CSCS Accident Reporting (RIDDOR) & First Aid Questions
What to report, near misses and first-aid arrangements.
These questions cover accident reporting (riddor) & first aidfor the CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test, the exam UK construction workers pass to get a CSCS card.
Accident Reporting (RIDDOR) & First Aid: practice questions (untimed, instant feedback)
- 50 questions · pass mark 90%
- Untimed practice: you see the correct answer immediately after each question.
- Some questions need more than one answer, and these are clearly marked.
All 50 Accident Reporting (RIDDOR) & First Aid questions and answers
These are the same 50 questions as the practice test above, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. Why is an accident investigation mainly carried out?
Answer: To establish the causes so the same thing can be prevented in future
- A) To establish the causes so the same thing can be prevented in future (correct answer)
- B) To work out how much the damage cost
- C) To decide who was to blame
- D) To note down the injuries suffered
Why: Investigations exist to find the cause and stop a repeat, not to apportion blame.
2. You have seen a serious accident happen on your site. What should you do?
Answer: Report to your supervisor that you witnessed it
- A) Ask your workmates for their opinion on what to do
- B) Keep quiet so that nobody gets into any trouble
- C) Ring the nearest hospital
- D) Report to your supervisor that you witnessed it (correct answer)
Why: Report what you saw to your supervisor so the accident is dealt with and recorded properly.
3. You cut your hand while eating lunch on site. What should you do?
Answer: Report it and get medical treatment if needed
- A) Report it and get medical treatment if needed (correct answer)
- B) Get treatment but do not report it
- C) Treat it yourself and carry on; it is not serious enough
- D) Deal with it yourself; only accidents during work need reporting
Why: Any injury on site should be reported and treated if needed, even during a break.
4. A worker is off routine work for more than seven consecutive days after a site accident. Under RIDDOR, who reports it and by when?
Answer: The responsible person in control of the premises, within 15 days of the accident
- A) The responsible person in control of the premises, within 15 days of the accident (correct answer)
- B) The injured worker, who must tell the enforcing authority within 15 days of returning
- C) The first aider who treated the injury, by the end of the day the accident happened
- D) Any supervisor who saw it happen, within seven days of the worker going off work
Why: Regulation 4 of RIDDOR 2013 covers an injury that stops a worker doing routine work for more than seven consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident, and requires the report to reach the enforcing authority within 15 days of the accident. Regulation 3 defines the responsible person as the one who, by carrying on an undertaking, was in control of the premises where the incident happened. The accident book is a separate thing: an entry in it is not a RIDDOR report, and making one does not discharge this duty.
5. How quickly should a serious accident be reported to the HSE?
Answer: Without delay
- A) Within 2 hours
- B) Within 24 hours
- C) Without delay (correct answer)
- D) Within 3 days
Why: Serious (RIDDOR-reportable) incidents must be reported without delay.
6. What is the crucial information on an accident report form?
Answer: The details of the accident and the injuries
- A) The injured person's medical history
- B) The details of the accident and the injuries (correct answer)
- C) The weather at the time
- D) Your opinion on the cause
Why: The form records what happened and the injuries sustained.
7. Why should near misses be recorded?
Answer: To help prevent future accidents
- A) To assign blame
- B) To help prevent future accidents (correct answer)
- C) To lower insurance premiums
- D) For statistics only
Why: Near misses reveal hazards so the next, worse incident can be prevented.
8. What is RIDDOR?
Answer: A legal requirement to report certain injuries and incidents
- A) A type of emergency response
- B) A legal requirement to report certain injuries and incidents (correct answer)
- C) A first-aid protocol
- D) A safety-equipment maker
Why: RIDDOR is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations.
9. A scaffolder falls and breaks a bone in his lower leg on site. How does regulation 4(1)(a) of RIDDOR 2013 treat that fracture?
Answer: It is a specified injury, since it is not a finger, thumb or toe bone
- A) It is reportable only if he loses a full week off his routine work
- B) It is recordable in the accident book but is never sent to a regulator
- C) It is a specified injury, since it is not a finger, thumb or toe bone (correct answer)
- D) It is reportable only where the fall was from above two metres in height
Why: Regulation 4(1)(a) makes any bone fracture diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner a specified injury, apart from fractures to a finger, thumb or toe. A lower leg fracture is therefore specified and must be reported straight away under the reporting procedure, with no need to wait and see how long the worker is off.
