Accident at work employer responsibility: what the law requires

What does accident at work employer responsibility cover?

Accident at work employer responsibility, after an incident has occurred, covers five distinct areas: recording the accident, reporting it to the HSE where required, preserving the scene and evidence, notifying the employers' liability insurer, and treating the injured worker lawfully.

These obligations exist alongside (and are separate from) the ongoing employer responsibility to prevent accidents from happening in the first place. For a guide to those ongoing duties, including risk assessments, safe systems of work, and the duties under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, see our employer duties guide.

This guide focuses exclusively on what the law requires your employer to do after an accident has already happened.

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Should the accident be recorded in the accident book?

Employers with ten or more employees are required to maintain an accident book under the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979. Every work-related injury, however minor, should be recorded. The record must include the date, time, location, nature of the injury, and the names of any witnesses.

As the injured worker, you have the right to see the entry and to receive a copy. If the entry misrepresents what happened, you can challenge it in writing. Keep your own written record of the accident as soon as possible after the event, while the details are fresh, and send it to your employer by email so there is a date-stamped copy you control.

If your employer refuses to record the accident or claims no accident book exists, report the incident in writing yourself and state clearly that you are reserving all legal rights. That written notification can substitute as evidence of the accident and your employer's awareness of it.

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Which accidents must your employer report to the HSE?

RIDDOR 2013 (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) requires employers to report certain accidents directly to the Health and Safety Executive. This is the employer's obligation, not yours.

Fatal accidents must be reported to the HSE immediately by the quickest practical means, followed by a written report within 10 days.

Specified injuries (fractures except fingers/thumbs/toes, amputations, loss of sight, crush injuries to head or torso, severe burns, loss of consciousness, scalping) must be reported to the HSE within 10 days of the accident.

Over-seven-day injuries (where the worker cannot perform their normal duties for more than seven consecutive days after the accident, not counting the day of the accident) must be reported within 15 days. The 10-day and 15-day clocks run from the date of the accident, not from when the employer learns of the injury's severity.

Dangerous occurrences (defined events with the potential to cause harm, even where no injury results) must also be reported.

Employers report through the HSE portal. Failure to report is a criminal offence carrying an unlimited fine. If your employer did not report a RIDDOR-reportable accident after your injury, that failure is itself evidence of a casual attitude to health and safety obligations and may be relevant to your civil claim.

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What evidence must your employer preserve after an accident?

Your employer has both a practical and a regulatory incentive to preserve evidence after a workplace accident: the HSE may inspect, and insurers will need it.

Practically, this means:

Securing the scene. Where possible, the area where the accident happened should be left undisturbed until it can be photographed and assessed. Equipment involved in the accident should not be repaired, replaced, or disposed of without recording its condition.

Retaining CCTV. Employers should ensure footage from cameras covering the area is preserved and not overwritten. Most workplace systems overwrite on a rolling 14 to 31-day cycle. If your employer fails to preserve footage and it is later destroyed, a court can draw adverse inferences from that failure.

Collecting witness accounts. The employer's health and safety officer or HR department should take contemporaneous statements from anyone who witnessed the accident. These are particularly important if liability is later disputed.

As the injured worker, you should also take steps to preserve evidence independently: photograph injuries and the scene if you are able to do so, note the names of witnesses immediately, and request CCTV footage in writing from your employer before any automatic overwrite occurs. A Subject Access Request under UK GDPR requires a response within one month.

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Must your employer notify their liability insurer?

Under section 1 of the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, every UK employer must hold a minimum of £5 million in employers' liability insurance. The policy must be displayed (or available electronically) in the workplace.

After a reportable accident, your employer is required under their policy terms to notify their insurer promptly. If they fail to do so and the insurer later seeks to avoid the policy on that basis, the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 provide protections that can allow you to claim directly against the insurer in certain circumstances.

The insurer, not the employer personally, pays any compensation awarded in a successful claim. This matters for workers who fear their claim will financially harm a small business or a manager they respect. In practice, the employer's premium may increase, but the payment comes from the insurer's funds.

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What your employer cannot do after an accident

Several post-accident employer behaviours are either unlawful or amount to a breach of duty that a court will take seriously.

Pressure not to claim. Your employer has no right to instruct you not to make a compensation claim, to discourage you from seeking legal advice, or to tell you that claiming will harm your colleagues or the business. Workers who experience this pressure should record it in writing.

Direct settlement without representation. Your employer or their insurer may approach you directly with an early settlement offer. You are under no obligation to accept or even respond without taking legal advice first. Settlements reached without legal advice are frequently undervalued and, once signed, are very difficult to reopen.

Using a specific solicitor. Your employer cannot require you to use a solicitor of their choosing. You have the right to instruct any regulated solicitor you choose.

Retaliation. Dismissing, demoting, or otherwise penalising you for making a claim or for raising a health and safety concern is automatically unfair under section 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, with no qualifying period of employment required. For a detailed guide to employment protection after an accident, see our being sacked guide.

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What accident at work employer responsibility means for your claim

A failure by your employer to meet any of these post-accident obligations can strengthen your civil compensation claim in two ways.

First, a RIDDOR filing by the employer is an admission that a work-related accident occurred: it can be obtained from the HSE and used as evidence of the incident. An absence of a RIDDOR report where one was required may indicate the employer was aware the accident reflected poorly on their safety management.

Second, failure to preserve CCTV or the scene, destruction of evidence, or a failure to record the accident in the accident book can all be raised before a court as adverse inference points: why would the employer destroy or fail to preserve evidence unless it was damaging to their case?

For a step-by-step guide to the compensation claim process from instruction of a solicitor through to settlement, see our claims process guide. The time limit for making a civil claim is three years from the date of the accident.