Posted By Peter Fitzpatrick Hi All, Just a quick query, I work for a large semi state company who employ many contractors, recently we had an incident that was reportable under RIDDOR. I was assured by the contractors safety officer that he had reported it, and requested confirmation of this from him. Should this be enough or is it my company's responsibility to report it?

Posted By Jerry Lucey Hi Peter, From a RIDDOR point of view I feel that you have done all that is reasonably expected of you as an employer. I have always found it better to investigate all accidents directly to ensure uniformity and to ensure that in the event of a claim arising you have all the appropriate facts. The sub-contractor is welcome to complete his report, investigation etc but you should have your record too. In the event of a claim at a later date, the F2508 form will be admissible as evidence and for this reason I always prefer to complete such reports to the enforcing authorities. If it is reportable, it is probably serious and may well end up resulting in a claim. It is also good to have a standard accident reporting procedure across your organisation, including with sub-contractors as this ensures uniformity and consistancy.