10. A joiner fractures a thumb with a nail gun and is back on normal duties the next morning. What does regulation 4(1)(a) say about that fracture?
Answer: Fractures of a finger, thumb or toe are excluded from the specified list
- A) Fractures of a finger, thumb or toe are excluded from the specified list (correct answer)
- B) Every fracture a doctor confirms is a specified injury, with no exception
- C) A thumb fracture becomes specified once a hospital doctor has seen him
- D) Thumb fractures are specified only where two or more separate bones break
Why: The wording of regulation 4(1)(a) is any bone fracture other than to a finger, thumb or toe. The thumb fracture therefore falls outside the specified injury list. Because he was not off routine work for more than seven days either, the over-seven-day duty in regulation 4(2) is not triggered.
11. Regulation 4(1)(b) of RIDDOR 2013 lists amputation as a specified injury. Which body parts does that paragraph name?
Answer: An arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe are all covered by it
- A) Only limbs severed above the level of the wrist joint or the ankle joint
- B) Only amputations that a surgeon carries out on hospital premises count
- C) Any amputation apart from one involving a finger, a thumb or a toe
- D) An arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe are all covered by it (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 4(1)(b) covers amputation of an arm, hand, finger, thumb, leg, foot or toe. Note the contrast with fractures: fingers, thumbs and toes are excluded for fractures under 4(1)(a) but are expressly included for amputations under 4(1)(b).
12. A grinding disc shatters and a fragment enters an operative's eye. What makes that a specified injury under regulation 4(1)(c)?
Answer: A doctor judges it likely to cause permanent blinding or reduced sight
- A) The operative had not put on the eye protection issued for that task
- B) A doctor judges it likely to cause permanent blinding or reduced sight (correct answer)
- C) Any foreign body that enters an eye at work is automatically specified
- D) The eye needed washing out at the site first-aid station straight away
Why: Regulation 4(1)(c) turns on the medical judgement, not on how the injury happened. It covers any injury diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner as being likely to cause permanent blinding or reduction of sight in one or both eyes. Failing to wear goggles may be a separate breach but it is not the reporting test.
13. Regulation 4(1)(d) makes a crush injury a specified injury. What exactly does that paragraph require?
Answer: Crushing of head or torso damaging the brain or chest or abdominal organs
- A) Crushing of head or torso damaging the brain or chest or abdominal organs (correct answer)
- B) Any crushing of a limb that is trapped between moving plant and a structure
- C) Crushing severe enough to keep the worker off routine work for a week
- D) Crushing by a load of five tonnes or more dropped from a lifting hook
Why: Regulation 4(1)(d) is narrower than people expect. It requires a crush injury to the head or torso that causes damage to the brain or to internal organs in the chest or abdomen. A crushed hand or foot is not caught by 4(1)(d), although it may be reportable as a fracture, an amputation or an over-seven-day injury.
14. Under regulation 4(1)(e)(i) of RIDDOR 2013, how much of the body must a burn cover before it is a specified injury?
Answer: More than 10% of the whole body's total surface area has to be burned
- A) More than 5% of the total surface area of the whole body has to burn
- B) At least one quarter of the total body surface area must be affected
- C) More than 10% of the whole body's total surface area has to be burned (correct answer)
- D) Any area of burning at all that needs a skin graft in hospital counts
Why: Regulation 4(1)(e)(i) sets the threshold at a burn injury, including scalding, which covers more than 10% of the whole body's total surface area. A smaller burn can still be specified under 4(1)(e)(ii) if it significantly damages the eyes, respiratory system or other vital organs.
15. Regulation 4(1)(f) of RIDDOR 2013 deals with scalping. What threshold does that paragraph set?
Answer: Any degree of scalping counts once it requires treatment at a hospital
- A) Scalping counts only where the scalp is torn away entirely from a head
- B) Any degree of scalping counts once it requires treatment at a hospital (correct answer)
- C) Scalping is only specified where hair was caught in rotating machinery
- D) Scalping qualifies only where surgery to reattach the scalp is carried out
Why: The words used in regulation 4(1)(f) are any degree of scalping requiring hospital treatment. There is no minimum area and no requirement for surgery. The single qualifying condition is that hospital treatment is needed, so a partial scalping treated at hospital is reportable.
