Making A Complaint To The HSE After An Accident At Work

This guide explains the role the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) plays in regulating workplace health and safety in Great Britain. If you suffered an injury in an accident at work, you may wonder whether making a complaint to the HSE is necessary. We look at when an accident should be reported to the HSE and how to do so.

Additionally, if you sustained injuries in a workplace accident, you might be owed compensation. However, to file a personal injury claim, you must satisfy certain eligibility criteria. We explain what this is, and how to prove it.

Should you meet the accident at work claims eligibility criteria and wish to seek compensation, you may like to instruct a solicitor to help with your claim. This guide concludes with a look at having the support of a solicitor who provides a No Win No Fee service.

Direct any questions about compensation claims for an injury suffered while at work to one of our advisory team members.

To discuss workplace injury claims:

Fill in our claim online form and an advisor will call you.
Call 020 8050 2736
Ask about the work accident claims process in our live chat.

Select A Section

Should I Make A Complaint To The HSE After An Accident At Work?
What Is The HSE Complaint Procedure?
Does My Employer Need To Report My Accident At Work?
When Are You Able To Claim Accident At Work Compensation?
What Evidence Could Help Me Claim For An Accident At Work?
Why Make A No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Claim?
Read More About Claiming After Making A Complaint To The HSE After An Accident At Work

Should I Make A Complaint To The HSE After An Accident At Work?

The HSE is the country’s regulator for workplace health and safety. Their role entails protecting the health, safety and welfare of workers. As part of this role they:

Provide advice, guidance and information.
Raise awareness through engagement and influence.
Operate licensing activities in major hazard industries.
Carry out inspections and investigations.
Take enforcement action to prevent harm and hold those who break health and safety legislation accountable.

You can make a complaint to the HSE if an incident that occurred in the workplace needs to be investigated or if you believe health and safety laws have been broken.

What Is The HSE Complaint Procedure?

If you decide to make a complaint to the HSE about your employer, you must follow their procedure. Additionally, the HSE is not responsible for all workplaces. Another enforcing authority may be responsible for your workplace. You will need to check to make sure that you are reporting the incident or your concerns to the correct authority.

When reporting an incident or health and safety concern to the HSE, they will ask for you to do this online. The HSE may then contact you if further information is needed, to inform you of action being taken, or to let you know if no action needs to be taken.

Does My Employer Need To Report My Accident At Work?

There are certain incidents that your employer must report to the HSE. This is set out in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

Under these regulations, your employer must report:

A fatal accident if it was caused by a work-related incident.
Specified worker injuries, including amputation, certain fractures, a serious burn injury, crushings, scalpings and any loss of consciousness caused by a head injury or asphyxia.
Worker incapacitation lasting over seven days as a result of their injury. This starts the day after the accident and includes weekends and rest days.
Non-fatal accidents to non-workers if they are taken directly from the accident scene to the hospital for treatment and not as a precautionary measure.
Certain occupational diseases.
Dangerous occurrences. These are specified near-miss events.
Gas incidents where someone died, lost consciousness or was taken to hospital for treatment in connection with the incident.

When Are You Able To Claim Accident At Work Compensation?

If you suffered an injury in a workplace accident, you might be eligible to make a personal injury claim, even if you did not make a complaint to the HSE.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) states that your employer must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure their employees’ health, safety and welfare at work. These steps will vary depending on the workplace and the nature of the work. Generally, your employer should:

Ensure walkways are free of clutter.
Provide free training necessary to carry out the job role.
Supply free personal protective equipment (PPE) if needed to carry out the role safely.
Carry out risk assessments and make any necessary changes to the job, equipment or training required to manage health and safety risks.

Failure to comply with this duty could result in workplace injuries. If you suffer an injury because of a breach of this duty of care, you could be eligible to claim compensation.

Direct any questions you have about the workplace injuries claims eligibility to an advisor from our team.

What Evidence Could Help Me Claim For An Accident At Work?

You may wonder what evidence you will need to file a personal injury claim against your employer. The evidence you submit must prove that your employer breached the duty of care (discussed above) and this caused your injuries.

Evidence that could be useful when claiming for workplace injuries includes:

Accident reports. Your employer must have an accident book to record details of workplace accidents if they employ 10 or more people. This is a legal obligation. In addition to accident details, it should contain your name, the time and date.
Additionally, if you made a complaint to the HSE and they investigated, the outcome of this could be submitted, as can any reports made under RIDDOR.
Medical reports. If you sought medical attention following the accident, a copy of your medical records should contain information about your injuries, including their nature and the treatment you needed.
Witness contact details. For example, if a co-worker saw the accident, you could note their contact details so they can give a witness statement later in the personal injury claims process.
Photographs. These could be from the accident scene or visible injuries. Additionally, if faulty or broken equipment was responsible for the incident you could submit photographic evidence of this.

If you have any questions about what evidence could be relevant to your claim for workplace injuries, get in touch with a member of our advisory team.

Why Make A No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Claim?

If you are eligible to seek personal injury compensation, you may want the support of a specialist accident at work solicitor. One of the personal injury solicitors from our panel could help you with the claims process. Generally, our panel offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

This means that your solicitor:

Won’t collect a payment for their work on your claim upfront.
Also won’t collect ongoing payments.
Doesn’t collect a fee if your claim fails.
Only takes a small success fee from your award if your claim succeeds. This amount is a legally limited percentage.

To learn more about how you might be able to claim, speak to an advisor from our team. Additionally, if you meet the eligibility requirements, you could be connected to a personal injury solicitor from our panel.

To discuss personal injury claims for accidents at work:

Call 020 8050 2736
Fill in our claim online form.
Ask about compensation for workplace injuries in our live chat.

Guidance On Making A Complaint To The HSE

A Guide About Making A Complaint To The HSE After An Accident At Work