COSHH, law & TExT
A broken extraction system does not trigger a RIDDOR report. The occupational disease it lets through can - and the duty to report it falls on you.
The short answer
There is a common misconception that a failed or missing LEV test is itself reportable under RIDDOR. It is not. What RIDDOR captures is the human consequence: certain diagnosed occupational diseases linked to workplace exposure. Poor extraction is one of the ways that exposure happens, so a system left to fail can lead - months or years later - to a disease that you, as employer, are then legally required to report.
The detail
RIDDOR 2013 Regulation 8 requires employers and the self-employed to report specified diagnosed diseases where they are linked to a relevant work exposure. The ones most closely tied to airborne contaminants and therefore to LEV are occupational asthma, where the work involves significant or regular exposure to a known respiratory sensitiser; occupational dermatitis, from a skin sensitiser or irritant; and occupational cancer, where there is an established causal link to a workplace carcinogen or mutagen.
These become reportable only on a confirmed diagnosis - normally a doctor's written diagnosis - and only where the person's work involves the relevant exposure. That is exactly the exposure that effective LEV is meant to prevent, which is why a control failure and a future report are two ends of the same thread.
What it means for you
The duty to report sits with the responsible person - for employees, the employer - who must report without undue delay via the HSE online system once a reportable diagnosis is made. Failing to report a reportable case is a criminal offence, so this is not a duty to leave to chance.
The reporting landscape is also widening. In April 2026 HSE launched a consultation proposing to expand the list of reportable occupational diseases and broaden who can diagnose them; it closed at the end of June 2026, and the direction of travel is toward more exposure-related conditions being captured, not fewer. Whichever way that lands, the sound response is the same: control the exposure at source and keep the extraction demonstrably working, so a reportable disease never arises. The thorough examination and test is the mechanism that keeps you on the right side of that line.
The service behind the guide
The best RIDDOR outcome is never needing one. Routine thorough examination and testing catches failing extraction early - we test to HSG258 and evidence that your control is holding.
Questions
No. A failed or overdue test is a COSHH matter, not a RIDDOR report. RIDDOR captures the consequence - certain diagnosed occupational diseases linked to work exposure, such as occupational asthma - which poor extraction can cause.
Under Regulation 8, occupational asthma (from a respiratory sensitiser), occupational dermatitis (from a skin sensitiser or irritant), and occupational cancer (with an established link to a workplace carcinogen or mutagen), among others - all on confirmed diagnosis.
The responsible person - for employees, the employer - reports it to HSE without undue delay once a doctor's diagnosis links the disease to the work exposure. Failing to report a reportable case is a criminal offence.
On a confirmed diagnosis, normally provided in writing by a doctor, and only where the person's current work involves the associated exposure. It is the diagnosis, not the LEV failure, that triggers the reporting duty.
HSE ran a consultation from April 2026, closing in late June 2026, proposing to expand the reportable-disease list and widen who can diagnose. The trend is toward more exposure-related conditions being captured, which makes keeping LEV effective even more important.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
Regular thorough examination and testing is how you catch failing extraction before it harms anyone. Call or email to get your LEV tested and your control evidenced.