Incidents

Recording and managing workplace incidents isn't just good practice - it's a legal requirement. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) and the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), employers must keep records of workplace accidents, near misses, and dangerous occurrences. Shinepoint makes this straightforward, giving you a structured way to report incidents, track investigations, and document the corrective actions that prevent them from happening again.

#Reporting an Incident

When something goes wrong at work - or nearly goes wrong - it should be reported promptly. This includes accidents where someone is injured, near misses that could have caused harm, dangerous occurrences such as equipment failures or structural collapses, and occupational diseases linked to the working environment. Even incidents that seem minor at the time are worth recording, because patterns only become visible when you have a complete picture.

To report an incident, select Report Incident from the incidents page. You'll be asked to provide the following information:

1. Title - a brief summary of what happened
2. Incident type - choose from Accident, Near Miss, Dangerous Occurrence, or Occupational Disease
3. Severity - classify as Minor, Moderate, Major, or Critical
4. Date and time - when the incident occurred
5. Location - where it took place
6. Involved employee - optionally link the incident to a specific employee record
7. Description - a detailed account of what happened, including events leading up to the incident, what occurred, and any injuries or damage
8. Witnesses - names and contact details of anyone who witnessed the incident
9. RIDDOR reportable - whether the incident needs to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

The more detail you provide at the point of reporting, the easier the investigation will be. Include what the person was doing at the time, what conditions were like, and any immediate actions that were taken in response.

#Incident Types and Severity

Classifying incidents correctly helps you understand what's happening in your workplace and whether any regulatory reporting obligations apply.

#Types

• Accident - an unplanned event that results in injury, ill health, or damage to property or equipment
• Near Miss - an event that could have resulted in injury or damage but didn't, often through luck or timely intervention
• Dangerous Occurrence - a specific category of event that must be reported under RIDDOR, regardless of whether anyone was actually injured (for example, the collapse of scaffolding, an explosion, or the failure of load-bearing equipment)
• Occupational Disease - a work-related illness or health condition, such as occupational dermatitis, hand-arm vibration syndrome, or occupational asthma

#Severity

Level	Description	RIDDOR
Minor	No significant injury; first aid only if needed	Not reportable
Moderate	Injury requiring medical treatment or short-term absence	Not typically reportable
Major	Serious injury, extended absence, or over-seven-day incapacitation	Reportable to HSE within 15 days
Critical	Life-threatening injury or fatality	Reportable to HSE within 10 days; call HSE immediately for fatalities

Shinepoint uses the severity and type you select to flag incidents that are likely to be RIDDOR reportable, helping you stay on top of your reporting obligations.

#RIDDOR Reporting

RIDDOR requires employers to report certain workplace incidents to the HSE. The types of incident covered include deaths, specified injuries (such as fractures, amputations, and loss of consciousness), over-seven-day incapacitation where an employee is unable to carry out their normal duties for more than seven consecutive days, dangerous occurrences, and certain occupational diseases.

When you classify an incident as Major or Critical severity, or select Dangerous Occurrence or Occupational Disease as the type, Shinepoint automatically flags it as potentially RIDDOR reportable and displays guidance about the relevant reporting timeframes. You can also manually mark any incident as RIDDOR reportable if you believe it qualifies.

Once an incident has been reported to the HSE, you can record the RIDDOR reference number against the incident in Shinepoint, keeping everything together in one place.

#Investigating Incidents

Reporting an incident is only the first step. A thorough investigation helps you understand what went wrong, why it happened, and what needs to change to prevent it from happening again. Shinepoint provides a clear workflow for managing investigations through four statuses:

• Open - the incident has been reported and is awaiting investigation
• Investigating - someone is actively looking into what happened
• Corrective Action - the root cause has been identified and actions are being put in place
• Closed - the investigation is complete and all corrective actions have been addressed

You can progress an incident through these statuses from the incident detail page. As you move through the investigation, you'll want to build up a picture of what happened by adding to the incident record.

#Corrective Actions

Corrective actions are the practical steps you take to prevent a recurrence. From the incident detail page, you can add corrective actions with a description of what needs to be done, who it's assigned to, and a due date. Each action can be marked as complete once it's been carried out, giving you a clear audit trail of what was done and when.

When all corrective actions are complete and you're satisfied that the investigation has reached its conclusion, you can close the incident. Closing an incident lets you add final closure notes summarising the outcome and any lessons learned.

#Learning from Incidents

The real value of incident reporting comes from what you do with the information afterwards. Over time, your incident records build a picture of where risks exist in your business and whether your existing controls are working.

Review your incidents regularly to spot patterns and trends. Are incidents clustering around a particular location, time of day, or type of work? Are the same hazards coming up repeatedly? If so, your existing risk assessments may need updating to reflect what you're seeing in practice.

Incidents can also highlight gaps in training. If employees are repeatedly involved in incidents related to manual handling or equipment use, that's a strong signal that additional training is needed. Linking incident findings to your training programme creates a cycle of continuous improvement rather than simply reacting to events as they occur.

Perhaps most importantly, share what you learn. Discussing incidents and their outcomes with your team - without apportioning blame - builds awareness and reinforces the message that health and safety is everyone's responsibility. The Dashboard gives you an overview of your open incidents and RIDDOR flags, making it easy to keep incident management on your radar alongside everything else you're managing.