Watchdog backs reduced accident reporting

The HSE has accepted a proposal by Conservative peer Lord Young that the number of workplace injuries that employers are required to report should be drastically reduced.

In his report to David Cameron on health and safety, former cabinet minister Lord Young recommended that injuries only be reported where they lead to seven days off or more (currently this threshold is set at three days off or more). Lord Young believes that this change would reduce the number of injuries that employers are required to report by around 30%.

Following a consultation process, the HSE agreed to endorse Lord Young’s proposal by a majority at a meeting of its board in August 2011. This is despite the fact that the RIDDOR workplace injury reporting system is already viewed by many as missing important data because short absences are not captured in its statistics. Safety body RoSPA, in common with unions, was critical of the proposal.

If endorsed by ministers, the change is expected to come into effect on 6 April 2012.