Accident Book Reports – What To Do If Your Employer Won’t Record Your Injury At Work

By Ian Morris | Updated November 7th, 2024

223 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Quick Answer: If your employer refuses to let you access or use the accident book after a workplace injury, you still have options. You can gather other forms of evidence, such as witness statements, photographs, and written reports sent to your employer. These steps will help you protect your rights and support any future personal injury claims.

Key Takeaways:

Employers are legally required to maintain an accident book if they have 10 or more employees.
RIDDOR reporting is mandatory for serious injuries or incidents that result in an employee being off work for seven days or more.
If denied access to the accident book, document the incident yourself and seek witness statements.
Photographs and written reports sent to your employer can serve as alternative evidence.
Seek legal advice from a specialist solicitor if your employer is obstructive.

When an employer refuses access to the accident book, it can feel intimidating and isolating. However, understanding your rights and taking proper action can protect both your health and legal interests. Let’s explore what you should do in this situation.

Legal Requirements for Accident Reporting

Every employer in the UK has a legal duty to record workplace accidents and injuries. This obligation exists regardless of the size of the business or the severity of the incident. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) mandates that employers must maintain suitable accident recording systems, whether through a traditional accident book or digital format.

For accidents resulting in serious injury or causing more than seven days of absence from work, employers have additional reporting requirements. These incidents must be formally reported to the HSE through the RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) system within 15 days of the accident.

Failing to maintain proper accident records or preventing employees from accessing the accident book isn’t just poor practice – it’s a breach of health and safety regulations that could result in significant penalties for the employer.

Types of Employers and Accident Reporting

Responsible Employers
Most employers understand their responsibilities and maintain proper health and safety practices. These employers typically:

Keep accident books readily accessible to all employees
Train staff on proper incident reporting procedures
Investigate accidents thoroughly to prevent future occurrences
Take immediate action when safety concerns are raised

Non-Compliant Employers
Unfortunately, some employers may attempt to avoid their responsibilities through various tactics:

Claiming they don’t have an accident book
Refusing to acknowledge workplace accidents occurred
Pressuring employees not to record incidents
Making the accident reporting process unnecessarily difficult

These behaviours often stem from concerns about insurance premiums or fear of investigation. However, such actions can lead to more severe consequences for both the employer and affected employees if accidents go unrecorded and unaddressed.

Steps to Take If Denied Access to the Accident Book

If your employer refuses to let you record a workplace accident, you can still make a claim, but it’s important to take immediate action to protect your interests. The first step is to create your own written record of the incident and send it to your employer via email, ensuring you maintain a paper trail of your attempt to report the accident. This documentation should include specific details about what happened, when and where it occurred, and any injuries sustained.

Making Your Own Record:
Your written statement should be comprehensive and include:

Date, time, and location of the incident
Description of how the accident occurred
Names of any witnesses present
Details of any injuries sustained
Any relevant workplace conditions or hazards

Formal Communication:
Send your written account to your employer through multiple channels:

Email to your direct supervisor
Copy to HR department or senior management
Recorded delivery to the company’s registered office

By following these steps and understanding your rights after a workplace injury, you can ensure that even if your employer refuses access to vital records like the accident book, you still have options for making a successful personal injury claim.

Your Legal Rights and Protections

Every employee has specific legal rights regarding workplace accidents and their recording. If your employer is preventing access to the accident book, you should be aware that this behaviour could constitute grounds for additional legal action.

Key Legal Rights:

The right to have workplace accidents properly recorded
The right to submit a Subject Access Request for personal information
The right to report safety concerns to the Health and Safety Executive
Protection from any form of retaliation for reporting accidents

If your employer continues to refuse proper accident recording, or threatens you could lose your job, you may have grounds for constructive dismissal. Remember that employers cannot delete sent emails, particularly those from your personal email account, so electronic communication provides a permanent record of your attempts to report the incident.

