RIDDOR Change is Bad News, Lawyer Warns
18 May 2011
SHP (Safety & Health Practitioner) has reported that a proposed change under RIDDOR 1995 to report incidents that lead to a worker being incapacitated for more than seven days rather than three days, as is currently the case, has been described as a potential retrograde move for health and safety.
A recommendation first made by Lord Young last year in his report - Common Sense, Common Safety - Steffan Groch, explained that the Conservative peer had identified a less-than desirable level of compliance with RIDDOR, and that a change in the requirement to report over-three-day (O3D) injuries to over-seven-day (O7D) injuries might increase the level of compliance by being less burdensome on employers.
Steffan said the jury is still very much out on whether such a change would increase compliance, warning, as well, that the message the impact of the change could send to directors is potentially harmful.
For more on this story go to SHP Online.