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RIDDOR
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, often known by the acronym RIDDOR, is a 2013 statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It regulates the statutory obligation to report deaths, injuries, diseases and "dangerous occurrences", including near misses, that take place at work or in connection with work.[3][4]
One of the worst colliery explosions – the Oaks colliery disaster killed more than 300 people in 1866.[5]
The regulations require "responsible persons" to report deaths at work, major injuries caused by accidents at work, injuries to persons not at work that require hospital treatment, injuries arising from accidents in hospitals, and dangerous occurrences (reg.3(1)). Additionally, the law requires registered gas fitters to report poor and dangerous gas installations (reg.6).
Responsible persons are generally employers but also include various managers and occupiers of premises (reg.2). Though the regulations do not impose a specific obligation on employees, they have a general obligation under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to take care of safety. The Health and Safety Executive recommends that they report incidents to their employer and encourages voluntary notification to the relevant regulating authority.[3]
There are specific regulations as to mines and quarries (reg.8/ Sch.5), and offshore installations (reg.9/ Sch.6).
Medical treatments are exempt, as are injuries arising from road traffic accidents[6] and to members of the armed forces (reg.10).
Breach of the regulations is a crime, punishable on summary conviction with a fine of up to £400. If convicted on indictment in the Crown Court, an offender can be sentenced to an unlimited fine.[7] Either an individual or a corporation can be punished[8] and sentencing practice is published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.[9] For example, in 2000, Salford City Council were fined £115,000 for a breach of the regulations.[10]
It is a defence that the responsible person was not aware of the event requiring reporting or notification and that he had taken all reasonable steps to have such events brought to his notice (reg.11). The burden of proof of such a defence is on the defendant, on the balance of probabilities.[11]
Reading (/ˈrɛdɪŋ/ (audio speaker iconlisten) RED-ing)[2] is a historic large market town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet. It is on the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, 40 miles (64 km) east of Swindon, 25 miles (40 km) south of Oxford, 40 miles (64 km) west of London, 15 miles (24 km) north of Basingstoke, 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Maidenhead and 15 miles (24 km) east of Newbury. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance.[3] It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley, and home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Among its sports teams are Reading Football Club and Reading Hockey Club, and over 15,000 runners annually compete in the Reading Half Marathon.
Reading dates from the 8th century. It was an important trading and ecclesiastical centre in the Middle Ages, the site of Reading Abbey, one of the largest and richest monasteries of medieval England with strong royal connections, of which the 12th-century abbey gateway and significant ancient ruins remain. By 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and tenth in England for taxable wealth. The town was seriously affected by the English Civil War, with a major siege and loss of trade, but played a pivotal role in the Glorious Revolution, whose only significant military action was fought on its streets. The 18th century saw the beginning of a major ironworks in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway and the development of the town's brewing, baking and seed growing businesses, and the town grew rapidly as a manufacturing centre.
