Online Accident Reporting

Who we are

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has overall responsibility for the administration and enforcement of health and safety at work and the use of chemicals in Ireland. We are also the national centre for information and advice to employers, employees and self-employed on all aspects of workplace health and safety and the use of chemicals.
The Authority also promotes education, training and research in the field of health, safety and chemicals. 

As part of our role we gather personal data from time to time both through our websites, when you contact us by phone and when you visit our offices, apply for a job with us or attend one of our events. The security of your data is a priority at the Health and Safety Authority and we are committed to respecting your privacy rights. We will handle your data fairly and legally at all times. We will also be transparent about what data we collect about you and how we use it. You can see our overall privacy policy on our main website http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Privacy/ that deals with all of our potential interactions with you. We are registered with the data protection commissioner and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dpo@hsa.ie 

This policy applies specifically to our online Accident and Dangerous Occurrence reporting site and provides you with information about:

• what personal data we collect;
• what personal data does this website collect using cookies
• how we use your data;
• how we use the Personal Data in Accident Reports
• who we share your data with;
• how long we hold onto your data for;
• how we ensure your privacy is maintained;
• your legal rights relating to your personal data.

The Authority has received enquiries from a number of companies who submit accident report (IR1) forms to the Authority in relation to the Authority’s responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Under data protection legislation the Health and Safety Authority is a controller of the personal data received from employers who submit accident reports. The Authority is not a processor or joint controller of the information on behalf of those reporting accidents as the Authority processes the data under in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2016. Under these regulations all employers and self-employed persons are legally obliged to report the injury of an employee as a result of an accident at work to the Health and Safety Authority and this is the legal basis for the Authority’s processing of accident data.

The Health and Safety Authority also has a legal obligation to process accident data to provide statistical accident information to Eurostat in relation to workplace accidents in Ireland. The data sent to Eurostat is anonymised. The Authority also may also investigate some reported workplace accidents as part of its enforcement function. Therefore, no processing or joint controller agreement is required between the Authority and those submitting accident reports to the Authority.

What personal data we collect from you on this site

When you register to use this site we collect information to enable us to verify your account and details of the organisation you are reporting on behalf of. We collect your full name and email address.

The accident report form completed online also contains personal information about persons injured in workplace accidents. The injured person’s name, occupation, age range, gender, and details of their injuries and the circumstances of the accident.

What personal data does this website collect using cookies

This site uses session cookies that we transfer to your computer for the duration of your visit. We use the session cookie to track your progress through the site, allowing us to maintain the security and integrity of the data being used. This session cookie is necessary to log in and use the website. The cookie holds only an identifier for your session, and does not contain personal data.

How we use your data

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2016 all employers and self-employed persons are legally obliged to report the injury of an employee as a result of an accident at work. For the purpose of reporting these accidents we require registered accounts. We use your name and email address to set up and administer your account. We also log your name under the section ‘notifier details’ for each accident or dangerous occurrence you report. This data may be used by HSA staff to contact you in relation to the accident or dangerous occurrence you reported.

How we use the Personal Data in Accident Reports

We use the personal data in accident reports compile statistics in relation to workplace fatal and non-fatal injuries. These statistics are used by safety and health professionals and employers to inform them when preparing risk assessments and are also used by the Health and Safety Authority to identify the main types of injury suffered by workers in each sector and to identify the factors associated with the injury. This information informs the Authority’s annual accident prevention campaigns.

The Health and Safety Authority also investigates a proportion of the incidents reported to it and the personal data contained in the form informs the Authority’s assessment of the seriousness of the incident and the type of accident and this in turn informs the decision as to whether an investigation should take place.

Who we share your data with

If you are a notifier your personal data is stored with your profile information on our secure database. The management of this database is outsourced to a third party and we have an agreement in place with them that they may only access the database to carry out system maintenance or make changes requested by us under the terms of their contract. Your contact details are transferred into our internal system as part of each accident record your submit and can be accessed by HSA staff for the purposes of validating the accident and by inspection staff if they need to contact you for further information in relation to the accident reported. Copies of accident reports, including notifier details may be shared with other parties involved in the accident investigation.

If you have been injured in a workplace accident your personal data is not displayed on your employers online accident reporting account once the accident has been submitted to us. All personal data is removed from the online system. Where accident reports are used for statistical purposes all information regarding the person injured in the accident is anonymised.

How long we hold for your data

Accident reports are retained in line with our in-house retention policy for a period of 10 years.

Anonymised accident reports may be held longer than 10 years for statistical purposes.

How we ensure your privacy is maintained

The accident reporting website and database is housed internally on our premises in a secure server environment. On our internal systems data is held on a secure database in a secure server environment. 

Your legal rights relating to your data

You have the following rights in relation to data collected on this site:

• the right to ask what personal data that we hold about you at any time.
• the right to ask us to update and correct any out-of-date or incorrect personal data that we hold about you free of charge; and
• the right to have any personal data about you deleted in certain circumstances. These circumstances may be limited in the case where the data is provided as part of a legal requirement.

If you wish to exercise any of the above rights, please email your request to our data protection officer at dpo@hsa.ie