Incident Investigation & RIDDOR Support
When Something Goes Wrong, Understanding Why Is Everything.
Independent, thorough incident investigations that get to the root cause - protecting your people, your organisation, and your future.
What We Do
When a workplace incident occurs - whether it's an injury, a dangerous occurrence, a near miss, or a significant operational failure - the investigation that follows matters enormously. Not just for legal and regulatory reasons, but because a properly conducted investigation is the single most effective way of ensuring the same thing doesn't happen again.
At Harlequins, we conduct independent incident investigations that go well beyond the immediate cause. We examine the underlying conditions, management failures, and systemic factors that created the environment in which an incident became possible. We also provide full support with RIDDOR reporting obligations, ensuring your organisation meets its legal requirements accurately and on time.
Why it matters
The instinct after an incident is often to identify a cause quickly, put an immediate fix in place, and move on. But surface-level investigations frequently miss the deeper issues - and those deeper issues will surface again, often with more serious consequences.
Organisations that conduct robust investigations demonstrate to regulators, insurers, and their own workforce that they take safety seriously. Organisations that don't leave themselves exposed to repeated incidents, enforcement action, civil claims, and the very real reputational and human cost that follows.
Under RIDDOR — the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 — certain incidents must be reported to the HSE within defined timeframes. Failure to report, or inaccurate reporting, is itself a legal offence. Getting this right from the outset matters.
Services we provide
On-Site Incident Investigation: A thorough, independent investigation conducted as promptly as possible following the incident - preserving evidence, interviewing relevant parties, and examining the physical environment, management systems, and organisational factors involved.
Root Cause Analysis: Using structured analytical techniques, we identify not just what happened, but why - tracing the causal chain back to the underlying failures that made the incident possible.
Investigation Report A clear, well-evidenced report setting out the facts, findings, causal factors, and recommendations - written to a standard that will withstand regulatory and legal scrutiny.
RIDDOR Support: Guidance and practical support in determining whether an incident is RIDDOR reportable, what category it falls under, and how to submit an accurate report to the HSE within the required timeframe.
Improvement Recommendations: Every investigation concludes with a set of prioritised, practical recommendations - focused on preventing recurrence rather than simply documenting what went wrong.
Our approach
Speed matters in incident investigation, and we respond promptly. The sooner an investigation begins, the better the quality of evidence and the more accurate the findings.
We approach every investigation with independence and objectivity - our role is to establish the facts and identify learning, not to apportion blame. This approach produces better outcomes, better cooperation from those involved, and findings that genuinely drive improvement rather than defensiveness.
We work closely with your leadership team throughout the process, keeping you informed at every stage and ensuring the final report is something you can act on with confidence.
Additional Support
Following an incident investigation, many organisations benefit from:
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A health and safety audit to assess whether wider systemic issues exist beyond the specific incident
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Review and update of relevant risk assessments and safe systems of work
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Staff training addressing the competency or behavioural factors identified
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Retained Competent Person support to strengthen ongoing risk management
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Stress and psychological risk support where an incident has had an impact on staff wellbeing
