yes - if time off linked to an incident whist at work... "Subject to regulation 10, where a person at work is incapacitated for work of a kind which he might reasonably be expected to do, either under his contract of employment, or, if there is no such contract, in the normal course of his work, for more than **7** consecutive days" No mention of lag...

p.s. forgot to spell check before posting! :P

Thanks for your responses. The stairs were not fautly, or wet but the employee was carrying a box of files. Having debated I am going to report the accident as an RIDDOR. Thanks again.

As has been mentioned, it is over 7 days and not counting the day of the accident. However, remember that this does include weekend days or any other day on which the employee might not normally be at work. Also, note that the regulations also state the employee must be capable on their return of carrying out their normal duties. Hence, if the RTW meeting stipulates "light duties", then this could still mean you have a RIDDOR reportable even if they are at work. I also disagree with Mr Flibble. I don't think it matters whether the steps were faulty or whether the employee was carrying anything. They fell whilst at work and are now off work. That starts the clock ticking (not counting the days they were back at work, unless during those days it could be said that they were not able to carry out their normal work). The reason they fell is not pertinent as far as RIDDOR is concerned. It is very pertinent to your own investigation, of course. I agree with canopener. Don't report until you need to. I doubt that the person will return to work prior to the 7 days line (and for insurance purposes, they should not be at work unless their GP signs them fit for work), but you should only report it once the RIDDOR condition has been met. Unless you have a long history of these types of accidents happening, you also have nothing to fear from reporting it, HSE will more than likely simply add it to the many slips, trips and falls stats for the year and do nothing else.

The reason they fell is very pertinent in RIDDOR as expressed both in the regulations themselves and the HSE guidance to them. That they were carrying a box is relevant.

Jake, you are absolutely right. The REASON that someone falls is not only 'pertinent' to RIDDOR, but it is actually a KEY consideration to whether or not you need to report under RIDDOR. This is explained with reasonable clarity in the guidance (I don't think it is an ACoP) and if I recall correctly from a previous post I made on another recent thread, para 34 onwards, which deals with 'arising out of or in connection with work'.

I agree and as a helpful hint, don't forget to consider para 38 which gives guidance on determining whether an accident was out of or in connection with work as it lists the key factors to take into consideration e.g. 'the manner of conducting an undertaking', 'plant or substances used' and 'condition of the premises'.

Hell I would happily report anything (chances of the HSE turning up off the back of it are slim to none) however when you are targeted with KPI's it makes a lot of difference about reporting RIDDOR's that you might not need to. Such is the reality of working for large organisations.

Schools are different anyway, and there's specific guidance relating to injuries to pupils. In this case, if the person is off their normal work over 7 days, I would report it - the box they were carrying makes it 'arising out of work' in my view.