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# RIDDOR's Over-7-Day Injury Rule: How to Count It (and the 15-Day Deadline)
- URL: https://www.logbook.co.uk/riddor-over-7-day-injury-rule/
- Published: 2026-07-15T18:06:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-07T18:19:44.000Z
- Description: Day of accident: excluded. Weekends: included. Light duties: it depends. The over-7-day rule with worked examples, and the 15-day reporting deadline.
- Author: Jamie Dawson
- Tags: Workplace Safety Logbooks

> **Quick answer:** An injury becomes RIDDOR-reportable when a worker can’t do their **normal duties for more than 7 consecutive days**. Count from the day *after* the accident, and **include weekends and rest days**. Hit day 8 of incapacitation and you must report it, **within 15 days of the accident itself**. Injuries causing over 3 days’ but not over 7 days’ incapacitation aren’t reported, but they **must be recorded** in your [accident book](https://www.logbook.co.uk/accident-book-template/).

## The counting rules

- **Day zero:** the day of the accident is excluded.
- **Every calendar day counts** after that, weekends, rest days and days the person wasn’t rostered to work all count towards the 7.
- **“Incapacitated” means unable to do their normal work**: someone who turns up but can only do light duties is still incapacitated for RIDDOR purposes.

## Worked examples

**Example 1:** accident Monday; off Tuesday to the following Monday (7 days); returns to normal duties Tuesday. Exactly 7 days, *not* reportable, but recordable.

**Example 2:** accident Friday; off all the following week, back on normal duties the Monday after (10 days including two weekends). Over 7 days, **reportable, within 15 days of the Friday accident**.

**Example 3:** accident Monday; returns Wednesday on light duties only for two weeks. Incapacitated for normal work beyond 7 days, **reportable**, even though they were “at work”.

## The 3-day/7-day split (where the confusion comes from)

Before April 2012, over-3-day injuries were reportable; the threshold moved to 7 days, but the **recording** duty at 3 days stayed. So: over 3 days = record; over 7 days = record *and* report.

## FAQs

**What if the person is off with something unrelated too?**  
Count only incapacitation caused by the work injury. If in doubt, take the cautious view and report, over-reporting carries no penalty; failing to report is an offence.

**Where do I report?**  
The online over-7-day injury form on HSE’s RIDDOR pages, see our [full RIDDOR guide](https://www.logbook.co.uk/riddor-reporting-requirements-uk/).

## Related guides

- [RIDDOR: what you must report, and when](https://www.logbook.co.uk/riddor-reporting-requirements-uk/)
- [Free accident book template (PDF & Excel)](https://www.logbook.co.uk/accident-book-template/)
- [Site accident books on construction projects](https://www.logbook.co.uk/site-accident-book-legal-requirements-and-best-practice-uk/)
- [COSHH assessment records](https://www.logbook.co.uk/coshh-assessment-records-what-uk-employers-must-keep/)

## Related guides

- [First Aid Needs Assessment: What UK Employers Must Record](https://www.logbook.co.uk/first-aid-needs-assessment-records-uk/)

### Sources

[**HSE**When do I need to report?](https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/when-do-i-report.htm?ref=logbook.co.uk)[**HSE**What records must I keep?](https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/what-must-i-keep.htm?ref=logbook.co.uk)