HSE unveils plans to streamline UK RIDDOR requirements

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has opened a public consultation over plans to update the current Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), as it looks to cut back administrative burdens on businesses.

The revisions would update the areas and type of risk for the first time in 13 years to reflect changes to both working environments and modern technology, along with streamlining the reporting process.

Kevin Bridges, a health and safety with Pinsent Masons, said the proposed changes would be welcomed by employers as they would provide additional clarity.

“That said, care will have to be taken that attempts at clarification do just that and do not simply throw up additional, if different, queries,” he warned.

“The current reporting requirements have not kept pace with the changing nature of work or the workplace, which can again lead to confusion, so updating guidance to bring it more up to date, for example by including offshore wind farms, will be welcomed.

“However, duty holders will also be concerned that the proposals will place additional reporting duties on them at a time when resources are already tight. Clear guidance will be required.”

The regulator is looking broaden who could formally diagnose a reportable occupational disease beyond the current requirements of a doctor registered to practice with the General Medical Council, to accommodate a wider range of occupational health professionals.

Among the planned changes are revisions to both the list of dangerous occurrences to reflect modern workplace risks and to the list of conditions classed as work-related ill health – although the proposals would not include work-related stress or suicide, after the HSE said defining it in a consistent and reliable way was too difficult.

Katherine Metcalfe, a health and safety expert with Pinsent Masons, said the decision to exclude work-related stress highlighted the challenge of defining just how incidents would be reported.

“The exclusion of stress is particularly interesting given the key focus of both the regulator and government on improving outcomes for workplace ill health and in particular for stress, depression and anxiety,” she explained.

“This focus has also meant that employers are increasingly looked to make these improvements happen, seen as central to achieving this aim.

“However, the reasons for exclusion underline the difficulties with identifying what exactly is included as workplace stress, depression and anxiety.”

The consultation, which runs until 30 June, will allow those impacted to offer their views on both legislative and non-legislative changes.

The HSE’s deputy director of regulation, Rachael Radway, said: “RIDDOR reporting is central to how we identify emerging risk, target regulatory activity and contribute to the evidence base for workplace health and safety.

“The consultation is relevant across all sectors and industries. Duty holders, self-employed workers and those in control of work premises are particularly encouraged to respond.

“We are also encouraging healthcare practitioners involved in diagnosing and managing work-related conditions to engage as the proposed changes may impact their ways of working in the future.”