16. Under regulation 4(1)(g) of RIDDOR 2013, loss of consciousness is a specified injury when it is caused by what?
Answer: A head injury or asphyxia, which are the two causes the paragraph names
- A) Any faint suffered at work at all, whatever it was that actually caused it
- B) Heat exhaustion suffered while working outdoors in summer conditions
- C) Only a blackout that lasts for longer than one full hour is ever included
- D) A head injury or asphyxia, which are the two causes the paragraph names (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 4(1)(g) is limited to loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia. A worker who faints from low blood sugar or from heat is not caught by 4(1)(g), though heat-induced illness arising from work in an enclosed space is separately specified by regulation 4(1)(h)(i).
17. Regulation 4(1)(h) deals with injuries arising from working in an enclosed space. Which outcomes does it capture?
Answer: Hypothermia, heat illness, resuscitation, or over 24 hours in hospital
- A) Any injury at all, provided the space was a confined space in law
- B) Only cases where breathing apparatus was in use at the material time
- C) Hypothermia, heat illness, resuscitation, or over 24 hours in hospital (correct answer)
- D) Only cases where a rescue team had to be called out to the workplace itself
Why: Regulation 4(1)(h) covers any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness, or which requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours. It is the medical outcome that decides it, not whether breathing apparatus was worn.
18. A bricklayer is hurt and cannot do his normal job for nine days after the accident. What duty does regulation 4(2) create?
Answer: A report is due, because he was off routine work for beyond seven days
- A) A report is due, because he was off routine work for beyond seven days (correct answer)
- B) No report is needed until absence from routine work passes ten days
- C) Nothing is required, because only specified injuries are ever reportable
- D) A telephone call to the enforcing authority on his return date will do
Why: Regulation 4(2) applies where a person at work is incapacitated for routine work for more than seven consecutive days, excluding the day of the accident, because of an injury from a work accident. Nine days clears that threshold, so the responsible person must send a report in the approved manner.
19. What is the outside time limit in regulation 4(2) for sending the report of an over-seven-day injury?
Answer: Fifteen days measured from the date on which the accident happened
- A) Ten days from the accident, matching the deadline set for other reports
- B) Fifteen days measured from the date on which the accident happened (correct answer)
- C) Seven days counted from the day the worker first went off routine work
- D) Thirty days from the accident, or sooner if the enforcer asks for it
Why: Regulation 4(2) requires the report to be sent as soon as practicable and in any event within 15 days of the accident. The 10 day deadline in Schedule 1 applies to incidents reportable under regulations 4(1), 5, 6 and 7, so mixing the two up is a common error.
20. An operative is hurt on a Friday and cannot resume routine work for over a week. How does RIDDOR count the weekend in that period?
Answer: Weekends count, because consecutive days include days that are not worked
- A) Weekends drop out of the count, so only rostered shifts move the total along
- B) Weekends count only where the site normally operates for seven days a week
- C) Weekends are ignored unless the worker was on a paid standby contract
- D) Weekends count, because consecutive days include days that are not worked (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 2(1) defines consecutive days as including any days which are not, or would not have been, working days. Weekends, rest days and bank holidays therefore all count towards the more than seven consecutive days test in regulation 4(2), and towards the three day recording test in regulation 12(1)(c).
21. RIDDOR 2013 uses the term specified injury throughout. Where does regulation 2(1) send you for the list of them?
Answer: To the injuries and conditions set out in regulation 4(1)(a) to (h)
- A) To the classes of dangerous occurrence listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2
- B) To the particulars that have to be recorded in Part 2 of Schedule 1
- C) To the injuries and conditions set out in regulation 4(1)(a) to (h) (correct answer)
- D) To the six occupational diseases that regulation 8 sets out in full
Why: Regulation 2(1) defines specified injury as any injury or condition specified in regulation 4(1)(a) to (h). That definition matters for regulation 5(b) as well, which catches a specified injury suffered on hospital premises by a person who is not at work.
22. A site security officer is punched by an intruder while on duty and knocked out. Does RIDDOR treat that as an accident?
Answer: Yes, an act of non-consensual physical violence at work is an accident
- A) Yes, an act of non-consensual physical violence at work is an accident (correct answer)
- B) No, deliberate assaults sit outside these Regulations altogether
- C) No, unless the police decide to charge the intruder with an offence
- D) Yes, but only where the attacker was another worker on the very same site
Why: Regulation 2(1) provides that accident includes an act of non-consensual physical violence done to a person at work. Whether the police prosecute is irrelevant. Since loss of consciousness from a head injury is specified by regulation 4(1)(g), this would be reportable as a specified injury.
