Is an accident book at work a legal requirement?
Yes. The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979 require employers with 10 or more employees to keep records of accidents at work. The HSE publishes an approved accident book format (BI 510) that meets this requirement, though employers are not obliged to use that specific format provided their alternative captures the same information.
Sole traders and very small employers (fewer than 10 employees) are not legally required to maintain a formal accident book, but they are still required to report certain injuries under RIDDOR and to keep internal health and safety records. For practical and evidential purposes, every employer should record workplace accidents regardless of size.
The accident book is a separate requirement from RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013). The book is an internal employer record. RIDDOR requires the employer to report specified serious injuries to the HSE as well. The two obligations overlap but are not the same.
Who is responsible for the accident book at work?
The employer is responsible for providing and maintaining the accident book. In practice, the duty is usually delegated to a health and safety officer, line manager, or HR department. The employer must:
- Make the accident book available and accessible at the workplace at all times
- Ensure that workers know where it is kept and that they are entitled to make an entry after any accident
- Ensure entries are completed promptly, ideally on the day of the accident or as soon as reasonably practicable
- Store completed entries so that they cannot be accessed by other workers
Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, the accident book must be designed so that individual entries are confidential. The old-style shared book, where all entries were visible to anyone reading the book, is no longer compliant. Individual entries must be removable or the book must be designed so that each entry is on a separate detachable sheet that can be removed and filed separately after completion.
What must be recorded in the accident book at work?
Each entry in the accident book at work must record:
- The date, time, and exact location of the accident
- The full name and contact details of the injured person
- A description of the injury (what body part was injured and the nature of the injury)
- A description of what happened and how the accident occurred
- The name of any witness to the accident
- Whether any first aid or medical treatment was given immediately
The description of the accident should be as specific and factual as possible. "Slipped on wet floor near loading bay, fell onto left hand, fractured wrist" is far more useful in a claim than "had an accident at work." The cause of the accident should be recorded even if it is in dispute.
As the injured person, you are entitled to request a copy of your entry. Ask for this in writing on the day or as soon as you are able. A photograph of the page (if permitted by your employer) or a written copy kept by you is a valuable precaution.
The accident book at work and GDPR
The old HSE accident book (BI 510 pre-2003) was a bound volume where all entries were visible to any reader. This format is no longer GDPR-compliant because it allowed other workers to see personal data about an injured colleague's medical condition.
The updated format introduced in 2003, and the GDPR obligations imposed from 2018, require that:
- Each entry is made on a separate page or form that can be removed from the book
- Completed and removed entries are stored in a confidential file, accessible only to the employer and authorised managers
- The data is retained for the relevant limitation period: the employer should keep accident records for at least three years to cover the personal injury claim window, and for 40 years where industrial disease or long-term occupational health conditions may be relevant
Your right to access your own entry is protected under the Data Protection Act 2018. You can make a Subject Access Request to obtain a copy of any entry relating to you. The employer must respond within one month.
How does the accident book support a compensation claim?
The accident book entry is contemporaneous evidence: it was made at or near the time of the accident, before any dispute arose, and by or in the presence of the injured worker. Courts treat this type of evidence as highly reliable precisely because it was not created in anticipation of litigation.
In a workplace injury claim, the entry in the accident book does three things. First, it establishes the date and place of the accident, which fixes the start of the limitation period under the Limitation Act 1980. Second, it records the mechanism of the accident as it was understood at the time, making it harder for an employer to argue later that the accident happened differently. Third, it records the nature of the injury immediately after the event, before any dispute about whether the injury was pre-existing.
The accident book does not prove liability on its own. But an entry that records "slipped on a wet floor that had no wet floor sign and no non-slip matting" provides the starting point for a negligence argument that is difficult to unpick. For a full explanation of how a claim is built and how evidence is gathered, see our how claims work guide. For a guide to all the rights you have after a workplace accident, see our injury rights guide.
What to do if there is no accident book at work
If your employer does not have an accident book, refuses to let you make an entry, or tells you the accident is not serious enough to record, take the following steps immediately:
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Write your own record. Note the date, time, location, what happened, and the nature of your injury. Send it to yourself by email with a timestamp so the date cannot be disputed.
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Inform your GP. Visit your GP or an urgent care centre as soon as possible after the accident and tell them you were injured at work. The clinical record your GP makes is independent, dated, and admissible evidence of both the injury and its work-related origin.
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Inform your employer in writing. Email your manager or HR to notify them of the accident. This creates a dated record even without a formal entry.
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Photograph the scene. If the hazard that caused your accident is still visible (a wet floor, a broken step, an unguarded machine), photograph it on your phone with the date and location visible.
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Seek legal advice. An employer who refuses to keep an accident book or who discourages entries may be attempting to reduce the evidence available if you claim. This is relevant to the reliability of the employer's evidence in any subsequent proceedings.
The absence of an accident book, or the suppression of an entry, does not prevent you from bringing a compensation claim. It simply means the claim proceeds on other evidence. For information on time limits and when you must act, see our time limits page. For a guide to what your employer is legally required to do after an accident, see our employer responsibilities guide.
RIDDOR reporting and the accident book
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) are a separate obligation requiring employers to report certain incidents to the HSE. RIDDOR applies to:
- Deaths at work
- Specified serious injuries: fractures (other than fingers, thumbs, and toes), amputations, injuries requiring hospital admission for more than 24 hours, loss of sight, and certain other listed injuries
- Over-seven-day injuries: where a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident)
- Occupational diseases confirmed by a doctor
- Dangerous occurrences: near-miss events in specified categories
A RIDDOR report must be made within 10 days for most specified injuries (7 days for fatal accidents). It is made to the HSE online. The accident book entry should be made on the day of the accident regardless of whether a RIDDOR report is required.
A RIDDOR report is not the same as a compensation claim and does not trigger one automatically. However, RIDDOR records are accessible to injured workers and their solicitors. A RIDDOR report that describes the accident in specific terms is strong contemporaneous evidence of both the accident and its mechanism.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice about making a workplace injury claim or your rights as an injured worker, speak to a regulated solicitor. You can find one through the Find a Solicitor service (Law Society) or through APIL.
Frequently asked questions
What if my employer refuses to let me see the accident book?
You have a right to see your own personal data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), which includes accident book entries relating to you. Make a Subject Access Request in writing. Your employer must respond within one month. Refusal without a valid legal reason is a breach of data protection law.
What should I do if my accident was not recorded in the book?
Write to your employer (or HR department) immediately, stating the date, time, location, and nature of the accident, and confirm that you are requesting the incident be recorded. Keep a copy. This written record can serve as evidence in place of a missing accident book entry.
Does an accident book entry prove my employer was at fault?
Not on its own — it records that an accident occurred, not who was at fault. However, it establishes the date and circumstances and is important evidence for any subsequent compensation claim. An absence of any record can make a claim harder to establish if your employer later disputes the accident happened.
How long should employers keep accident book records?
Under RIDDOR, records must be kept for a minimum of three years. In practice, solicitors advise preserving all records indefinitely, as industrial disease claims can arise many years after the relevant entries. Data protection rules require balancing retention against the original purpose of collection.
Browse every plain-English guide in the work accident guides hub, or read the main guide to how a claim works.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a regulated solicitor.