Reporting diagnosed occupational diseases

Occupational disease

If a doctor notifies you that your worker (or in Northern Ireland, your employee) suffers from a reportable work-related disease, you must report it to the enforcing authority. In Northern Ireland, you must send a completed disease report form NI2508A to the enforcing authority.

England, Wales and Scotland

Reportable work-related diseases in England, Wales and Scotland include:

• Occupational asthma
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Occupational dermatitis
• Hand-arm vibration syndrome
• Severe cramp of the hand or forearm
• Tendonitis or tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm
• Any occupational cancer
• Any disease attributed to an occupational exposure to a biological agent, such as COVID-19. This only applies to COVID-19 where the employee was infected because they were deliberately working with the virus (e.g. in a laboratory, or where the employee was incidentally exposed to the virus due to working in health or social care settings where people are known to be infected with COVID-19).

Northern Ireland

Reportable work-related diseases in Northern Ireland include:

• Certain poisonings
• Infections such as leptospirosis, hepatitis, tuberculosis, anthrax, legionellosis, Lyme disease, Q Fever, Ovine or Avian chlamydiosis, Brucellosis, Rabies, Streptococcus sui and tetanus
• Some skin diseases such as occupational dermatitis, skin cancer, chrome ulcer, oil folliculitis/acne
• Lung diseases including occupational asthma, farmer's lung, pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, mesothelioma
• Other conditions such as occupational cancer, certain musculoskeletal disorders, decompression illness and hand-arm vibration syndrome
• Physically demanding work causing severe or prolonged friction or pressure at or about the knee or elbow

COVID-19 infections or deaths at work are also reportable if:

• the infected person was exposed to the virus because of their work, e.g. a health care worker who becomes infected after treating infected patients;
• the person reporting it has a written diagnosis of COVID-19 by a registered medical practitioner; and
• the work of the infected person involves one of the specified activities.

You can contact the Employment Medical Advisory Service of the HSENI to check whether a disease is reportable. You can find out more information on the HSENI website.