than three consecutive days must be recorded even though it is not reportable, and businesses with 10 or more employees must record any accident resulting in injury.