HSE proposals for a new duty to investigate accidents, dangerous occurrences and diseases

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has launched a consultation document to get feedback on its proposal to introduce a compulsory duty for companies and other organisations to investigate all reportable work-related accidents, dangerous occurrences and diseases. (This therefore also includes certain 'near misses' which could have resulted in serious injury, and designated categories of ill-health under the RIDDOR regime.)

The HSE hope that their new proposals, if implemented, will ensure that the lessons learned from investigations are taken into account when revising workplace risk assessments. Guidance would be provided by the HSE on how to implement an effective investigations process.

The HSE has put forward some figures of estimated savings by business if every single reportable incident not at present investigated by employers was investigated and acted upon, they believe this could save businesses GBP 600 million - although no estimate is made of the extra administrative costs involved.

There are already some requirements under some health and safety laws which may lead employers to undertake investigations - in particular a duty to review risk assessments were they may no longer be valid. Also, under Regulation 25 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, once an accident is reported by an employee (eg in the accident book) the employer must take reasonable steps to investigate the circumstances and, if there appear to be any discrepancies between the circumstances reported and the findings in these investigations, these should be recorded.

If the new proposals (the result of a 1998 Discussion Document) are put into law this is most likely to be through amendment of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and would result in the introduction of the following new duties for employers:

(1) A duty to investigate all reportable incidents to find out how they happened and how they might be prevented in future;

(At present all work-related reportable incidents are covered by The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)

(2) The duty to keep a record that an investigation has been carried out and that its conclusions have been taken into account in revising the workplace risk assessment. Such records would be kept for a minimum of three years and could be subject to scrutiny by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and its inspectors.

(3) A third and perhaps most controversial proposed duty which is put forward by the HSC for comment is the extension of the above mentioned duty to investigate to all non-reportable accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences as well as those which are reportable.

The closing date for comments on the consultation document is 3 September 2001. Copies of 'Proposals for a new duty to investigate accidents, dangerous occurrences and diseases' can be found on the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk/condocs/.

For further information please contact Mark Tyler (tel +44 (0) 20 7367 2568, e-mail [email protected]) or Jessica Burt (+44 (0) 20 7367 3589, e-mail [email protected]).