23. Regulation 2(1) defines diagnosis for the purposes of the disease reporting duties. What does that definition require?
Answer: A registered medical practitioner identifying new or much worsened symptoms
- A) A registered medical practitioner identifying new or much worsened symptoms (correct answer)
- B) A written opinion from an occupational health nurse engaged by the firm
- C) A self-declaration by the worker entered in the company health record
- D) Confirmation by a physiotherapist that the condition is work-related
Why: Regulation 2(1) defines diagnosis as a registered medical practitioner's identification of new symptoms, or of symptoms which have significantly worsened. Where the person is an employee that identification has to be in writing. A nurse, a physiotherapist or the worker's own belief is not enough to trigger the duty.
24. A directly employed groundworker suffers a specified injury on a main contractor's site. Who is the responsible person under regulation 3?
Answer: The groundworker's own employer, because that firm directly employs the man
- A) The main contractor, being the body in control of that construction site
- B) The groundworker's own employer, because that firm directly employs the man (correct answer)
- C) The client who commissioned the project and owns the completed works
- D) The principal designer appointed for the project under the CDM Regulations
Why: Regulation 3(1)(a)(i) makes the employee's own employer the responsible person for an injury reportable under regulations 4 to 7. Control of the premises only decides the point under regulation 3(1)(a)(ii), which deals with people not at work, self-employed people, and other dangerous occurrences.
25. A member of the public is hurt by falling debris from a site and taken to hospital. Under regulation 3(1)(a)(ii), who must report it?
Answer: Whoever, by carrying on an undertaking, controlled the premises at the time
- A) The injured person's own household insurer, as the interested party
- B) The local authority environmental health team for that district
- C) Whoever, by carrying on an undertaking, controlled the premises at the time (correct answer)
- D) The nearest employer whose worker happened to see the debris fall
Why: Regulation 3(1)(a)(ii) makes the responsible person, for an injury to someone not at work, the person who by means of carrying on any undertaking was in control of the premises where the incident happened, at the time it happened. On a construction site that is normally the contractor in control of the works.
26. Under regulation 5(a) of RIDDOR 2013, when must an injury to a person who is not at work be reported?
Answer: When that person is taken from the accident site to a hospital for treatment
- A) Whenever any bystander at all is injured by a work activity that is under way
- B) Only where that person is kept in hospital overnight for further observation
- C) Only where a specified injury is suffered by that person on the site
- D) When that person is taken from the accident site to a hospital for treatment (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 5(a) applies where a person not at work suffers an injury as a result of a work-related accident and is taken from the site of the accident to a hospital for treatment of that injury. Being kept in overnight is not required, and the injury does not have to be a specified one.
27. Regulation 5(b) adds a second limb for people who are not at work. What does that limb actually cover?
Answer: A specified injury suffered by such a person on hospital premises
- A) Any injury a hospital patient suffers while having medical care
- B) A specified injury suffered by such a person on hospital premises (correct answer)
- C) Any injury to a visitor at premises immediately next to a hospital
- D) An injury needing an ambulance to attend the scene of the accident
Why: Regulation 5(b) catches a specified injury suffered by a person not at work on hospital premises, for example a visitor injured by a work activity within a hospital. Injury caused by the conduct of a medical operation, examination or treatment is separately excluded by regulation 14(1).
28. A delivery driver visiting a site cuts a hand, is treated in the site first-aid room and then drives home. Is that reportable under regulation 5?
Answer: No, because he was not taken from the site to a hospital for treatment
- A) Yes, any injury needing first aid given to a non-worker is reportable
- B) Yes, because delivery drivers count as workers on the site they visit
- C) No, injuries to people not at work fall outside RIDDOR altogether
- D) No, because he was not taken from the site to a hospital for treatment (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 5(a) is triggered only where the person is taken from the site of the accident to a hospital for treatment. First aid given on site does not meet that test, so no report is due. The suggestion that people not at work fall outside RIDDOR is wrong for a different reason: regulation 5 exists precisely to catch injuries to people who are not at work.
29. Regulation 6(1) of RIDDOR 2013 deals with fatalities. Whose deaths does that paragraph catch?
Answer: Any person at all who dies as a result of a work-related accident
- A) Only employees of the responsible person identified by regulation 3
- B) Only workers, because members of the public fall under regulation 5
- C) Any person at all who dies as a result of a work-related accident (correct answer)
- D) Only deaths on the site itself, rather than deaths later off the site
Why: Regulation 6(1) is deliberately wide: where any person dies as a result of a work-related accident, the responsible person must follow the reporting procedure. It is not limited to employees or to workers, and it is not limited to deaths occurring at the location of the accident.
