Tag: Statistics

Why Health and Safety is crucial for all businesses

Posted on by Charlie Patrick

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people get injured, develop an illness or are killed at work. Although these numbers are mostly trending downwards over time, year-by-year the lives of many people are permanently changed through often through unsafe working conditions and employer negligence.

Health and safety risks can be found in every working environment, so all business owners are required to provide a workplace that is both safe for employees and the public.

However, these risks vary in severity, therefore it is recommended that companies use Risk Assessments and also take preventative measures in order to reduce the risks identified, regardless of their severity.

Whilst some may find the overall process to be time-consuming and, in some cases unnecessary, keeping everybody safe and healthy should be a priority for any organisation – good health and safety practices can boost overall productivity along with making staff feel safe and cared for.

With this in mind, we have put together some of the ways in which good health and safety practices can help.

Preventing Accidents

In 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that around 565,000 employees suffered an injury at work, with 150,000 of these people being absent for at least 7 days due to their injury and over 6 million working days being lost.

These statistics show the direct relationship between safety in the workplace and productivity. Every time an employee is absent, it costs the employer both money and resources, which is one of the reasons why avoiding injuries through good risk management should be a top priority for organisations.

It should be noted that not all of the accidents within these statistics will be due to poor health and safety practices, but it is likely to be a key factor.

The effects of stress

Research has found a link between stress and poor health, especially the low-level, chronic stresses often found within the workplace. As well as potentially leading to sickness and absence, due to a weakened immune system, stress can also be demotivating which can lead to employees becoming less productive.

Some of the main factors that contribute to workplace stress include:

  • feeling powerless (no control over your current situation)
  • feeling as if you are wrong for your job
  • witnessing traumatic events within the workplace
  • a poor working environment

Although health and safety practices do not cover all of these issues, any way in which you can relieve stress for your workers will not only benefit them individually, but also the business.

Creating a safe working environment

The conditions of a working environment can affect productivity in a variety of different ways. For example, employees that are often uncomfortable are not going to work to the best of their ability.

On top of that, certain conditions can even affect the health and safety of your employees and therefore lead to absence. Environmental factors which can cause this include:

  • temperature
  • humidity
  • lighting
  • air quality
  • bathroom facilities
  • the presence of dangerous particles (such as asbestos or moulds)

All of these need to be factored into a business’ health and safety practices, with measures in place to protect employees from the risks identified.

The impact on reputation

Health and safety is also a key aspect of a business’ reputation, which can either be positively or negatively affected by your health and safety standards.

Companies that have a reputation of providing a safe working environment, are more likely to be respected and therefore favoured by potential employees. The same is also true of the opposite; a business with a poor reputation for health and safety is less likely to attract workers.

With more avenues for public reviews such as social media channels, and companies such as Glassdoor providing a platform for current or former employees to provide first-hand insight into a business’ practices, the potential for reputational damage is bigger than it has ever been. Additionally, for more serious incidents, the HSE publishes a list of all convictions and notices which is publicly available to view.

Health and safety reputation is also built into the way customers perceive companies, which in turn will affect their choices concerning your products or services. This perception could stop customers from buying a business’ product, therefore creating another crucial reason to upkeep your health and safety standards.

Conclusion

Health and safety can often be complex, and therefore requires good management and commitment. Good practices will not only safeguard your employees and your customers but will also help protect your organisation from lapses in morale and productivity.

Bibliography

HSE (2022) ‘Health and safety statistics’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ (Accessed: 06/07/2023)

NHS Inform (2022) ‘Handling Stress’. Available at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/mind-to-mind/handling-stress (Accessed: 06/07/2023)

Glassdoor (2023) ‘About Us’. Available at: https://www.glassdoor.com/about/ (Accessed: 07/08/2023)

HSE releases workplace fatality figures for 2022/23

Posted on by Melusi Chirikure

A total of 135 workers were killed at work in Great Britain in 2022/23, which is an increase of 12 deaths (9%) from the previous year, newly released Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show.

Although this is a significant increase compared to last year, this year’s figure is only slightly above the previous 5-year average of 134 deaths between 2017 and 2022. Overall however, this represents a downward trend in workplace fatalities, with 150 workplace deaths 10 years ago in 2012/13 and a significantly higher 227 deaths in 2002/03.

In this year’s figures, the most common cause of fatal injuries continues to be falls from height (40), followed by being struck by a moving object (29) and being struck by a moving vehicle (20), which all together make up two-thirds (66%) of the figures.

Construction is the most dangerous industry

The construction industry continues to account for the greatest number of workers killed in fatal accidents, with 45 deaths (33%). This is some way higher than the second highest industry, agriculture, forestry and fishing (21 fatalities).

In fact, 82% of fatal injuries occurred in only five industry sectors:

  • construction,
  • agriculture, forestry and fishing,
  • manufacturing,
  • transportation and storage
  • wholesale, retail, motor vehicle repair
Older workers are at higher risk

There continues to be a disproportionate risk to older workers, with around 25% (33) of fatal injuries involving workers aged 60+, even though they only make up around 11% of the workforce.

