The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has urged the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to consider introducing a more radical approach to the reporting of workplace accidents.
The HSE is currently running a consultation on potentially amending the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). RoSPA’s contribution to this is to propose that a greater emphasis be placed on employers and their responsibility to investigate accidents, injuries, ill health and ‘near misses’ internally and learn from their mistakes.
This goes further than simply reporting accidents and injuries to the HSE. RoSPA proposes that the cases reported to the authority should be limited to fatal accidents, major injuries and cases of work-related ill health that are on the “notifiable” list.
RoSPA’s Roger Bibbings says:
“What is required is a much more radical approach, looking again at objectives to be achieved, focusing particularly on what can be done to encourage better learning by employers, not only from accidents and injuries but from significant ‘near-misses’.”
If approved, this proposal is likely to affect employers’ liability insurance policy holders as it will hopefully encourage employers to focus on preventing future accidents and creating an ethos of safety within the workplace. This, in turn, may reduce the number of claims made against companies by employees who have sustained preventable injuries or health-related complaints.