Accidents are very common at work and as such, it is important to do everything you can to stop the chances of having an accident. When someone does have an accident, it must be reported! Some figures include:

In 2006, 2.2 million people had a illness that was related to work, 241 people lost their lives at work, 141,350 separate injuries to company staff were reported and a further 36 million working days were lost due to work-related poor health. Accidents at work and the resulting missed working days have a big impact on the world economy.

It is very important that you record accidents at work. Recording and reporting accidents is actually a legal requirement, under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). This regulations have very recently been updated (Subject to parliamentary approval), changing the three day injury reporting requirement.

This means that there is a responsibility for employers, self employed people, and also employees to report accidents which happen.

People that report accidents are known as 'responsible persons.' Someone who sees or experiences an accident must record it and report whatever injuries, diseases or dangerous occurrences were involved. This person could easily be any one of us as we all have a equal duty to report accidents in the workplace. It is also socially responsible to also report it to the authorities if an accident happens to a member of the public.

This information enables the enforcing authorities or the local authority Environmental Health to identify risks. They may also investigate serious accidents.

The enforcing authorities are not there to catch anyone out. They will want to provide advice on how to reduce that risk and also reduce the amount of injury and ill health in your workplace.

Information regarding all the incidents that have occurred will include:

• The date when the injury occurred

• The place where is happened

• The time it happened

• Personal details of those involved in the injury

• A brief description of what happened

Many health and safety companies believe that it is also good practice to record 'near-miss' accidents. You are not legally obliged to do so but it would help to assess risk and get a better picture of the workplace risk. This means it is possible to learn from the near misses and make corrective procedures.

Some companies decide to hire the professional help of health and safety consultants. These people are able to come and walk round your company and conduct lengthy and comprehensive hazard audits which can help a business identify any risk areas. This is good practise, as it ensures the well-being of your employees and reduces the chances that anything will happen in your workplace.