30. An employee's reportable injury later proves fatal. Over what period does regulation 6(3) require the employer to notify that death?
Answer: Where the death follows within one year of the date of the accident
- A) Where the death follows within six months of the accident that caused it
- B) Where the death follows within one year of the date of the accident (correct answer)
- C) Where the death follows within three years of the accident that caused it
- D) Where the death occurs at any time, however long after the first event
Why: Regulation 6(3) applies where an employee has suffered an injury reportable under regulation 4 which is a cause of death within one year of the date of the accident. The employer must then notify the relevant enforcing authority of the death in an approved manner without delay.
31. Regulation 6(2) of RIDDOR 2013 adds a second category of reportable death. What is that category?
Answer: Death resulting from occupational exposure to a biological agent
- A) Death from a heart attack suffered by a worker during a night shift
- B) Death from an illness picked up on a company business trip abroad
- C) Death from long-term exposure to loud noise on industrial premises
- D) Death resulting from occupational exposure to a biological agent (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 6(2) requires the reporting procedure to be followed where any person dies as a result of occupational exposure to a biological agent. This sits alongside regulation 9(b), which covers a diagnosis of any disease attributed to occupational exposure to a biological agent.
32. Regulation 6(4) carves one fatality out of the reporting duty in regulation 6. Which one is it?
Answer: A self-employed person killed on premises that person controls
- A) A self-employed person killed on premises that person controls (correct answer)
- B) A worker killed while driving a company vehicle along a public road
- C) A director killed at a registered office away from any working site
- D) A worker killed on premises that a different employer wholly controls
Why: Regulation 6(4) says regulation 6 does not apply to a self-employed person who suffers a fatal accident or fatal exposure on premises controlled by that self-employed person. Road deaths are dealt with separately by regulation 14(3), which is a restriction rather than the regulation 6(4) carve-out.
33. A tower crane's load-bearing jib fails on a site but nobody is injured at all. What does regulation 7 of RIDDOR 2013 require?
Answer: The reporting procedure applies, because a dangerous occurrence happened
- A) Nothing, because RIDDOR only bites where someone is actually injured
- B) Only an accident book entry, to be kept on site for the next three years
- C) The reporting procedure applies, because a dangerous occurrence happened (correct answer)
- D) A report only if the crane is out of service for over twenty-four hours
Why: Regulation 7 requires the reporting procedure wherever there is a dangerous occurrence, and injury is not part of the test. Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 lists the collapse, overturning or failure of any load-bearing part of lifting equipment, other than a lifting accessory.
34. Under regulation 8(a) of RIDDOR 2013, a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome becomes reportable in what circumstances?
Answer: Where the person's work involves regular use of percussive or vibrating tools
- A) Where the person's work involves regular use of percussive or vibrating tools (correct answer)
- B) Where the person types at a computer keyboard for most of a working day
- C) Where the person has already been off routine work for more than a week
- D) Where a surgeon has operated to relieve the pressure on the trapped nerve
Why: Regulation 8(a) links carpal tunnel syndrome to work involving the regular use of percussive or vibrating tools. Keyboard work is not the trigger written into the paragraph, and neither the length of absence nor whether surgery followed has any bearing on whether the diagnosis is reportable.
35. Regulation 8(c) of RIDDOR 2013 makes occupational dermatitis reportable. What work link has to exist?
Answer: Significant or regular exposure to a known skin sensitizer or irritant
- A) Any wet work at all carried out without gloves for one full shift
- B) Significant or regular exposure to a known skin sensitizer or irritant (correct answer)
- C) Exposure to wet cement specifically, rather than to other substances
- D) A rash appearing anywhere on the body at any point during the employment
Why: Regulation 8(c) requires that the person's work involves significant or regular exposure to a known skin sensitizer or irritant. Wet cement is a well known example on site, but the paragraph is not limited to it, and a rash with no such exposure link is not reportable under regulation 8.
36. Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome is reportable under regulation 8(d). What must the person's work involve?
