Always report near misses

I want to highlight an essential aspect of health and safety in the workplace: the reporting of near misses. A near miss is an unplanned event that could have resulted in injury, damage, or loss but fortunately did not. While it’s easy to overlook these incidents since no immediate harm occurred, every near miss reported brings us closer to a safer workplace. Your vigilance and proactive reporting make a difference.

UNISON's policy on reporting incidents and near misses emphasizes the importance of creating a safe and healthy work environment. To ensure all incidents, including near misses, are reported, recorded, and investigated to prevent future occurrences. This applies to all employees, regardless of their role or location. Employees must report all workplace incidents, hazardous conditions, near misses, and property/environmental damage to their immediate supervisor as soon as possible. UNISON's approach aims to foster a proactive and responsible safety culture within the workplace.

Near misses are opportunities to identify hazards and improve safety measures before accidents occur. We encourage workers to report near misses without fear of reprisal and our union branch health and safety representatives support this process.

Similarly, the University of Warwick emphasizes the importance of reporting all accidents, incidents, and near misses, regardless of their severity. This ensures thorough investigation and implementation of measures to prevent recurrence or worsening conditions. Reports can be submitted online via the University's designated reporting system. The policy also highlights the need to log incidents for future reference, such as compensation claims.

You can find more information on the University’s Health and Safety Services pages and report near misses and incidents on the Health & Safety Portal .

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About the author

Nick Humphries is the University of Warwick branch Health and Safety Officer