Human Resources

Accident reporting

Introduction

An accident is an unplanned event that results in injury, damage to property or some other loss. The law requires that certain work-related accidents are reported to the local authority or the Health and Safety Executive.

Accident reporting

All accidents to employees, however minor, should be recorded. This is a requirement under social security legislation. As a result of a workplace injury an employee may need to claim for benefits in the future, and the relevant checks will be made to confirm that the accident occurred at work.

All accidents are recorded by the Health and Safety Office on the University's HR System. This information meets the requirements of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, hence there is no longer the need to complete the paper accident books.

The University has produced an Accident Reporting Policy which gives guidance on how to comply with the legislation.

For full details and to book onto our Accident Reporting Training please see our training calendar

Near-miss reporting

A near-miss is any unplanned event which has the potential to result in injury. This term does not include actual dangerous occurrences which are to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive. These should also be reported to the Health and Safety Office on the HS1 form. The investigation of near-misses is an important step in accident prevention.

Dangerous occurrences

The definition of a dangerous occurrence is an unplanned event which is specifically identified in Schedule 2 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995, and is reportable to the enforcing authority. See the Accident Reporting Policy for details.

Further information

• Accident prevention