COSHH and RIDDOR Awareness

COSHH and RIDDOR awareness training delivered at your workplace or live online. Half a day. What your team actually needs to know about hazardous substances, incident reporting, and their legal responsibilities under both regulations.

Course Overview

COSHH and RIDDOR are two of the most frequently misunderstood pieces of workplace health and safety legislation in the UK. Not because they are complicated, but because most people have only ever encountered them as an induction slide or a poster on a staffroom wall. They know the acronyms. They do not always know what the regulations actually require of them.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) and the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) place clear legal duties on employers and, in many cases, on employees directly. Failure to comply is not a paperwork issue. It can mean workers exposed to substances that cause long-term ill health, incidents going unreported that should have been investigated, and organisations facing enforcement action from the Health and Safety Executive that was entirely avoidable.

COSHH and RIDDOR Awareness Training gives learners a clear, practical understanding of what these regulations require, how they apply in their specific workplace, and what their responsibilities are day to day. It is suitable for any sector where hazardous substances are used or where accidents, incidents, and near misses occur. All content reflects current legal requirements under the COSHH Regulations 2002, the RIDDOR Regulations 2013, and HSE guidance, within the overarching framework of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Course Details

  • Duration: Half day (3 to 4 hours)
  • Delivery: Face-to-face in-house or live online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams
  • Certificate: CPD-Accredited Certificate of Achievement in COSHH and RIDDOR Awareness
  • Awarding organisations: CPD-Accredited
  • Validity: 3 years. A refresher is recommended sooner if workplace substances, processes, or reporting procedures change.
  • Group size: Maximum 15 learners per trainer

Who This Course Is For

This course is right for anyone working in an environment where hazardous substances are present or where accidents and incidents could occur, across any sector.

  • Employees in any sector who work with or around hazardous substances
  • Health and social care staff handling cleaning products, medications, or biological materials
  • Facilities, cleaning, and maintenance teams
  • Construction, manufacturing, and industrial workers
  • Hospitality and catering staff
  • Managers and supervisors with responsibility for risk assessments or incident reporting
  • Health and safety representatives
  • Employers with RIDDOR reporting obligations

No prior health and safety knowledge is needed. If your team needs broader health and safety awareness alongside this, our Health and Safety Awareness course covers the wider H&S landscape and works well alongside this one.

Not sure which combination is right for your team? Get in touch, and we’ll help you work it out before you commit.

The Legal Requirement

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of all employees. The COSHH Regulations 2002 sit within that framework, requiring employers to assess the risks from hazardous substances and put appropriate control measures in place. This applies across all sectors. If your team uses cleaning products, disinfectants, or any substance with a hazard warning label, COSHH applies to your workplace.

The HSE estimates that tens of thousands of workers in Great Britain are made ill by their work every year, with occupational lung disease, skin conditions, and chemical exposure among the leading causes. Many of those cases are preventable. COSHH exists precisely to prevent them.

RIDDOR sits alongside this as the legal framework for reporting. Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, certain injuries, occupational diseases, and dangerous occurrences must be reported to the HSE within defined timescales. Many organisations are unaware of exactly which incidents fall within scope, and many reportable incidents go unreported as a result. That is a legal breach. In the event of an HSE investigation, an unreported incident significantly worsens the organisation’s position. An employer who can demonstrate that staff were properly trained and that robust systems were in place is in a significantly stronger position than one who cannot.

What the Day Covers

All content reflects the COSHH Regulations 2002, the RIDDOR Regulations 2013, and current HSE guidance throughout. Topics covered include:

  • COSHH Regulations 2002: purpose, scope, and what they require of employers and employees
  • Identifying hazardous substances: chemicals, cleaning agents, biological agents, fumes, dusts, and more
  • Routes of entry and health effects: how substances enter the body and the short and long-term consequences
  • COSHH risk assessments: what they are, what they must include, and how they inform safe working practice
  • Control measures: substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment
  • Safe handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous substances in practice
  • RIDDOR Regulations 2013: purpose, scope, and what must be reported
  • Reportable injuries: fatal accidents, specified injuries, and over-seven-day incapacitation injuries
  • Reportable occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences
  • Reporting timescales and responsibilities: who reports, when, and how
  • Record keeping and incident investigation: what to record and why it matters
  • The HSE’s role in enforcement and what an investigation looks like in practice

Every course is also built to include your organisation’s specific hazardous substances, your internal incident reporting systems, and your RIDDOR obligations as standard.

How the Course Is Delivered

This course is available face-to-face at your workplace or chosen venue, or live online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Both formats are fully interactive. Online delivery is a live session with the same exercises, discussion, and trainer engagement as the room-based version, not a pre-recorded module.

Groups are capped at 15 to ensure every learner gets sufficient time for discussion and questions. Every session is built around your specific workplace hazards, your internal incident reporting systems, and your RIDDOR obligations. We can build delivery around your own COSHH assessments and data sheets, your incident reporting processes, and any sector-specific risks relevant to your team. If you haven’t reviewed your COSHH assessments or RIDDOR procedures recently, we can discuss what that might involve during the enquiry process.

Delivery includes:

  • Clear explanation of both regulations with workplace-relevant examples across different sectors
  • Practical exercises applying COSHH principles to substances and scenarios relevant to learners’ own working environments
  • Discussion of RIDDOR reporting obligations, including worked examples of what is and is not reportable
  • Coverage of your internal incident reporting systems and how they align with RIDDOR obligations

COSHH and RIDDOR Awareness or Health and Safety Awareness?