Evidence Collection and Documentation

Proper evidence collection is even more important when your employer denies access to the accident book. The strength of any future claim often depends on the quality and quantity of evidence gathered immediately after the incident. Try to collect the following:

Essential Evidence Types:

Photographs of the accident scene and any visible injuries
Medical records from GP visits and hospital treatments
Witness contact details and statements
Work emails or messages discussing the incident
Personal diary entries documenting pain and recovery
Records of expenses related to the injury

Digital Evidence:
In today’s workplace, digital evidence can be particularly valuable:

Screenshots of relevant workplace communications
CCTV footage requests (must be made promptly as footage is often deleted after 30 days)
Phone records or text messages related to the incident
Social media posts or messages discussing workplace safety issues

Making a Successful Compensation Claim

Most employers prioritise workplace safety, providing proper training and maintaining accident reporting systems to protect their staff and visitors. They understand their legal obligations and ensure employees know how to record incidents in the accident book.

However, some employers neglect their duty of care, viewing staff as disposable. These employers may:

Skip essential safety training
Fail to maintain equipment
Provide inadequate tools
Refuse to acknowledge workplace accidents
Deny access to accident reporting systems

If your employer falls into this category and won’t allow proper accident recording, seek our legal advice. While claims against such employers can still succeed, quick action is essential to preserve your claim’s strength and protect your rights.

Remember that all employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment and proper accident reporting procedures, regardless of their attitude toward workplace safety. Pursuing a legitimate claim is your legal right, and many workplace safety improvements have resulted from employees standing firm on their right to proper accident reporting and compensation.

Working with our No Win No Fee solicitors can provide peace of mind, as you won’t face upfront legal costs and only pay if your claim succeeds. And remember, it’s your employer’s insurance company, not the employer themselves, typically handles compensation claims. This means pursuing a legitimate claim shouldn’t impact your employer‘s business directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

223 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

My employer is making it hard for me to get the date of my accident. I had my union rep email them and they still have not responded.

Did you seek medical attention at the time of your accident? If so, contact your GP surgery and ask them to check on your medical records to let you know the date you attended Hospital/Doctors for treatment.

If you need any further help with starting a claim, please do not hesitate to contact us.

I pulled a ligament in my leg doing my job, but at work, they won’t put it in the accident book.

Your employer should record the injury in their accident book. As they have refused, our recommendation is that you write your own report of the injury, stating what happened, where and when and what injury you have sustained and send it to the employer by email. You can then retain your own copy in your sent email folder and the employer has been made aware of the incident – whether they choose to then record it correctly or not!

I have no access to accident book as it is locked in first aid room is this legal as my injury is minor?

Your employer is within their rights to keep the accident book record in a secure location, but they are obliged to record the details of each and every injury within the workplace – whether it be minor or serious.

Hi can you log an accident in the book 4 weeks after the injury?
Thanks

You can request that an accident be logged at any stage, but an employer or organisation may refuse to accept an entry in to their accident book if time has passed since the incident and if there is no independent witness available to confirm the location and time of the incident.

If your request to log the incident is refused, simply make your own written report detailing the date and time of the incident along with the location, a description of the incident and injuries sustained.

I was using an angle grinder at work, I was cut badly on my arm through no fault of my own, an independent safety company did a report for the company I was working for, I’ve asked to see photos and statements, but they won’t show me.

We would like to help you pursue a claim for the laceration to your arm as it would appear that you have a robust and valid claim for compensation.

Whilst the employer has refused to show you the contents of the report, photographs or statements you should not be concerned. The employer is not obliged to release this to you, but should a claim proceed, our Solicitors will be able to access the report and contents.

Do I have the right to ask for a copy of the incident report from my supervisor if I was in an accident?

You do you have a right to request a copy of the incident report, but the employer is not obliged to provide that to you. It is somewhat of a grey area in that they do not have to give it to you but there is also no reason for them not to give it to you!

I had an accident at work, wasn’t my fault, they won’t let me see photos or statements?

Whilst there is no legal obligation for the employer to allow you to view their statements or photographs relating to your accident (unless they are disciplining you as a result of the incident), there is also no real reason for denying you the opportunity to view them.

Three months ago in November 2020 I was shovelling gravel in my workplace when I suffered a severe heart attack. I spent 3 days in Hospital, had 2 stents fitted and have just gone back to work after 12 weeks. My employer put me down to zero pay, paying only SSP because they said it was not an injury at work and thus not their responsibility. The work I was carrying out, shovelling gravel was part of a Company Works Order. As far as I can ascertain my employer did not report the incident as a RIDDOR even though my heart attack was brought about whilst carrying out a workplace activity and I was off work over 7 days. Can you help?

