As of 19 April 2026, HSE had opened a consultation on possible RIDDOR reform, but no new April 2026 rule change was confirmed as already in force.
Fabora resources
RIDDOR for steel fabrication, welding, and steel erection businesses.
If someone is badly hurt, if a serious near miss happens, or if a work-related disease is diagnosed, the business may need to make a formal RIDDOR report. For steelwork firms, the hard part is usually not finding the form. It is deciding whether the actual event crossed a reportable line and who the responsible person is.
Short answer
RIDDOR does not require every accident to be reported. It requires the responsible person to report certain work-related deaths, specified injuries, over-7-day injuries, some non-worker injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences, while still keeping sensible records.
- As of 19 April 2026, HSE had opened a consultation on possible RIDDOR reform, but no new April 2026 rule change was confirmed as already in force.
- Over-3-day injuries generally still need recording, but only over-7-day worker incapacitation is reportable under the current injury threshold.
- For steelwork firms, the key judgment points are work-relatedness, who the responsible person is, and whether the event fits a reportable category such as a specified injury or dangerous occurrence.
General information only. This page reflects the official sources reviewed on 19 April 2026, but final reporting judgment and any legal advice still sit with your business and its competent advisers.
Practical summary
What to take from this page
RIDDOR does not require every accident to be reported. It requires the responsible person to report certain work-related deaths, specified injuries, over-7-day injuries, some non-worker injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences, while still keeping sensible records.
General information only. This page reflects the official sources reviewed on 19 April 2026, but final reporting judgment and any legal advice still sit with your business and its competent advisers. For official detail, use the source links later on this page.
Over-3-day injuries generally still need recording, but only over-7-day worker incapacitation is reportable under the current injury threshold.
For steelwork firms, the key judgment points are work-relatedness, who the responsible person is, and whether the event fits a reportable category such as a specified injury or dangerous occurrence.
Current position
What RIDDOR means in practice for steelwork businesses
RIDDOR is about formal reporting of certain incidents, not every scrape, near miss, or absence.
The current framework still in force
Current official HSE guidance still points businesses to RIDDOR 2013. HSE opened a public consultation on possible reforms on 7 April 2026, but that is a consultation, not a live rule change.
What the law is trying to capture
The purpose is to notify the enforcing authority about serious work-related injuries, certain diseases, and defined dangerous occurrences so the event can be assessed and, where needed, followed up.
Work related does not mean blame proven
An event can still be reportable even if no one has yet decided who was at fault. The practical test is whether the accident arose out of or in connection with work.
Responsible person
Who normally has to report and what usually counts as work related
The right person to report is not always the injured person. On steelwork jobs, it often depends on employment status and who controls the premises.
Employers and direct workers
If your employee suffers a reportable work-related injury, disease, or dangerous occurrence, the employer usually reports it wherever that employee was working.
Self-employed people on someone else's site
If a self-employed welder or steel erector is working in premises under someone else's control and suffers a specified injury or over-7-day injury, the person in control of the premises is normally responsible for the report.
Premises control matters
Those in control of premises also report certain injuries to non-workers and dangerous occurrences that happen on the premises or in connection with the work there.
What often makes an accident work related
For fabrication and site work, the usual links are the way the work was organised, the plant or materials involved, and the condition of the workplace, access route, floor, platform, or structure.
Main categories
The reportable categories steelwork firms most often need to think about
These are the areas where fabrication shops, mobile welders, and erection teams most often pause to decide whether the threshold has been crossed.
Specified injuries
Current HSE guidance includes fractures other than fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations, certain crush injuries, serious burns, loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia, and certain enclosed-space injuries. A fall during steel erection, a crush injury from a load shift, or an amputation involving machinery can all be reportable.
Over-7-day worker injuries
If a worker is incapacitated for more than 7 consecutive days after the accident, that is reportable. If the worker is off for more than 3 days but not more than 7, it is generally a recording issue rather than a reporting one.
Non-worker injuries
If a visitor, client representative, driver, or other non-worker is taken directly to hospital for treatment after a work-related accident, that may be reportable. On steelwork jobs, think about delivery yards, shared workshop access, and site interfaces.
Dangerous occurrences
These are defined near-miss type events with serious potential. Relevant steelwork examples can include collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifting equipment, certain scaffold failures, serious electrical incidents causing fire or explosion, or major releases of dangerous substances that meet the Schedule 2 tests.
Steelwork examples
Practical examples and grey areas people often get wrong
The hard part is often not finding the form. It is judging the event properly against the official definitions.
Fracture versus hand injury
A broken wrist after slipping on workshop swarf or a broken ankle during erection access can be reportable. A broken finger is still serious, but it is not one of the specified fracture categories under current RIDDOR.
Burns are not all treated the same
A routine minor welding burn is not automatically a specified injury. Under current HSE guidance, the reportable threshold is serious burns, including burns covering more than 10% of the body or causing significant damage to the eyes, respiratory system, or other vital organs.
