What are my responsibilities after a workplace injury?
- Sarah Cooper
- Mar 24
- 2 min read
When an employee gets injured at work, your first responsibility is their health, wellbeing and safety.
But it's not always obvious what else you're meant to do.
In this blog post, we talk you through the steps you should take to stay compliant and protect your business from any negligence claims.
1. Make the situation safe
Before anything else, make sure:
The injured person gets first aid or medical help
The area is safe for the rest of your team
Anyone nearby knows what to avoid
If the injury is serious, call emergency services immediately.
2. Record what happened
You should make a written record of:
The date, time and place
What happened (in plain English)
Who was involved
Any witnesses
Photos or evidence, if useful
Accurate records help with investigations, insurance and preventing repeat incidents.
3. Check if it needs reporting under RIDDOR
RIDDOR is the law that says you must report certain serious workplace injuries or incidents to the Health and Safety Executive.
Some injuries must be reported. This includes:
Serious injuries like fractures (not fingers or toes)
Loss of consciousness
Injuries from dangerous occurrences
Injuries leading to more than seven days’ absence from work
If you’re unsure, check the official RIDDOR guidance or speak to us.
4. Investigate what caused it
Your goal is simple: understand what happened and why.
Look at:
The task they were doing
Any equipment involved
Training records
Work environment
Whether processes were followed
Keep this factual and fair. You’re looking for the root cause, not someone to blame.
5. Support the injured employee
Good support reduces stress and helps them to return to work safely.
This might include:
Keeping in touch while they’re off
Agreeing to a phased return
Adjusting duties temporarily
Reviewing risk assessments if anything needs changing
Small businesses often skip this step, but it makes a big difference to morale and recovery.
6. Learn from it and prevent future incidents
Once you know what caused the injury, take action.
You might need to:
Update risk assessments
Improve training
Repair or replace equipment
Change how a task is done
Remind your team of safe working practices
Make sure that any changes are communicated clearly and consistently.
7. Keep your documentation up to date
You may need to update:
The accident book
Health and safety policy
Training records
Risk assessments
Maintenance logs
Good documentation is part of your legal responsibilities and protects you if questions come up later.
Get support if you need it
Workplace injuries are stressful and every situation is different.
If you want to make sure you’re handling an incident correctly, or you’d like help with tightening up your health and safety processes, get in touch.
We can walk you through what to do step by step and help you to protect both your people and your business.
Comments