Free UK Accident Book Template (BI 510-Style, GDPR-Compliant)

Employers with 10 or more employees are legally required to keep an accident book, and every workplace should. This free template follows the BI 510 approach: one incident per record, completed pages stored confidentially (UK GDPR), kept for 3 years from the date of entry.

⬇ Download PDF (print-ready)⬇ Download Excel (editable)

Free for use within your organisation. No sign-up required.

What's in the template

• One-incident-per-record layout: injured person, what happened, first aid given, entry signature
• RIDDOR flag per entry: reportable? Y/N and date reported, so nothing slips the 15-day deadline
• Built-in confidentiality & retention notes: the GDPR bits the old open notebook gets wrong

How to use it

Print the PDF and keep blank pages by the first aid kit; file completed pages somewhere confidential (an open book any employee can browse is a data-protection breach). Use the Excel version if you keep records digitally. Cross-check entries against the RIDDOR reporting duties: over 3 days’ incapacitation gets recorded here; over 7 days gets recorded and reported.

Is an accident book a legal requirement?

Yes, for employers with 10+ employees (Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979); and RIDDOR separately requires records of reportable incidents whatever your size. Construction sites have extra expectations. See site accident books.

Who must keep this record

Every employer with 10 or more employees, under the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, and the book must be readily accessible to employees. Construction is stricter: on site the expectation applies whatever the headcount, because CDM 2015 adds record-keeping duties from the start of a project. On multi-employer sites each employer keeps records for its own workers, while the principal contractor typically also runs a site-level accident and incident register covering everyone on site. Under 10 employees there is no statutory book, but RIDDOR records are still required whatever your size.

How long to keep it

At least 3 years from the date of the entry, and the same for RIDDOR reports and the paperwork supporting them. There is one longer case: where the injured person was a child or young person, keep the record until they reach 21, or for 3 years, whichever is longer. Completed entries belong somewhere only authorised people can reach, not left visible in an open book.

What a completed entry looks like

One incident per record, completed as soon as practicable after the accident rather than days later. Late entries carry less weight with courts, insurers and inspectors. A finished entry shows:

• Injured person: full name, home address and occupation, for example "warehouse operative".
• When and where: 07/04/2026, 14:20, loading bay.
• What happened: "Slipped on spilled hydraulic oil while walking to the pallet truck." Describe the sequence, not just the outcome.
• Injury and treatment: "Sprained left wrist. Cold compress applied by first aider, sent home." Add the name and address of any witness. First-aid entries also feed your first-aid needs assessment.
• Signatures and RIDDOR flag: the injured person signs their own entry. If you complete it for them, both of you sign. Then mark reportable Y/N and the date reported.

FAQs

Do minor injuries need an entry?

Yes. The accident book records all workplace injuries, not only those meeting RIDDOR thresholds. A cut or a bruise still gets an entry. The RIDDOR flag on each record is what separates the recording duty from the reporting duty.

When does an entry turn into a RIDDOR report?

When the injured worker cannot do their normal duties for more than 7 consecutive days. Count from the day after the accident, include weekends and rest days, and treat someone on light duties as still incapacitated. Past day 7 you must report within 15 days of the accident itself, while deaths and specified injuries are reported without delay.

Can we keep accident records digitally?

Yes, provided individual entries are secure, access is restricted to authorised people, and records can be produced in hard copy on request. The point of the old tear-out page was confidentiality, so a shared spreadsheet anyone can open fails the same test as an open notebook.

Do near misses go in the accident book?

No. The accident book is for actual injuries. Keep near misses in a separate register: not a legal requirement, but strong practice, and many principal contractors and client management systems insist on one.

Sources

HSERIDDOR: what records must I keep?HSEFirst aid at work

Tell me when the rules behind this template change (free, one email when it happens, nothing else).