Answer: Regular use of percussive or vibrating tools, or of vibrating materials
- A) Any manual work at all carried out in cold outdoor site conditions
- B) Driving plant such as dumpers or excavators over rough ground surfaces
- C) Regular use of percussive or vibrating tools, or of vibrating materials (correct answer)
- D) Lifting heavy blocks by hand repeatedly throughout a full working shift
Why: Regulation 8(d) covers work involving the regular use of percussive or vibrating tools, or the holding of materials which are subject to percussive processes or processes causing vibration. Whole body vibration from driving plant is not the trigger written into that paragraph.
37. What work connection does regulation 8(e) require before a diagnosis of occupational asthma has to be reported?
Answer: Significant or regular exposure to a known respiratory sensitizer
- A) Significant or regular exposure to a known respiratory sensitizer (correct answer)
- B) Any exposure to airborne dust created by cutting or by grinding work
- C) Work in an enclosed space where the air had not been tested beforehand
- D) Smoking by other workers in a poorly ventilated site welfare facility
Why: Regulation 8(e) requires that the person's work involves significant or regular exposure to a known respiratory sensitizer. Nuisance dust that is not a recognised sensitizer does not satisfy the paragraph, even though it may still need controlling under other health and safety law.
38. Under regulation 9(a) of RIDDOR 2013, which cancer diagnoses must the responsible person report?
Answer: Cancer attributed to occupational exposure to a carcinogen or mutagen
- A) Any cancer diagnosed in a worker during the currency of employment
- B) Only the cancers that Schedule 3 to these Regulations lists by their name
- C) Only lung cancer where asbestos was present at the former workplace
- D) Cancer attributed to occupational exposure to a carcinogen or mutagen (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 9(a) covers any cancer attributed to an occupational exposure to a known human carcinogen or mutagen, and it expressly includes ionising radiation. Schedule 3 lists diseases offshore under regulation 10, so it is the wrong place to look for the general cancer duty.
39. A gas supplier is told that a person was taken to hospital after an injury connected with gas it conveys. What does regulation 11(1) require?
Answer: Notify HSE without delay and then send a written report within fourteen days
- A) Notify HSE without delay and then send a written report within ten days
- B) Notify HSE without delay and then send a written report within fourteen days (correct answer)
- C) Send a written report to HSE within fifteen days of that gas incident
- D) Report to the local authority instead of HSE, within ten days of it
Why: Regulation 11(1) requires the conveyor or supplier to notify the Executive of the incident without delay and to send a report in an approved manner within 14 days. The report always goes to HSE under regulation 11, not to the local authority, and 14 days is specific to gas.
40. An employee is off routine work for four consecutive days after a site accident. What does regulation 12(1)(c) require?
Answer: A record must be kept, since incapacity ran beyond three consecutive days
- A) A record must be kept, since incapacity ran beyond three consecutive days (correct answer)
- B) A report must go to the enforcing authority within ten days of that
- C) Nothing at all, because the seven day reporting trigger was not yet reached
- D) An immediate telephone notification to the relevant enforcing authority
Why: Regulation 12(1)(c) requires a record of any injury incapacitating a person at work for routine work for more than three consecutive days, excluding the day of the accident. Four days clears that, so a record is required even though the over-seven-day reporting duty in regulation 4(2) is not engaged.
41. For how long must an entry in the record required by RIDDOR 2013 be kept, and from when does that period run?
Answer: At least three years, running from the date on which the entry was made
- A) At least five years, running from the date of the accident concerned
- B) At least one year, running from the date the report was submitted
- C) At least forty years where the entry records a diagnosis of a disease
- D) At least three years, running from the date on which the entry was made (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 12(2) requires an entry in the record to be kept for at least three years from the date on which it was made. The period runs from the date of the entry, not from the date of the accident, and there is no longer period for disease entries under this regulation.
42. For a specified injury on an ordinary construction site, what does paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 require first?
Answer: Notification by the quickest practicable means, and without any delay
- A) Notification by the quickest practicable means, and without any delay (correct answer)
- B) A written report posted to the enforcing authority within ten days
- C) An entry in the accident book before anything else at all is done
- D) A report to the local authority, which enforces on all building sites
Why: Paragraph 1(1)(a) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 requires the responsible person to notify the relevant enforcing authority of the reportable incident by the quickest practicable means without delay. The written report follows separately under paragraph 1(1)(b), so notification comes first.
43. Within what period must the follow-up report of an incident reportable under regulations 4 to 7 reach the enforcing authority?
