Health and Safety Reporting

Health and Safety Reporting 

This article cover Workplace Health and Safety Reporting Requirements.

There are legal requirements to monitor and review health and safety performance, and report on specific incidents (RIDDOR), however there is no legal requirement for companies to publish general HSE information in annual reports.

There is HSE guidance detailing best practice on how companies should publish health and safety information in annual reports. It was published as part of the Revitalising Health and Safety (RHS) strategy with the intention of helping the drive to achieve the RHS national targets for reductions in the rates of occupational injuries and illness.

The annual report should include the following information:

• An outline of the health and safety policy
• Details of the main risks faced by employees and others including strategies and systems in place to control them
• Health and safety goals
• Report on progress towards achieving health and safety goals in the reporting period, and on health and safety plans for the forthcoming period
• Arrangements for consulting employees and involving safety representatives.

The report should also provide data on health and safety performance for the reporting period in the following areas:

• The number of RIDDOR reportable injuries, illnesses and dangerous occurrences (presented as the rate of injuries per 100,000 employees);
• Brief details of the circumstances of any fatalities, and of the actions taken to prevent any recurrence;
• The number of cases of illness, disability or health problems that are caused or made worse by work;
• The total number of employee days lost due to all causes of occupational injury and illness;
• The number of enforcement notices served on the company and detail of the requirements;
• The number and nature of convictions for health and safety offences, their outcome in terms of penalty and costs, and measures to prevent a recurrence; and
• The total cost to the company of the occupational injuries and illnesses suffered by staff in the reporting period.

Companies are encouraged to go beyond the minimum standards and include additional information such as the outcome of health and safety audits, and on the extent and effectiveness of health and safety training provided to staff.