Lifting incidents need careful classification
If a load drops and injures someone, the injury may be reportable even if the event itself is not the separate dangerous occurrence category you first thought of. Separately, collapse, overturning, or load-bearing failure of lifting equipment can itself trigger dangerous occurrence reporting.
Gas and enclosed-space issues
Loss of consciousness caused by asphyxia is one of the specified injury categories. Major flammable gas releases can also fall into dangerous occurrence territory, but routine minor leaks and ordinary defects do not automatically mean a RIDDOR report.
Records and timing
Over-3-day recording, over-7-day reporting, and sensible records
Good record-keeping helps the business make the reporting call and show what was done afterwards.
Current time limits
Under current HSE guidance, most deaths, specified injuries, non-worker hospital-treatment cases, and dangerous occurrences should be notified without delay and the report must be received within 10 days. Over-7-day injuries have a 15-day reporting window.
What records HSE expects
If you do not keep the PDF copy of the online report, your records should still capture the date and method of reporting, the date, time and place of the event, personal details of those involved, and a brief description of what happened.
Use the accident book properly
The accident book can help with injury records, but it is not the same thing as deciding whether a RIDDOR report is required. Recording internally does not remove the need to report externally when the threshold is met.
Keep the judgment trail
For steelwork firms, it is sensible to keep the basic facts, photos, witness notes, absence dates, and the reason why you did or did not make a report. That helps later if the event is questioned by a client, insurer, or regulator.
Common mistakes
Common RIDDOR mistakes for fabrication and site teams
Most errors come from over-reporting out of caution, under-reporting because the category was misunderstood, or assuming someone else dealt with it.
Treating every injury absence as reportable
Current RIDDOR does not require every lost-time accident to be reported. The present worker incapacity trigger is more than 7 consecutive days, not more than 3 days.
Assuming the injured person makes the report
Employees and members of the public do not usually submit the form. The duty sits with the responsible person, such as the employer or the person in control of the premises.
Ignoring dangerous occurrences because no one was hurt
Some near misses still need reporting because the event itself meets a defined dangerous occurrence category, even if everyone walked away.
Missing the work-relatedness test
An accident happening at work is not enough on its own. The business still has to consider whether the work activity, equipment, substances, or condition of the workplace played a real part.
Official guidance
Relevant official sources
These links point to the underlying official material. This page is a practical summary, not a replacement for those sources, competent review, or legal advice.
HSE: RIDDOR explained
Current HSE overview of what RIDDOR is, who reports, what work related means, and the main reportable categories.
HSE: Who should report under RIDDOR
Useful for employer, premises-control, and self-employed reporting responsibilities.
HSE: Types of reportable incidents
Covers specified injuries, over-7-day injuries, diseases, dangerous occurrences, and the over-3-day recording point.
HSE: Dangerous occurrences
Current HSE guidance on the separate dangerous occurrence categories under Schedule 2 of RIDDOR.
HSE: What records do I need to keep?
Explains the record-keeping expectations where an injury, disease, over-7-day case, or dangerous occurrence is reportable.
HSE: 2026 consultation on proposals for RIDDOR 2013
Useful for current context only. This is a consultation on possible change, not proof that a new rule is already in force.
FAQ
Common questions
Short answers on practical use, review expectations, and where this guidance stops.
Important note
Final review, suitability, and approval still remain with the customer's business and the people responsible for the job.
Has RIDDOR already changed in April 2026?
Based on the official sources reviewed on 19 April 2026, HSE had opened a consultation on 7 April 2026 about possible future RIDDOR changes, but no new April 2026 rule change was confirmed as already in force. This guide reflects the current official guidance position available at that time.
Do over-3-day injuries still have to be reported?
Under the current HSE guidance, over-3-day injuries generally still need to be recorded, but not reported unless another reportable category applies. The reporting threshold for worker incapacity is more than 7 consecutive days.
If a self-employed welder is injured on a main contractor site, who reports?
Where a self-employed person is working in premises under someone else's control and suffers a specified injury or over-7-day injury, the person in control of the premises is normally responsible for the report. The exact facts still matter, so the parties should clarify quickly who is taking the duty.
Does Fabora or Fabora RAMS decide whether an incident is reportable?
No. This page is general guidance only. Final judgment on whether an incident is reportable remains with the business and the people responsible for the work, taking account of the current official guidance and, where needed, competent advice.
Related reading
Continue from here
These links keep the topic moving, either into related guidance or into the Fabora RAMS product pages.
HSE prohibition notice explained for fabrication and welding businesses
Useful if you are trying to understand what formal HSE enforcement can look like after serious unsafe conditions are found.
LOLER and lifting operations for steelwork businesses
Useful if your RIDDOR question is tied to cranes, slings, gantries, hoists, or failed lifting arrangements.
RAMS guide for steel fabricators and site welders
Useful if you want to tighten the planning and control side before incidents, not just understand reporting afterwards.
Fabora RAMS
See how Fabora RAMS helps teams carry clearer task steps, controls, and supporting records through each job pack.