Report an accident at work

Find advice for reporting accidents and injuries in the workplace to the Health and Safety Executive.

Accidents at work

Employers have a duty to report certain dangerous occurrences and accidents at work to either the Health and Safety Executive or local authority. 

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) set out which workplace accidents, work-related injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences you must report to the appropriate enforcing authority. You can check who enforces health and safety at your premises in the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998: A-Z guide to allocation

You need to report: 

  • death or major injuries to an employee or self employed person working on your premises, or a member of the public
  • disease suffered by an employee that is related to work activities
  • dangerous occurrence that does not result in a reportable injury but which clearly could have done
  • an over-seven-day injury (not counting the day on which it happened) to an employee or self employed person working on your premises 

Report an accident to the Health and Safety Executive on their website.

Employers and staff from businesses in the Scarborough area can report an accident online.

Investigation of accidents

Once we have been notified of an accident, we will assess whether further investigation is required. If a breach of a statutory of requirements is identified as the main reason for an accident, then formal action will be taken. 

Complaints about working conditions and accidents at work are always investigated confidentially. These are usually resolved by providing advice to employers, but formal action will be taken if necessary.