Self-employed workers are at higher risk

Similar to last year, a third (33%) of fatal injuries were to self-employed workers even though they only make up 13% of workers. This is also in line with the 5-year average of 33% of fatal injuries to self-employed workers between 2018/19 and 2022/23.

A positive finding

A more positive finding saw a 23% decrease in workplace fatal injuries to members of the public as a result of a work-related incident, from 88 fatalities in 2021/22 to 68 in 2022/23.

This is also significantly below the previous 5-year-average of 93 from 2017/18 – 2021/22.

Sources

HSE (2023) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2021’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm (accessed: 17/07/2023)

HSE (2023) ‘HSE releases annual workplace fatality figures for 2022/23’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 17/07/2023)

ONS (Office for National Statistics) ‘Understanding changes in self-employment in the UK: January 2019 to March 2022’. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/ (accessed: 17/07/2023)

HSE 2021/22 health & safety at work statistics: The 5 key takeaways

Posted on by Melusi Chirikure

The HSE have released the annual health and safety figures for the year 2021/2022, and here are the 5 key takeaways.

1. Stress, depression or anxiety cases are at an all-time high

After work-related stress, depression or anxiety cases reached an all-time high of 824,000 in 2019/20, the number was slightly lower the following year. However, with 914,000 workers suffering from stress, depression or anxiety, this year’s numbers are 11% (91,000 cases) higher than last year’s – which is a record figure.

This means that cases have more than doubled from 442,000 in 2014/15, which is an increase of 107% in only seven years, which puts this worrying trend in perspective. This also correlates with a case rate increase from 1.4% workers to 2.8% in the same 7-year period.

What is the cause for this steep rise in cases? According to the HSE: “the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were found to be a major contributory factor to work-related stress, depression or anxiety”. This remains to be explored further if the trend continues in future statistics.

2. Illnesses and workplace injuries have gone up from last year

Total illnesses have increased by 130,000 cases (8%) from last year, which is the fourth consecutive year the number has increased; whilst workplace injuries have had an even larger jump from last year, increasing by 124,000 cases (28%).

As a noteworthy point: workplace injuries hit their lowest number ever last year (441,000) after an unexpected spike in 2019/20 of 691,000 incidents – the highest number since 2010; however, this year the figure has returned to trendline levels (565,000).

3. Workplace deaths continue to fall

After a spike in workplace fatal injuries last year (145), this year’s figure (123) is the second-lowest on record; and promisingly, the two lowest years on record for workplace fatalities have both occurred in the last three years.

This also means that the 5-year average of 134 deaths is the lowest 5-year average since RIDDOR began collecting records, which is yet more promising evidence of workplace deaths continuing to trend downwards.

Looking closer at the figures, the most common cause of fatal injuries continues to be falls from height (29), followed by being struck by a moving vehicle (23) and then being struck by a moving/flying/falling object (18), which altogether make up more than half (57%) of the fatalities.

The rest of these figures are broken down in more detail here: https://safesmart.co.uk/hse-releases-workplace-fatality-figures-for-2021-22/

4. Human health/social work has the highest illness rate among all industries

According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the average work-related illness rate per 100,000 workers for all industries is 4,190 (4.2%), and in contrast, human health/social work has a rate of 6.8%, which is the highest among all industries. This rate has actually lowered from 2020/21’s rate of 7.3% which resulted in 24% of all worker illnesses coming from the human health/social work sector alone.

This provides a clearer picture of how much the coronavirus pandemic affected the health of frontline healthcare workers during its peak.

5. Infectious disease rates are slightly down from last year

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, overall workplace injuries were trending downwards; and they have now returned to a rate below pre-coronavirus levels. However, in contrast, the rate of illness caused or made worse by work is significantly above pre-coronavirus levels – 4.2% compared to 3.2% in both 17/18 and 18/19.

When looking closer at these figures, the rates of infectious disease (virus, bacteria) have almost tripled – 82,000 workers were affected in 2021/22 compared to 30,000 in 18/19. However, this latest figure is still lower than the 93,000 cases in 20/21, which was at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

When compiled alongside the massive rise in stress, depression or anxiety cases, this year’s illness figures are the highest on record for both prevalence (1,8 million) and rate per workers (5.4%). With the rate and prevalence of illness also both increasing for the fourth year in a row, this is a growing area of concern and worry in occupational health & safety.

Bibliography

HSE (2022) ‘Health and safety statistics’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ (accessed: 06/02/2023)

HSE (2022) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2022’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 06/02/2023)

HSE (2022) ‘Kinds of accident statistics in Great Britain, 2022’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/kinds-of-accident.pdf (accessed: 06/02/2023)

HSE (2022) ‘Historical picture statistics in Great Britain, 2022 – trends in work-related ill health and workplace injury’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/history/historical-picture.pdf (accessed: 06/02/2023)

HSE (2023) ‘Industries’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/ (accessed: 24/01/2023)

HSE (2022) ‘LFS – Labour Force Survey – Self-reported work-related ill health and workplace injuries: Index of LFS tables’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/lfs/index.htm#illness (accessed: 06/01/2023)

HSE (2022) ‘Index of data tables’. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/tables/index.htm#riddor (accessed 06/02/2023)

HSE releases workplace fatality figures for 2021/22

Posted on by Melusi Chirikure

A total of 123 workers were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain in 2021/22, which is a 15% decrease from the previous year, newly released Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show.

