Reporting Injuries

Health & Safety Toolkit

First Aid

Churches should provide first aid facilities and personnel able to administer first aid. If you have employees, then provision of first aid facilities is a legal requirement. A first aid box should be kept on the premises, and guidance as to what it should contain, and on first aid generally, can be found below.

Accident Book

An Accident Book should be kept in the church and other church premises and details of all incidents, should be recorded giving details of the date, nature of the incident and steps taken. As such information could be personal/sensitive it is important that these books are kept securely. An Accident Book in the prescribed style can be purchased from the Health and Safety Executive.

RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013

If someone been injured, or indeed died, because of a work-related accident this may have to be reported. This entails the submission, under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, of what is known as a RIDDOR report. Not all accidents need to be reported and further information is given below.

If an incident or injury is reportable, it must be reported within 10 days of the incident.

If you have any employees then you are obliged by law to provide suitable first aid facilities for them. A church is regarded as a low hazard environment and, provided there are fewer than 25 employees, there is no obligation to arrange formal training. There should, however, be at least one person who is responsible for looking after the first aid kit and checking and re-stocking it as necessary. Information about the requirements for a first aid kit can be found here.

While there is no specific legal obligation to provide first aid facilities for visitors or members of the congregation, it would be wise to assume that first aid is likely to be needed on occasion and have procedures in place

The Accident Book is an essential document for employers and employees to record and report details of specified work-related injuries and incidents.

You can purchase a book by following this link to the HSE website.

The HSE have produced guidance on various types of reportable incidents

You can find the guidance at the HSE website here.

You can read the full text of the The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 here.

The HSE have produced guidance on how to make a RIDDOR report.

You can find the guidance at the HSE website here.

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