Both courses cover legal duties under UK health and safety legislation, but they serve different purposes and different audiences. The right choice depends on what your team actually needs.

COSHH and RIDDOR Awareness is the right course for teams who need focused, practical knowledge of two specific sets of regulations: hazardous substances management under COSHH and incident reporting under RIDDOR. It is ideal for staff who work directly with hazardous substances, managers with RIDDOR reporting responsibilities, and organisations that have identified a specific gap in these areas following an incident, audit, or HSE inspection.

Health and Safety Awareness covers the broader landscape of workplace health and safety obligations, including risk assessment, fire safety, manual handling, lone working, and general employer and employee duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It is the right starting point for staff who need a grounding in the full range of H&S responsibilities rather than a deep focus on specific regulations.

Many organisations run both, using Health and Safety Awareness as the foundation and COSHH and RIDDOR as a focused follow-on for teams with specific substance handling or reporting responsibilities. We don’t make that determination for you; the responsibility sits with you. But we do provide guidance throughout the enquiry process.

Certification and Validity

On completion, learners receive a CPD-Accredited Certificate of Achievement in COSHH and RIDDOR Awareness, valid for 3 years.

A refresher is recommended within that period if there are changes to the substances used in the workplace, changes to working processes, updates to HSE guidance, or following any significant incident or near miss. For organisations subject to HSE inspection, up-to-date training records are an important part of demonstrating compliance. Our Health and Safety Awareness course is the natural companion for teams wanting broader H&S coverage alongside this one.

Why Organisations Book With Prima Cura

Most training providers arrive with a course. We arrive with yours.

Before the day, we gather information about your workplace: your incident reporting forms, your internal procedures, the specific hazards your team actually faces. On the day, your trainer works that into every scenario, every discussion, every practical exercise. If your staff work in a care home, they’re not practising on hypothetical office workers. If your team are lone workers, that context shapes how the session runs.

It means the training lands. Not because it was well-delivered in a generic sense, but because it was relevant to the people in the room and the situations they’ll actually encounter.

A few other things that matter to the organisations that book with us:

  • 98.9% learner satisfaction across all Prima Cura courses
  • All trainers hold Enhanced DBS certificates and maintain ongoing CPD
  • We advise honestly on the qualification level at the enquiry stage. If a different course is a better fit for your workforce, we’ll say so before you book, not after

We respond to all enquiries within one working day.

Where We Deliver

We deliver in-house training at your workplace or chosen venue across Manchester, Greater Manchester, and the wider North West. We also deliver nationally across England, including North England, South England, London, and Surrey.

All sessions are led by experienced Prima Cura Training instructors. Groups are capped at 15 per trainer to protect the quality of hands-on learning.

Our associate network means we can deliver across England. You can meet the team on our Associates page.

FAQs

Does every workplace need COSHH assessments?

Yes, if hazardous substances are present. The COSHH Regulations 2002 require employers to assess the risks from hazardous substances and put appropriate control measures in place. This applies across all sectors, including offices, care settings, schools, and hospitality environments. If your team uses cleaning products, disinfectants, or any substance with a hazard warning label, COSHH applies. This course clarifies exactly what a suitable and sufficient COSHH assessment must include.

What types of incidents are reportable under RIDDOR?

Under the RIDDOR Regulations 2013, reportable incidents include work-related fatalities, specified injuries such as fractures and amputations, over-seven-day incapacitation injuries, certain occupational diseases, and dangerous occurrences. Not every workplace accident is RIDDOR-reportable, but knowing which ones are, and within what timescale, is a legal requirement. This course covers that in practical detail with worked examples drawn from real workplace situations.

How quickly must a RIDDOR report be submitted to the HSE?

It depends on the type of incident. Fatal and specified injuries must be reported to the HSE without delay, and in any case within ten days. Over-seven-day injuries must be reported within fifteen days of the accident. Occupational diseases must be reported when a relevant diagnosis is received. Failure to report within these timescales is a legal breach.

Who is responsible for submitting RIDDOR reports?

The responsible person is usually the employer, although in some circumstances it may be the person in control of the premises. Employees do not submit RIDDOR reports directly to the HSE, but they are responsible for reporting incidents internally so that their employer can meet the legal reporting obligation. When internal reporting fails, the employer’s ability to meet the RIDDOR deadline fails with it. This course makes those respective responsibilities clear for everyone in the room.

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Book or Enquire

Book your training or request a quote

Tell us your team size and your sector. We’ll come back with a quote, the right advice on qualification level, and a straight answer on whether this is the best course for your team.

We respond to all enquiries within one working day.

Our Commitment to Quality and Compliance

At Prima Cura Training, all courses reflect current UK guidance and best practice. All trainers are experienced professionals with relevant qualifications and ongoing CPD. Because many of the organisations we support work with vulnerable individuals, all trainers hold Enhanced DBS checks.

This course is reviewed against updates from the Health and Safety Executive and current UK health and safety legislation, including the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

You can read more on our Quality Assurance and Compliance page.

Reviewed by Stephanie Austin, Owner and Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | 25+ years in health and social care | 15+ years as a trainer | Last reviewed: June 2026 | Next review: June 2027

 
This page is for general guidance only and reflects current UK health and safety legislation and HSE guidance at the date of review. It does not constitute legal advice. This course is an awareness-level programme and does not replace the legal requirement for employers to carry out suitable and sufficient COSHH risk assessments, implement appropriate control measures, or fulfil their RIDDOR reporting obligations. Employers remain responsible for ensuring full compliance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, and all other applicable health and safety legislation.

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