Workplace injury leave record redaction is the removal of medical data from a time-off file for harm sustained at work. The file sits beside two separate duties: reporting under RIDDOR 2013, and the general duty to employees in HSWA 1974 s.2. Equality Act 2010 s.60 shows how sensitive health answers are, and UK GDPR Art. 9 makes injury detail special category. anonym.plus marks each item on your device, so the file stays useful while private data goes.
When this applies
Such a file cites the harm, an assessment date, and an occupational health contact. You trim that data before a reviewer who needs only the absence status and any work restriction sees it.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the file in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR reads scanned incident reports in it.
- The tool flags the harm detail, names, and contacts.
- Keep the restriction and status lines a reviewer needs.
- Swap or black out the confirmed items.
- Save the clean copy locally and store it apart.
What you need to provide
- The absence file (PDF, DOCX, or scan).
- An operator (Replace keeps the status readable).
- Optional alias map across linked case files.
PII entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | injured C. Diaz → [EMPLOYEE] |
| Health | MEDICAL_CONDITION | injury → [CONDITION] |
| Clinician | PERSON | OH adviser → [CLINICIAN] |
| NI number | UK_NINO | QQ 45 08 11 B → [NINO] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | assessed 03/2026 → [DATE] |
| Contact | PHONE_NUMBER | +44 113 496 0610 → [PHONE] |
Compliance achieved
- Leaves the absence status a reviewer needs while harm detail goes; reporting itself is a separate duty under RIDDOR 2013, where an over-seven-day incapacitation is reportable within 15 days of the incident.
- Recognises the parallel records: RIDDOR 2013 records must be kept for at least three years, and the accident book under the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regs 1979 is a different record again.
- Backs the health-question restriction in Equality Act 2010 s.60 and keeps the restriction lines that support the s.20 duty on return to work.
- Treats injury detail as special category data under UK GDPR Art. 9; the underlying safety duty sits in HSWA 1974 s.2 and is unaffected by redaction.
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Limitations & cautions
Good practice still keeps this file apart from personnel data; redaction does not replace that step, and it never satisfies the RIDDOR report or the accident book entry, which must name the person. The tool flags named items, not every unique clue in a free-text harm description.
Frequently asked questions
Does redacting the file affect RIDDOR reporting?
No. The RIDDOR 2013 report to the enforcing authority is a separate, identified submission with its own deadlines — 15 days for an over-seven-day incapacitation. This pass only cleans the internal absence file that circulates for review.
Who may see an injury absence file?
Access should be limited: injury detail is Art. 9 health data, and s.60 of the Equality Act 2010 shows how carefully Parliament treats health answers. Redacting lets staff see status without the harm detail.
Can a scanned incident report be processed?
Yes. Local OCR reads the scan on your device, so identifiers on a report are flagged for review with nothing uploaded.