Answer: Ten days from the incident, with the report sent in the approved manner
- A) Fifteen days from the incident, sent to the authority in writing by post
- B) Three days from the incident, sent by the quickest practicable means
- C) Ten days from the incident, with the report sent in the approved manner (correct answer)
- D) Twenty-eight days from the incident, sent electronically to the authority
Why: Paragraph 1(1)(b) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 requires the report to be sent in an approved manner within 10 days of the incident. The 15 day period belongs to over-seven-day injuries under regulation 4(2), which is a separate duty with its own clock.
44. How quickly must a report of a reportable occupational disease be sent under Part 1 of Schedule 1 to RIDDOR 2013?
Answer: Without delay, in an approved manner, to the enforcing authority
- A) Within ten days, matching the deadline that applies to injury reports
- B) Without delay, in an approved manner, to the enforcing authority (correct answer)
- C) Within fifteen days of the practitioner confirming that diagnosis
- D) Within twenty-eight days of the date on which the diagnosis was made
Why: Paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 requires the responsible person to send a report of the diagnosis in an approved manner to the relevant enforcing authority without delay. There is no 10 day or 15 day grace period for diseases reportable under regulation 8 or regulation 10.
45. Which failure of lifting equipment is a dangerous occurrence under Part 1 of Schedule 2 to RIDDOR 2013?
Answer: Collapse, overturning or failure of a load-bearing part of the equipment
- A) Any overload alarm that sounds while the machine is lifting its load
- B) Failure of any lifting accessory, such as a chain sling or a shackle
- C) Any lifting operation that is carried out without a written plan for the lift
- D) Collapse, overturning or failure of a load-bearing part of the equipment (correct answer)
Why: Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 covers the collapse, overturning or failure of any load-bearing part of any lifting equipment, but it expressly excludes an accessory for lifting. A failed sling or shackle is therefore outside that class, although any resulting injury may be reportable in its own right.
46. Plant on site touches an uninsulated overhead electric line. Above what voltage does Schedule 2 make that a dangerous occurrence?
Answer: The voltage in the line has to exceed 200 volts for it to be caught
- A) The voltage in the line has to exceed 1,000 volts before it is caught
- B) The voltage in the line has to exceed 400 volts before any duty arises
- C) The voltage in the line has to exceed 200 volts for it to be caught (correct answer)
- D) Voltage is irrelevant, since every contact with a line is reportable
Why: Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 covers plant or equipment unintentionally coming into contact with an uninsulated overhead electric line in which the voltage exceeds 200 volts. The same paragraph also catches close proximity to such a line where that causes an electrical discharge.
47. Part 1 of Schedule 2 covers the collapse of scaffolding. What height triggers the general limb of that class?
Answer: A substantial part of a scaffold that is more than 5 metres in height
- A) A substantial part of a scaffold that is more than 2 metres in height
- B) A substantial part of a scaffold that is more than 5 metres in height (correct answer)
- C) A substantial part of a scaffold that is more than 10 metres in height
- D) Any scaffold at all, provided a working platform was in use at the time
Why: Paragraph 18(a) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 covers the complete or partial collapse of a substantial part of any scaffold more than 5 metres in height. Paragraph 18(b) separately catches a supporting part of a slung or suspended scaffold failing so that a working platform falls.
48. During demolition work, part of a structure collapses. What weight of falling material makes that a dangerous occurrence?
Answer: A fall of more than 5 tonnes of material from the structure concerned
- A) A fall of more than 1 tonne of material from the structure concerned
- B) A fall of more than 20 tonnes of material from the structure itself
- C) Any quantity at all, provided the collapse was wholly unplanned by the firm
- D) A fall of more than 5 tonnes of material from the structure concerned (correct answer)
Why: Paragraph 23(a) of Part 2 of Schedule 2 covers the unintentional collapse of any structure involving a fall of more than 5 tonnes of material, arising from or in connection with ongoing construction work including demolition, refurbishment and maintenance. Paragraph 23(b) separately catches any floor or wall of a place of work with no weight test.
49. The accident book duty in the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979 applies at what size of workforce?
Answer: Where 10 or more people are normally employed on the same premises
- A) Where more than 10 people are normally employed on those same premises
- B) Where 5 or more people are normally employed on the very same premises
- C) Where 10 or more people are normally employed on the same premises (correct answer)
- D) Where any employee at all is engaged under a contract of service there
Why: Regulation 25(3) of SI 1979/628 uses the words 10 or more persons are normally employed at the same time on or about the same premises. That means a workplace with exactly 10 employees is caught. Some guidance summarises this as more than 10, but the statutory instrument itself governs.