Although you were taken seriously ill at work, it is unlikely to be considered a RIDDOR matter as you were not injured in an accident and it is unclear that there was any negligence.

My wife was badly injured at home after falling off a commode, it was put in the d.o.b book but then a different statement completely was sent to me. Can they change the original statement for a more elaborate one protecting themselves?

No accident or incident report should be amended to withhold accurate information. Whilst it is reasonable for a report to be re-written to be more descriptive or accurate, if there is any false information or accurate incriminating information is removed, that is fraud and should be reported to the relevant authorities.

Hi
I am a H&S rep, my employer is the prison service and my recognised union is the POA. I have requested a copy of an accident report that my employer submitted ref an accident at work suffered by one of my union members. The management have refused to disclsoe a copy of this report to the victim of the accident but they have agreed to disclose it to me as the H&S rep. My question is am I l entitled to share that report with the victim of the accident?

Whether or not you can disclose the contents to the employee in question is unclear. The employer has no obligation to provide copies of incident/accident reports to employees, but there is also no reason why they should not. In this case, you should check whether there are any ‘do not disclose’ clauses in the release of the document to you before you share it with the employee.

Hello i started work as an temp worker through a agency, for a month that ive been there i was lifting car cylinders 25/30kg on 12 hour day and night shifts, ive lifted the cylinder outa the machine and put it on the rack and i felt a severe sharp pain in my shoulder blade, were supposed to be using a mini crane too do the lifting however it was broke so we had the do the lifting by ourselves which was very hard over 12 hours, the manager wont allow me the file it on the accident report book, the nurse told me the rest and that shouldnt be doing the job in the first place, ive been to the doctors, i cant lift like this with this pain.

You have a right to make a back injury claim in this scenario. Regardless of whether you are an agency or full-time employee, you have the same right to a safe working environment. As the mini-crane was broken, the employer should have found an alternative lifting solution or temporarily suspended the work in question. The fact that the employer that you were working for failed to protect you and other employees is likely to be seen as employer negligence.

Hello there, I slipped and fell down stairs outside in my workplace resulting in a strained arm, lower back and hip pain, I’ve let my manager know but no accident form was recorded nor was the owner of the hotel informed, what should I do?

What caused you to fall on the stairs? Were they wet? Were the stairs inside or outside? If there was a hazard on the stairs that lead to the fall, you should – if you can – obtain photographs showing the hazard.

In terms of the accident report, you should write your own report and send a copy to your Manager and to the Hotel in which you should outline what happened, where and when and how you were injured.

I work in a care home and one of the staff asked if I would help her as she was bathing a resident who was being stubborn, so I did. However, whilst I was drying and pulling the residents underwear up, the resident collapsed on to my arms.

I eventually got sent to a physio who thought that I had a tear in the rotator cuff. I was given a sick note and booked in for an ultrasound scan, which I had on Monday this week. The scan shows that I do seem to have a tear. However, I now have to wait for my Doctor to get the result. I rang where I work to ask whether the incident was recorded in the accident book and if not, could I put it in. However, this was refused with them saying that it’s to late to do this and the girl who I was helping didn’t remember me doing it (which obviously is a lie).

Is the employer allowed to refuse me to report this? I won’t know what is happening with my arm until my Doctor gets my result. Can you please advise me on what to do next?

Your employer is not required to allow you to enter a report in to the accident book given the time that has lapsed between the incident and now. An accident book entry really needs to be completed immediately, or very soon after an incident.

However, in your case we would suggest that you write to your employer by email to outline what happened, when and where and how what you initially thought was a minor muscle pull is actually a potentially serious injury that may require lengthy treatment.

You could seek to make a claim against your employer for the injury sustained. It would seem that the Bathroom you were in was too small for the amount of people within it and that the nature of the care being given was not correctly risk assessed for the resident in question.

Hello. I am pregnant. I got electrical shock at work by touching two machines. One of the supervisor gave me a lift to the hospital. I have been told that everything was put in accident book straight after I was gone but when I asked to see if everything was put down correctly I have been told that they are not sure if they will be able to show me my accident report. My baby is all healthy and ok but I am scared of working there. What do I do in this situation ?

Your employer is not obliged to show you what has been written in the accident book. Although there is no reason for them not to show you, as they are not compelled to, they may opt against disclosure of the report. If you are concerned about the contents of the report, you should email the employer to request sight of the report and also to make your own report of the incident and ask that your record is retained with the accident report.

