Registering and reporting a work accident: what employers need to do

What is a work accident?

A work accident is, broadly, an accident in which someone is injured during work. Whether a particular event falls under that term depends on the situation, for example with hired workers, subcontractors or accidents on the way. If in doubt, record it anyway.

A near miss, in which nobody is hurt, is not a work accident, but it does call for recording and follow-up. The causes are often the same, and anyone who takes near misses seriously prevents the next accident with injury.

What do you always record?

Record every accident with injury, however minor, straight away. A brief record made straight away is worth more than a reconstruction afterwards. At a minimum, include:

• Date, time and place, and what work was being carried out
• Who the victim is, with job role and type of employment, such as own employee, hired worker or subcontractor
• What happened, according to the victim and witnesses, supplemented with photos
• The nature of the injury and the part of the body
• First aid and follow-up care, such as the emergency response team, a GP or a hospital
• The consequences: absence, adjusted duties and damage
• The machine, substance or equipment involved
• The causes and the measures taken

Privacy and injury data

Injury data are health data, which are subject to stricter privacy rules. Record only what you need for investigation and follow-up, and give access only to people who really need it, such as the QHSE coordinator and the supervisor involved.

How long you keep data depends on legislation and your own policy. Check the current rules and agree the retention period with whoever handles privacy in your organization.

What do you do immediately after an accident?

The first minutes matter a lot. Look after the victim first and the investigation second. Do not change the situation more than is needed for help and safety, and record it with photos, because after a serious accident the inspectorate may want to examine the site.

• For serious injury, call the emergency services straight away and deploy the emergency response team
• Make the area safe for others without needlessly disturbing evidence
• Inform the supervisor and the QHSE coordinator
• Record the situation: photos, witnesses, equipment involved
• Assess whether this is an accident that must be reported
• Register the accident and start the investigation

Which accidents do you report to the Netherlands Labour Authority?

In the Netherlands, the employer must report certain serious work accidents to the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie). In general these are accidents with a fatal outcome, permanent injury or hospital admission. The report is made immediately, so not only once the investigation is finished.

What exactly falls under these categories and how quickly you must report is set by law and may change. So always check the current rules with the Netherlands Labour Authority. Failing to report when you should have can lead to sanctions. This article is not legal advice.

There are also recording obligations for accidents involving absence. From what level of absence that applies, you also check with the Netherlands Labour Authority. With hired staff, temporary agency workers and subcontractors it is not always obvious who reports, so make agreements on that in advance.

Prepare for this. Make sure it is known who decides whether something must be reported, also outside office hours and on site, and make the steps and phone numbers visible. A procedure that exists on paper but that nobody knows does not help when it counts.

Investigation: what happened and why?

Investigate every accident, and go deeper after a serious one: collect facts, build a timeline, talk to witnesses separately and look for the causes with a fixed method, such as the 5 whys. Focus on causes in how the work is organized, not on blame.

The inspectorate may carry out its own investigation. Cooperate and make sure your records, your RI&E and your own investigation are complete and quickly available. A file that is already in place saves a lot of hassle.

From accident to measure and learning

An accident is often the signal that a risk is missing from your RI&E or was underestimated. After each accident, check whether the risk is in there, whether the assessment is right and whether the measures are still adequate. Update the RI&E if not.

Set out the measures with an owner and deadline, check that they work and share the lesson with colleagues, for example in a toolbox. Also include the reporting duty in your overview of legal obligations, with an owner, so everyone knows who calls and when.

Common mistakes

Most mistakes are organizational and therefore avoidable. Go through this list with whoever keeps the accident records in your organization and adjust your procedure before something serious happens:

• Recording only accidents involving absence and skipping minor ones
• Not knowing who reports in the case of hired staff and subcontracting
• Waiting to report until the investigation is finished
• Reporting, but leaving your own investigation and measures undone
• Sharing injury data in an open folder without access restrictions
• Having the reporting procedure only in one person's head

How BrydgeOne supports this

In Incidents & reports you record, investigate and close out accidents and near misses. You determine the risk with Kinney & Wiruth and set out measures. For injuries you indicate the body part, and that health data is only visible to those with the right to view injury data. You follow up measures in Actions.

Compliance obligations is your register of binding obligations, with a responsible person, assessment and evidence for each. In Risks & opportunities you record the residual risk with justification. The report itself you make with the Netherlands Labour Authority.