Recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases

The code has been drawn up with the object of providing guidance to those who may be engaged in the framing of provisions and the setting up of systems, procedures and arrangements for the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, commuting accidents, dangerous occurrences and incidents, and their investigation and prevention. It is of particular relevance to competent authorities, other governmental or public authorities such as social security institutions, management, employers and workers, and their organizations.

Code of practice | 01 January 1996
The code gives more prominence to the effective use of collected, recorded and notified data for preventive action than to the elaboration of statistics. As such it serves as a useful instrument to the competent authorities in developing systems for recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases. It also provides valuable guidance for joint action by employers and workers and for activities carried out by governments, social security institutions and other organizations aimed at the overall prevention of occupational accidents and diseases.

The practical recommendations of this code of practice are intended for the use of all those who have responsibility for the reporting, recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases. The code is not a legally binding document and is not intended to replace national laws, regulations or accepted standards. Its provisions are considered as the basic requirements for recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, and are not intended to discourage competent authorities from adopting higher standards.

Local circumstances and the availability of financial and technical resources will determine how far it is practicable to follow the provisions of the code. Furthermore, these provisions should be read in the context of the conditions in the country proposing to use the information. With this in mind, consideration has been taken of the needs of developing countries and of countries which intend to establish or to modify their systems on the recording and notification of occupational accidents, occupational diseases, commuting accidents, dangerous occurrences and incidents.