Can my employers withhold an in-house accident investigation report from me if I ask for a copy?

There is no requirement for them to provide or indeed disclose their own investigation report to/from you. If their report were to lead to any disciplinary action against you, they would have to disclose the report to you so that you could contest the findings.

I had a fall in work and broke my arm I was told the accident pack was filled out I was supposed to have said it was my fault. I tripped over my foot I was screaming in agony. I didn’t get to read what they had written and I never signed anything, can I put in a claim?

Of course, if you were injured in an accident at work that was not your fault, you can make a claim for compensation. If the employers accident report provides details of an accident that conflict with your given version of events, it may be problematic.

Have you asked your employer about their report of the accident and asked to see a copy of the report?

Can I get a copy of the filled in and signed accident book following my accident at work?

You can request a copy of an accident book entry, but there is no legal requirement for the employer to provide it to you. Should you go on to make a claim, a Solicitor can obtain a copy for the purposes of a claim.

I work in care home, was punched by resident causing Posterior vitreous detachment of eye leaving me with floaters and bright flashing light that will be permanent. Manager says it not go in accident book as it’s an incident, also have asked if I will receive sick pay as signed off for two weeks, my manager will not talk to me or respond to emails.
What do you suggest I do?

Whether recorded in an accident book or in an incident log, as long as the employer does make a record of the incident and injury, that is the main thing. If the resident in question was known to be aggressive or violent, were you made aware of that risk? Were you adequately trained to handle such a risk or was there not a care plan in place that provided you with a risk assessment?

If the employer did not minimise the risk of such an injury, you can pursue a claim against them for compensation for the nasty injury you have sustained.

I had an accident at work last September where I hurt my shoulder and I’m still suffering from ths injury and have not been able to work since. Also, I am unable to do my daily tasks without help – basically all my life changed.

I recently got told that my accident wasn’t reported to HSE and when I contacted the HSE about this, I was told that my accident didn’t have to be reported! Why? I thought it was the law?

Not all accidents have to be reported to the HSE or to RIDDOR. There are certain regulations regarding the reporting of accidents at work and it usually relates to the severity of injury or nature of the accident.

In terms of the injury and accident, you may be able to make a claim for compensation for the shoulder injury and impact on your life and income. We need to find out how the accident happened and what you were doing so that we can ascertain whether or not you can make a claim.

I fell off a small stepladder at work 3 weeks ago and broke my arm. I’m off for another 4 weeks. I’ve no idea if the accident book was filled in or if it was reported. The steps were not faulty but in my opinion were unsafe for the job i was doing. Can i claim anything for loss of earnings?

There is every likelihood that your employer has put you at risk by asking you to use inappropriate equipment and not provided any training or guidance. If we can establish this, then you can make a claim against the employer and their insurers, which would include loss of earnings.

I had an accident at work last November. When we had the floods.
A ceiling partially collapsed hitting me and caused a cut to one of my eyeballs. I sought medical advice the doctor removed a foreign object from my eye.
He the sent me to a specialist who confirmed i had damaged my eye and had lowered the percentage of vision. That i have to now wear glasses.
I informed my employers the day after and on a few occasions of the accident if it had been recorded in the accident book i do not know but i did inform them on more than one occasion.
What are my next steps ?
Thank you
Nigel

If the ceiling collapsed because of flooding, a claim for compensation may not succeed as the defendant could argue that the cause of your injury was beyond their control or reasonable expectation. However, if the employer placed you at risk by requesting that you entered a building or premises that they should have known was at risk of causing injury or if the building was already in a state of disrepair, you could pursue a claim.

If you would like to further discuss this matter with us, please call us on 01225430285. Our staff will be able to help you to identify whether or not you can pursue a claim for compensation.

Legal Requirements for Accident Reporting

Types of Employers and Accident Reporting

Steps to Take If Denied Access to the Accident Book

Your Legal Rights and Protections

Evidence Collection and Documentation

Making a Successful Compensation Claim

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if my employer refuses to let me use the accident book?

Is my employer legally required to keep an accident book?

Can I still make a claim if my injury wasn’t recorded in the accident book?

What types of injuries need to be reported under RIDDOR?

How long do I have to make a personal injury claim?

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