What is L73?
L73 is the HSE's Approved Code of Practice and guidance for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (commonly known as RIDDOR). These regulations require employers, the self-employed, and people in control of work premises to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases, and specified dangerous occurrences to the relevant enforcing authority.
RIDDOR reporting enables the HSE and local authorities to identify where and how risks arise, target their enforcement activities, and gather statistics on workplace health and safety across Great Britain. The data helps shape national safety policy and identify emerging risks.
L73 provides comprehensive guidance on what incidents must be reported, who is responsible for reporting, when reports must be made, and how to submit them correctly. The document helps duty holders understand their legal obligations and avoid both under-reporting and unnecessary over-reporting.
Who Needs This Document?
L73 is essential for anyone with responsibilities for workplace incident management:
- Employers in all sectors with duties to report incidents affecting their workers
- Self-employed persons who must report their own injuries in certain circumstances
- Those in control of premises where work is carried out by others
- Health and safety managers responsible for incident reporting systems
- HR professionals dealing with workplace injuries and absences
- Facilities managers responsible for premises where incidents may occur
- Property managers with responsibilities for buildings used by multiple occupiers
- Directors and senior managers who need to understand reporting obligations
- Insurance and risk managers investigating incidents
- Small business owners managing their own health and safety compliance
Key Topics Covered
What Must Be Reported
RIDDOR requires reporting of several categories of events. L73 provides detailed guidance on each:
Deaths
All deaths of workers and non-workers arising from a work-related accident must be reported, including deaths occurring within one year of the original injury.
Specified Injuries to Workers
Certain serious injuries to workers must be reported immediately. These include:
- Fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs, and toes
- Amputations of any arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot, or toe
- Any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight
- Any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
- Serious burns covering more than 10% of the body or causing significant damage to eyes, respiratory system, or vital organs
- Any scalping requiring hospital treatment
- Any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
- Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness, or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
Over-Seven-Day Incapacitation
Injuries to workers that result in incapacitation for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident) must be reported. The report must be made within 15 days of the incident.
Injuries to Non-Workers
Accidents involving members of the public or others not at work must be reported if the person is taken directly from the scene to hospital for treatment.
Occupational Diseases
Certain occupational diseases must be reported when a doctor notifies the employer that a worker is suffering from a work-related disease. Reportable diseases include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Severe cramp of the hand or forearm
- Occupational dermatitis
- Hand-arm vibration syndrome
- Occupational asthma
- Tendonitis or tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm
- Any occupational cancer
- Any disease attributed to an occupational exposure to a biological agent
Dangerous Occurrences
Certain near-miss events with the potential to cause serious harm must be reported, even if no injury occurred. These include:
- Collapse, overturning, or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment
- Explosion, collapse, or bursting of any closed vessel or associated pipework
- Failure of any freight container in any of its load-bearing parts
- Plant or equipment coming into contact with overhead power lines
- Electrical short circuit or overload causing fire or explosion
- Accidental release of any substance which could cause injury
- Collapse or partial collapse of scaffolding over 5 metres high
- Collapse or partial collapse of any building or structure under construction
Gas Incidents
Gas distributors, suppliers, and engineers must report certain gas-related incidents including those resulting in death, specified injury, or loss of consciousness, and dangerous gas fittings found in premises.
Who Is Responsible for Reporting
L73 clarifies the duties of different responsible persons:
- Employers must report incidents affecting their employees
- The self-employed must report injuries to themselves in some circumstances
- Those in control of premises must report incidents in common areas
- Gas suppliers and engineers have specific reporting duties
- Multiple duty holders may need to coordinate on complex incidents
How and When to Report
The regulations set strict timescales for reporting:
- Deaths, specified injuries, dangerous occurrences, and injuries to non-workers must be reported without delay, normally within 10 days
- Over-7-day injuries must be reported within 15 days of the incident
- Reports should be made online through the HSE RIDDOR website
- Telephone reporting is available for fatal and specified injuries only
- Records of all reportable incidents must be kept for at least 3 years
Record Keeping
Employers must keep records of all reportable incidents including:
- Date and time of the incident
- Details of the injured person
- The nature of the injury or condition
- The location where the incident occurred
- A brief description of the circumstances
Legal Status
L73 has the status of an Approved Code of Practice under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Following the guidance in L73 provides strong evidence of compliance with RIDDOR. Courts may accept failure to follow the ACOP as evidence of a breach of the regulations.
Failure to report a notifiable incident is a criminal offence. The HSE and local authorities actively monitor compliance and may investigate where they become aware of unreported incidents through other channels such as hospital reports or insurance notifications.
Deliberate failure to report can result in prosecution, with potentially unlimited fines for organisations and personal liability for responsible individuals.
Why It Matters
Proper RIDDOR reporting is a fundamental legal duty and provides significant benefits:
- Legal compliance avoiding prosecution for failure to report
- Early engagement with enforcement authorities when serious incidents occur
- Evidence of management systems demonstrating systematic incident management
- Insurance requirements as policies often require proper incident reporting
- Internal learning by ensuring incidents are properly investigated and recorded
- National safety improvement contributing to understanding of workplace risks
- Protection of reputation through transparent and lawful reporting practices
For SMEs, understanding RIDDOR obligations is essential. Under-reporting suggests poor safety management, while over-reporting wastes resources and may attract unnecessary regulatory attention. L73 helps businesses get the balance right by clearly explaining what must be reported and what falls outside the regulations.
The move to online reporting has simplified the process significantly, and the HSE provides helpful tools to determine whether specific incidents are reportable. L73 remains the authoritative reference for understanding the legal requirements and their practical application.