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Rules and paperwork
RIDDOR over-7-day injury on a trades job: weekends count, and the report is due within 15 days of the accident
HSE: an injury keeping a worker off for more than 7 consecutive days is reportable within 15 days of the accident. Four worked cases on real dates.
Your labourer slips off a low roof on a Monday, strains his back, and rings in sick for the week. Is that a report to HSE, or a line in the accident book?
What HSE says
HSE's page on types of reportable incidents sets out three points that matter here:
| Situation | What HSE says |
|---|---|
| Worker unable to work for more than 7 consecutive days because of the injury | Reportable. The 7-day period does not include the day of the accident but does include weekends and rest days. The report must be made within 15 days of the accident. |
| Worker away from work for more than 3 days, but not more than 7 | Record it. Recording the accident in your accident book is enough; no report to HSE. |
| Death, or a specified injury such as a fracture (not fingers, thumbs or toes), an amputation or a serious burn | Reportable as its own category. The page I read gives no deadline for these. |
"More than 7" means the eighth day. Seven days off is not enough to trigger it.
Counting it on real dates
The day of the accident is not counted. The next day is day 1. Weekends count even if the person would not normally have worked them.
| Accident | Back at work | Days counted | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 2 November 2026 | Monday 9 November | 3 to 8 November = 6 days | Over 3 days only: accident book |
| Monday 2 November 2026 | Tuesday 10 November | 3 to 9 November = 7 days | Not more than 7: accident book |
| Monday 2 November 2026 | Wednesday 11 November | 3 to 10 November = 8 days | Reportable; due by 17 November (2 + 15) |
| Friday 6 November 2026 | Monday 16 November | 7 to 15 November = 9 days | Reportable; due by 21 November (6 + 15) |
The working for the last row: 7, 8 and 9 November are 3 days, 10 to 14 November are 5, and 15 November is 1, which makes 9. The first row is 3 to 8 November: 8 - 3 + 1 = 6. The third row is 3 to 10 November: 10 - 3 + 1 = 8.
AI staff and workflows for trades and building firms. Starting with enquiry to quote.See what we would set upThe 15 days run from the accident, not from the day the seventh day passes. In the third row you only know it is reportable on 10 November, which leaves 7 days; in the last row you know on 14 November, leaving 7 days, but only if you look that day.
What to put in place
- Write every injury in the accident book on the day, with the date, so the count can be done from the record. The page treats the book as enough for the 4 to 7 day cases.
- Put a diary date at day 7. If the person is still off on the eighth day, the report is due in the days that remain of the 15.
- Keep the sick note and return date on the same page as the accident entry. Compare with statutory sick pay from day one for the pay side of the same absence.
- Check the paperwork on the job with the job paperwork checklist so the accident entry is not left to memory.
What I did not read
I read the one HSE page on types of reportable incidents. I did not read the reporting form or how to submit it, who counts as the responsible person for a subcontractor or a self-employed person on your site, the deadline for deaths and specified injuries, dangerous occurrences, occupational diseases, or how long to keep the records. The 15-day dates above are plain date arithmetic from the accident date; I did not read how HSE treats a deadline that falls on a weekend. Ask HSE or your adviser before you rely on it for a real case.
Overlyft builds AI staff who join your trades team, keep the accident book entries and return dates in one place, count the days against the rule and put a reminder in front of the office manager, who decides whether to report.
This is general information, not health and safety advice. Check the HSE pages and your adviser for your own firm.
Where this comes from: HSE, Types of reportable incidents - RIDDOR (https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/types-of-reportable-incidents.htm): over-7-day incapacitation is more than 7 consecutive days, the period does not include the day of the accident but does include weekends and rest days, and the report must be made within 15 days of the accident; over-3-day accidents are recorded, with the accident book enough. Read 30 October 2026.
AEO Lookup editorial team
We write practical guides for people who run small UK firms, and we check every fact against its source on the date shown. Read how we review, or tell us if something has changed.
