Occupational accident reporting

What is workplace accident reporting?

When a workplace accident occurs, three systems converge: the Social Security system, which needs to be notified of the incident to recognize occupational accident benefits; the labor authority and the Labor Inspectorate, which monitor working conditions and the causes of the injury; and the company’s own preventative system, which must investigate the accident to prevent its recurrence. Accident reporting connects the first two systems through standardized forms and deadlines, and the third through the obligation to investigate and record the accident, as stipulated in Article 16.3 of Law 31/1995.

Order TAS/2926/2002 approved the current forms: the workplace accident report, the list of workplace accidents that did not result in sick leave, and the list of recoveries or deaths of injured workers. It also established the Electronic Declaration of Injured Workers (Delt@) system, through which reports are mandatory and transmitted electronically, with access for the company, the mutual insurance company or managing entity, the labor authority, and the Labor Inspectorate. In Catalonia, the CoNTA system with equivalent functions is used.

The accident report includes data on the worker, the company and the workplace, the location and circumstances of the accident (type, material agent, deviation, physical activity), the injury and medical care received, and the economic consequences. Its quality determines the usefulness of official accident statistics and the correct classification of the incident.

Obligations and deadlines

• Accident report with sick leave. It must be completed and submitted via Delt@ within a maximum of five business days from the date of the accident or the start of sick leave. The company sends it to the mutual insurance company or managing entity, which accepts it or returns it for correction.
• List of accidents without sick leave. The list of accidents that occurred without sick leave is communicated monthly, within the first five business days of the following month.
• Urgent notification. In the event of serious, very serious, or fatal accidents, or accidents affecting more than four workers, whether or not they are all employees of the company, the company must notify the provincial labor authority within 24 hours, in addition to the standard report. Delt@ has a specific function for this notification.
• List of discharges or deaths. The managing entity or mutual insurance company reports monthly the discharges and deaths of the injured persons.
• Accidents involving temporary agency workers and those on assignment. The user company must inform the temporary agency of any accident involving its assigned workers; the report is submitted by the temporary agency as the employer. Accidents occurring on assignment and commuting accidents are reported with the corresponding markings.
• Occupational diseases. They are reported through the CEPROSS system, initiated by the physician of the mutual insurance company or managing entity and with the collaboration of the company, in accordance with Royal Decree 1299/2006 and Order TAS/1/2007.

Investigation and preventive record-keeping

• Investigation. Article 16.3 of Law 31/1995 requires that all health damages be investigated to determine their causes and implement corrective measures. This investigation is the responsibility of the occupational health and safety service, with the collaboration of management and the participation of health and safety representatives.
• Record. Article 23 requires keeping the list of work accidents and occupational diseases that have caused a disability of more than one day, available to the labor authority.
• Information for representatives. Worker safety representatives have the right to know about the damage caused, to be present at the scene of the events even outside of their working hours and to receive information from the reports.
• Measures. The research findings are incorporated into the risk assessment and preventive planning, with monitoring of their implementation.

Organizational application: how to manage accident reporting

1. Define an internal procedure for immediate communication of any accident or incident to the command and the prevention service, with a first information form.
2. Assign responsible parties and substitutes for completing and sending the reports via Delt@, with valid digital certificates and access to the staff and Social Security data.
3. Establish a protocol for action in the event of serious, very serious, fatal or multiple accidents: care for people, notification of the labor authority within twenty-four hours, preservation of the place and communication to the representatives.
4. Investigate each accident using a systematic method (cause tree or other), with the participation of managers and worker safety representatives, and document causes and measures.
5. Keep a record of accidents and occupational diseases with disability exceeding one day and retain the reports and investigations.
6. Coordinate with the mutual insurance company the classification of the contingency and the assistance, and with the temporary employment agency or the main company in cases of transferred personnel or contractors.
7. Periodically analyze data with accident rates and translate the conclusions into risk assessment and planning.

Preventive management software allows you to record the accident from the first communication, control notification deadlines, document the investigation and measures, and generate the indices and reports for management and representatives.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Exceeding the five-day reporting period or the twenty-four-hour period for urgent communication may constitute an infringement under the LISOS.
2. Omitting the monthly report of accidents without sick leave or not registering minor accidents, thus losing preventive information.
3. Completing the report with incomplete data or incorrect coding of form, agent and deviation.
4. Notifying without investigating, or investigating without translating the findings into actionable measures and risk assessments.
5. Not informing the worker safety representatives or facilitating their presence at the accident site.
6. Confusing notification to the mutual insurance company with communication to the labor authority in serious accidents.

Deadlines and models may be updated; the current versions in the Delt@ system and applicable regulations should be consulted.

Regulatory framework in Spain

• Order TAS/2926/2002, of November 19. Models of work accident report, list of accidents without sick leave and Delt@ system.
• Law 31/1995, articles 16.3, 23 and 36. Investigation of damage to health, documentation and rights of worker safety representatives.
• Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, General Social Security Law, article 156. Concept of work accident.
• Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000, Law on Infringements and Sanctions in the Social Order, articles 11 and 12. Infringements for non-compliance with notification and registration obligations.
• Royal Decree 1299/2006, of November 10. Table of occupational diseases and criteria for their notification and registration.

In Colombia, Resolution 156 of 2005 and Decree 1072 of 2015 regulate the reporting of work accidents to the ARL within the following two business days; in other countries there are equivalent electronic notification systems.