50. How long must a record made in the accident book be preserved under regulation 25(3) of the 1979 Regulations?
Answer: At least three years, measured from the date on which that entry was made
- A) At least three years, measured from the date on which that entry was made (correct answer)
- B) At least three years, measured from the date on which the person left the job
- C) At least six years, measured from the date of the accident that was recorded
- D) At least twelve months, measured from the closure of any claim that follows
Why: Regulation 25(3)(b) of SI 1979/628 requires the employer to preserve every such record for a period of at least 3 years from the date of its entry. The three year clock therefore starts when the entry is made, which mirrors the RIDDOR record retention rule in regulation 12(2).
What this topic covers in the CSCS test
RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) makes employers and others in charge of work premises report serious work-related incidents to the enforcing authority. The test checks that you know the split between the accident book, which records everything, and RIDDOR, which catches the serious cases. It also checks the human part: you tell your supervisor, and the investigation looks for the cause, not for someone to blame.
- What RIDDOR is and who the 'responsible person' is
- Reportable injuries: deaths, specified injuries, over-seven-day incapacitation, non-workers taken to hospital
- Reporting timescales: without delay, the 10 day limit and the 15 day limit
- The accident book, the over-three-day recording rule and the 10 employee threshold
- Reportable occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences
- First-aid arrangements: needs assessment, first-aiders, appointed persons, restocking the kit
- Why near misses are recorded and why accidents are investigated
Key facts worth memorising
- Over seven days is reported
- Report where a worker is off work or unable to do normal duties for more than 7 consecutive days, counting weekends and rest days but not the day of the accident, and do it within 15 days.
- Over three days is only recorded
- More than 3 consecutive days off normal duties goes in the accident book under social security law, but does not need reporting to HSE.
- Serious incidents go without delay
- Deaths, specified injuries to workers, non-workers taken directly to hospital for treatment and dangerous occurrences must be notified without delay, with the report received within 10 days.
- What counts as a specified injury
- All fractures except fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations, likely permanent loss of sight, crush injuries to head or torso, burns over 10% of the body or damaging eyes, respiratory system or vital organs, scalping needing hospital treatment, loss of consciousness from head injury or asphyxia, and any injury from working in an enclosed space that causes hypothermia or heat-induced illness, or needs resuscitation or more than 24 hours in hospital.
- Only the responsible person reports
- Reports come from the employer, some self-employed people or the person in control of the premises, not from the injured worker or a member of the public.
- The accident book threshold
- An employer who normally employs 10 or more people at the same time on or about the same premises, or who owns or occupies a mine, quarry or factory, must keep an accident book, and keep the records for at least 3 years. HSE's guidance says more than 10, but the regulation itself says 10 or more, so an employer with exactly 10 is caught.
What people get wrong
Every accident on site has to be reported to HSE.
RIDDOR bites only when an accident is work related and results in a reportable injury, disease or dangerous occurrence. Everything else is recorded instead, and that record still matters.
I should report my own injury to HSE.
Reports come from the responsible person, normally your employer. Your job is to tell your supervisor and make sure it is written down.
A cut during a lunch break has nothing to do with work, so why report it.
Report any injury on site and get treatment if you need it. Whether it meets RIDDOR is your employer's judgement, and they cannot make it if nobody tells them.
Investigations are about deciding who was at fault.
They find the cause so the same thing cannot happen again. HSE is explicit that reportability does not depend on finding blame.
Answering these questions in the test
The safe answer here is nearly always 'tell your supervisor and make sure it is recorded'. Two numbers do a lot of work: more than 3 consecutive days off normal duties is recorded, more than 7 is reported, and the over-seven-day report is due within 15 days. Asked how quickly a serious accident goes to HSE, the answer is without delay. Asked why an accident is investigated, the answer is to find the cause and prevent a repeat.
Background reading
Drilling the questions tells you what you are getting wrong. It does not always tell you why. For this topic that is covered in RIDDOR Explained. What has to be reported, what only has to be recorded, and the deadline that applies to each.
Sources
Written from the following. Where a figure could not be verified against one of these, it has been left out rather than approximated. Our sources and methodology explains how we date and re-check them. Spotted something wrong? Report an error and we will fix it.
Topics that come up alongside accident reporting (riddor) & first aid
Ready for the real thing?
When you are scoring 90% or better here, take a CSCS mock test for Operatives under exam conditions, then how to book the CSCS test.