Accident and incident record
The field people leave out is the reasoning behind deciding an incident was not reportable, which is the one they later wish they had written down.
No email address required. It is a file.
What it records
Reportability is a judgement made at the time on the facts known at the time. Recording the decision and the reason for it is a separate column here on purpose — an incident log that shows only what was reported gives no account of everything that was considered and set aside.
The columns
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Reference | Your own reference for the incident. |
| Date and time | When it happened. |
| Location | Where. |
| Person affected | Who, and whether employee, contractor or member of the public. |
| What happened | A factual account. |
| Injury / outcome | What the harm was, if any. |
| Immediate action | First aid, made safe, stopped work. |
| Reportable? | Your decision. |
| Reason for decision | Why. The column that matters a year later. |
| Reported on | Date of any report made. |
| Follow-up action | What changed so it does not recur. |
This is a starting point, not a compliance document. What your organisation actually needs to record follows from your own risk assessment and from the arrangements you have in place; a template cannot know either. Nothing here is legal advice.
Or stop keeping it in a spreadsheet
A spreadsheet records what you type into it. It does not chase you when a week is missed, turn a duty amber when a check falls due, or raise an action from a failed reading — and it is not much use as evidence, because it can be edited afterwards without trace.
How DutyHub handles health and safety Recurring checks See pricing