Read this first
The Workplace Safety and Health Protection Act (Law No. 2/2024) and Regulation 2024/R-103 are published only in Dhivehi. We found no official English version. This guide summarises the Dhivehi text in plain English. For anything legal, rely on the official text.
The reporting rules sit in Chapter 6 of the regulation (section 14). Investigation rules follow in section 16.
What counts as reportable
Section 14 of the regulation lists what you must report:
- A death caused by an incident at work.
- A serious injury to a worker or anyone else that cannot be put right.
- Any accident or incident that could put a life at risk.
- A leak of a toxic substance or chemical caused by an incident at work.
- A dangerous incident involving heavy machinery, equipment, land vehicles, aircraft or vessels.
- Health problems caused by the work environment, or by chemicals and toxic substances used at work.
- Communicable disease spread at work and linked to the work.
The list is wide. A near miss with a crane or a boat can count as a dangerous incident. Reporting one that turns out minor costs you a phone call. Missing one costs a fine.
Who reports, to whom, how fast
The duty to report falls on the party that runs the workplace, or on its Health and Safety Officer. Workplaces with 75 or more employees must have at least one licensed officer, so most large sites will route reports through that person.
The report goes to the Director General for Workplace Safety and Health or to the Authority. That is the Labour Relations Authority (LRA), which enforces the regulation.
The deadline is short. You must report within 1 hour of the event at the latest.
Reportable accidents, dangerous incidents and work-related illness must be reported to the Director General or the Authority within 1 hour, on the designated form or portal, with supporting documents. Source: Regulation 2024/R-103, s 14.
Which form or portal
The regulation says reports go through the form or portal set up for this purpose. Send any other documents and information about the incident with it.
We could not find a public link to the form. Ask the LRA for the current form or portal now, before you need it. Save the contact in every supervisor's phone.
The older Employment Act asks for notice to the Minister within 48 hours after a death, or an injury needing more than first aid. Meet the 1-hour rule and you have met that one too.
The first hour
The 1-hour clock leaves no room for delay. Split the jobs between two people if you can.
- Stop the work and make the area safe. Isolate machines or power.
- Give first aid and arrange medical care. Call for evacuation if you are on a resort or remote island.
- Cordon off the scene. Do not move anything unless it saves life or stops more harm.
- Take video and photos of the scene before anything is moved.
- Note the names and phone numbers of witnesses.
- Tell your Health and Safety Officer at once.
- Submit the report to the Director General or the LRA before the hour is up. Send what you know and add detail later.
Keep the scene unchanged
After a reportable event, keep the site as it is until inspectors arrive. That duty sits with the operator of the workplace or the person in charge on site.
There is one exception. If there are reasonable grounds that not acting at once could cause further danger, you may clear the site. Take video and photos of it first.
For a serious accident or a sudden death, inspectors must be sent to the site immediately. Other cases go to an inspector within 3 working days. The operator must give inspectors the documents, photos, statements and other information they need. Inspectors aim to finish within 2 months.
Keeping the scene unchanged, the photo and video exception, and the duty to give inspectors information: Regulation 2024/R-103, s 16.
What to keep and pay for
Keep a file for every reportable event. Inspectors will ask for it, and the injured worker may claim compensation under Chapter 8 of the regulation.
The employer must arrange suitable medical care for an injured worker as soon as possible, at no cost to the worker. The employer also pays wages for days off for treatment, on a medical certificate from a registered provider. This does not apply where the worker is already on fully paid sick leave.
- A copy of the report and the time it was sent.
- Photos, video, witness names and statements.
- Medical certificates and treatment receipts.
- Your own investigation notes and the actions you took.
Penalties for not reporting
Failing to report under section 43 of the Act carries a fine of up to MVR 5,000.
Other breaches of the Act fall under the general penalty in section 67. That is a fine of MVR 1,000 to 25,000, with further fines while the breach continues or is repeated.
Waiting for the doctor's verdict before reporting. The 1-hour clock starts with the event, not the diagnosis.
Sources
- Workplace Safety and Health Protection Regulation (2024/R-103), Dhivehi, Government Gazette.
- Workplace Safety and Health Protection Act (Law No. 2/2024), Dhivehi consolidated text, Attorney General's Office.
- First amendment to Regulation 2024/R-103 (2026/R-68), Dhivehi, Government Gazette.
- Employment Act (Law No. 2/2008), unofficial English consolidation, Labour Relations Authority.
- Labour Relations Authority, Labour Relations Authority.
This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Laws and codes of practice change; always check the current official text and your site's own procedures.
