Report an Accident at Work

Employers must report certain dangerous occurrences and accidents at work to the Local Authority who will investigate any incidents. The outcome of these enquiries usually involves the giving of advice to the employer. If a blatant breach of requirements is identified as the main reason for an accident happening, then formal action will be taken.

Certain accidents at work must be reported so that an investigation can be carried out. It will also enable inspectors to identify what can be done to prevent another incident and to see if there has been a breach of any regulations.

Reporting

You can report any incidents to the Incident Contact Centre in one of the following ways, depending on the type of incident:

• Make an online report on the Health and Safety Executive website
• To report fatal/specified, and major incidents only, call 0845 300 9923 (opening hours Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5 pm)

Reportable accidents

You must report any accidents of the following nature:

• All deaths occurring as a result of work activity - including workers and the public
• All specified injuries to the worker, see below for a list of specified injuries
• Injuries to workers unable to perform their work duties for more than seven consecutive days
• Injuries to members of the public or people not at work - where the person is injured and taken from the scene of the accident to the hospital to be treated for that injury
• Reportable occupational diseases, dangerous occurrences and gas incidents. A full list of these is available on the Health and Safety Executive website

Some specified injuries may still be reported to us, these reports are then forwarded to the Incident Contact Centre.

What is a 'specified injury'?

• Fracture other than to fingers, thumbs or toes
• Amputation of an arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe
• Permanent loss of sight or reduction of sight
• Crush injuries leading to internal organ damage
• Serious burns (covering more than 10% of the body, or damaging the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs)
• Scalping (separation of skin from the head) which require hospital treatment
• Unconsciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
• Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space, which leads to hypothermia, heat-induced illness or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours

First aiders

We strongly recommend you have a first aider in your company. Usually, this is based on an assessment for the number and type of first aid personnel. In assessing need, you will need to consider the:

• Workplace hazards and risks
• Size of the organisation
• Organisation's history of accidents
• Nature and distribution of the workforce
• The remoteness of the site from emergency medical services
• Needs for travelling, remote and lone workers
• Employees working on shared or multi-occupied sites
• Annual leave and other absences of first aiders and appointed persons

We strongly advise that a suitably stocked first aid box be kept on the premises within easy access at all times and should be easily identifiable.

If you have identified that your workplace needs first aiders, they must have completed the first aid at work course provided by a Health and Safety Executive approved training organisation.