The Government has published Regulations that increase the period of incapacity that triggers the employer's duty to make a report to the enforcing authority following an accident at work.

Under reg.3(2) of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/3163), employers are required to report an injury to the relevant enforcing authority when a worker is unable to do his or her normal work for more than three consecutive days, where the injury was caused by an accident at work.

Employers are required to make the report as soon as practicable and, in any event, within 10 days of the accident. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/199) make the following amendments:

• The period of incapacity before an employer is required to report an injury arising from an accident at work increases from more than three to more than seven days.

• The period within which an employer is required to make the report increases from 10 to 15 days.

Changes are also made to the records that employers are required to keep under reg.7. Where an accident at work causes an employee to be incapacitated for more than three consecutive days, the employer will be required to keep a record of: the date and time of the accident; the full name and occupation of the injured worker and the nature of his or her injury; the place where the accident happened; and a brief description of the circumstances in which the accident happened.

The amendments come into force on 6 April 2012.

The changes to employers' reporting requirements are made in the context of the Government's commitment to reducing the burden of health and safety regulations. On 28 November 2011, the Government announced that a simpler accident reporting regime will be in place by 2014.

• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (Amendment) Regulations 2012 Read the Regulations on the UK legislation website.

• A guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (PDF format, 2.07MB)

Read the guide to the Regulations, which has been updated to take into account the changes coming into force on 6 April 2012, on the HSE website.