Reporting accidents and dangerous occurrences to the HSA (2026)

When something goes wrong at work in Ireland, there is a legal question that follows the immediate first-aid response: does this have to be reported to the Health and Safety Authority? Many employers are unsure, and the uncertainty cuts both ways — some fail to report incidents that legally must be reported, while others do not realise that certain dangerous events must be reported even when nobody was actually hurt. Getting this right matters, because failing to report a reportable incident is itself a breach, and because the report and the records around it are exactly what the HSA examines if it investigates. This guide sets out what must be reported, the timeframes, how reporting is done, who is responsible, and the records you should keep — for the Irish system specifically, which is separate from the UK's RIDDOR regime that some cross-border businesses confuse it with.

The legal duty and where it comes from

The duty to report certain accidents and dangerous occurrences flows from the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the reporting requirements in the General Application Regulations 2007. It applies to employers in respect of their employees, and there are related duties covering the self-employed and certain incidents affecting people who are not at work. The point of mandatory reporting is not to catch employers out but to let the HSA see patterns of harm across the economy, target its inspection and guidance where injuries are actually happening, and investigate the most serious events — which is why the categories that must be reported are defined by the seriousness of the outcome rather than by fault.

Accidents to employees: the over-three-day rule

The core reporting trigger for employee accidents is incapacity for work. A workplace accident that results in an employee being unable to carry out their normal work for more than three consecutive days — not counting the day of the accident itself — is reportable to the HSA. This "more than three days" threshold is the one most often misunderstood: the counting excludes the day of the accident, and it is about inability to do normal work rather than complete absence. Because the reportability of an injury can only be known once you see how long the person is off, employers need a system that flags an incident and then checks whether it has crossed the threshold, rather than deciding on the day and forgetting about it.

Fatal accidents

A fatal workplace accident is the most serious category and must be reported to the HSA as soon as possible, by the fastest appropriate means, followed by the formal report. In the case of a death, the scene may also need to be preserved and other authorities such as An Garda Siochana involved. These situations are, mercifully, rare, but every employer should know in advance that a fatality triggers an immediate reporting obligation rather than one that can wait.

Injuries to members of the public

Reporting is not limited to employees. Where an accident connected with the work injures a person who is not at work — a member of the public, a customer, a passer-by — such that they require treatment by a registered medical practitioner or are taken to hospital, that is generally reportable too. This catches businesses that interact heavily with the public and can be overlooked precisely because the injured person is not a member of staff. If your work could injure someone who is not your employee, the reporting duty is something to be aware of.

Dangerous occurrences: reportable even with no injury

One of the most commonly missed obligations is the duty to report dangerous occurrences — specified serious events that must be reported regardless of whether anyone was hurt. These are near-miss type events of a kind serious enough that the law wants them recorded even when luck prevented injury: for example the collapse or failure of significant equipment or structures, certain incidents involving lifting equipment or scaffolding, explosions, and other specified events. The logic is that a scaffold collapse with nobody underneath it this time is a clear warning that must be captured, because next time someone might be. Employers who think "no injury, no report" get this wrong, and dangerous occurrences are exactly the kind of event the HSA wants visibility of.

How reports are made

Reporting to the HSA is done through its electronic reporting system. Historically the accident report was known as the IR1 form and the dangerous occurrence report as the IR3, and although reporting is now handled online, those form names still crop up in conversation. The report captures the details of what happened, who was involved, the injury or event, and the circumstances. Making the report through the official channel, accurately and within time, is what discharges the duty — an informal mention to an inspector is not a substitute for the formal report.

Timeframes

Timeliness matters. Fatal accidents require immediate notification. Reportable non-fatal accidents and dangerous occurrences must be reported within the period set by the regulations rather than at leisure — the practical rule is to report promptly once the incident is known to be reportable, rather than letting it drift. For over-three-day injuries, the clock is effectively linked to the point at which the incapacity crosses the threshold, so a system that tracks the days off is what keeps you on the right side of the deadline. Late reporting is itself a shortcoming an inspector may note.

Records you must keep

Alongside reporting, employers should keep records of reportable accidents and dangerous occurrences. These records support any subsequent HSA investigation, help you spot patterns and recurring hazards in your own workplace, and evidence that you have met your reporting duties. Good practice extends beyond the strictly reportable: keeping an internal record of accidents and near misses generally — including those that did not meet the reporting threshold — is how well-run organisations learn and improve, and it means that if a minor injury later turns into a longer absence, the original details are already captured.

The failings that come up again and again

The recurring problems are predictable. Over-three-day injuries not reported because nobody tracked the days off. Dangerous occurrences ignored because no one was hurt. Injuries to members of the public overlooked because the person was not an employee. Reports made late, or not at all. And incidents recorded so poorly — or not at all — that when the HSA does investigate, the employer cannot reconstruct what happened. Each of these is avoidable with a simple, consistent process for capturing every incident and then assessing what the law requires.

Keeping incident reporting under control

The heart of getting this right is a reliable habit: capture every incident as it happens, record the detail while it is fresh, track any resulting absence, and assess against the reporting triggers rather than relying on memory or judgement in the moment. Done on scraps of paper or in someone's head, this fails exactly when it matters. This is what Complys helps Irish employers do: it logs accidents and dangerous occurrences, helps you see what crosses the threshold for reporting to the HSA, tracks resulting absence, and keeps the records organised and retrievable — so both your reporting duty and any later investigation are handled from a clear, complete record rather than a scramble.

The bottom line

Irish employers must report to the HSA fatal accidents (immediately), workplace accidents that leave an employee unable to do their normal work for more than three consecutive days after the day of the accident, certain injuries to members of the public, and specified dangerous occurrences — the last of which must be reported even when nobody was hurt. Reporting is done through the HSA's electronic system, within the required timeframes, and records must be kept. Capture every incident consistently, assess it against the triggers, and report promptly, and you meet a duty that is otherwise surprisingly easy to fall foul of by simple oversight.