According to the latest RIDDOR figures, workplace fatalities have continued their pre-pandemic downward trend, with the latest figures well below the 2016 – 2021 five year average of 136 fatalities.

The drop in fatalities is especially promising, due to the data covering the period April 2021 to March 2022, during which time most COVID-19 restrictions were removed and the economy began returning to normal.

The most common cause of fatal injuries continues to be falls from height (29), being struck by a moving vehicle (23) and being struck by a moving object (18), which all account for over half of the fatalities.

When breaking down according to sector, around a quarter (30) of fatalities occurred in the construction industry, 22 fatalities in the manufacturing sector, and 22 in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector – which is similar distribution to previous years.

There remains a disproportionate risk to older workers; with around a quarter (29) of fatal injuries involving workers aged 60+, although they only make up around 11% of the workforce. Furthermore, when analysing the data further, the rate of fatalities for workers aged 65+ is around 4 times that of the average rate across all age groups.

Also, there was a 27% increase in workplace fatal injuries to members of the public as a result of a work-related incident, with 80 fatalities in 2021/22 down from 63 last year.

Sources

HSE (2022) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2022’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 12/07/2022)

HSE (2022) ‘Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm (accessed: 12/07/2022)

HSE 2020/21 health & safety at work statistics: The 5 key takeaways

Posted on by Melusi Chirikure

The HSE have released the annual health and safety figures for the year 2020/2021, and here are the 5 key takeaways.

1. Because of COVID-19, no statistics on working days lost and economic costs are included in this year’s statistics.

Because of the discontinuity in collecting statistics presented by COVID-19 measures such as furlough, the HSE have decided to omit statistics on working days lost and their associated economic costs.

Instead, they have released a 29-page technical report on how the pandemic has affected the collection and interpretation of the latest health & safety statistics, which can be found on: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/coronavirus/covid-19.pdf

However, data on how many workers were directly affected by the coronavirus illness is included (see number 2).

2. New and long-standing infectious disease (virus, bacteria) illnesses have more than tripled

After going up by 21% to 1.63 million in 19/20, new and long-standing illnesses have increased slightly to 1.66 million this year.

Significantly, infectious disease (virus, bacteria) illnesses more than tripled, from 30,000 cases in 19/20 to 93,000 cases this year. According to the HSE, the cases are all for COVID-19 which respondents believe may have been from exposure to coronavirus at work.

However, only 32,110 COVID-19 cases were reported to Enforcing Authorities in 2020/21 which employers believed may be caused by exposure to coronavirus at work.

Positively, whilst stress, depression or anxiety cases went up a worrying 37% in 19/20, this year they have decreased by around 2,000 cases; and in other positive news, work-related musculoskeletal disorder cases fell for a third consecutive year, decreasing by 23,000 cases to 470,000.

3. Workplace fatalities have returned above the 5-year average

After a record low of workplace fatalities last year (113), deaths have climbed to 142 – above the 16/17 to 20/21 5-year average of 136.

The most common cause of fatal injuries continues to be falls from height (35), followed by being struck by a moving vehicle (25) and being struck by a moving object (17), which altogether account for more than half of the fatalities.

4. Serious injuries have had their largest yearly decrease in 40 years:

Self-reported non-fatal injuries have reduced by an estimated 250,000 cases (36%), with slips, trips and falls accounting for 33% of these cases and manual handling accounting for 18%.

There was also a notable reduction in serious workplace injuries this year; with 51,211 employee non-fatal injuries reported by employers to RIDDOR – which is over 15,000 cases less than 2019/20.

This represents the largest yearly drop in RIDDOR-reported injuries since 1980.

5. HSE prosecutions are down more than 40%

After a significant drop in HSE (and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland) notices, prosecutions and fines in 2019/20, this year saw prosecutions fall by 36% and total fines fall by 23%.

The construction industry, which suffered the most prosecutions last year (42%), saw prosecutions more than halve this year; although it still remains the sector with the highest prosecutions (37%).

On the other hand, the manufacturing industry had the second most prosecutions (32%), but remains the sector with the highest fine total (£8 million) – half of its total fines in 19/20.

Bibliography

HSE (2021) ‘Health and safety statistics’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ (accessed: 17/12/2021)

HSE (2021) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2021’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 20/12/2021)

HSE (2021) ‘Kinds of accident statistics in Great Britain, 2021’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/kinds-of-accident.pdf (accessed: 20/12/2021)

HSE (2021) ‘Historical picture statistics in Great Britain, 2021 – trends in work-related ill health and workplace injury’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/history/historical-picture.pdf (accessed: 20/12/2021)

HSE (2021) ‘Enforcement statistics in Great Britain, 2021’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/enforcement.pdf (accessed: 20/12/2021)

HSE (2021) ‘LFS – Labour Force Survey – Self-reported work-related ill health and workplace injuries: Index of LFS tables’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/lfs/index.htm#illness (accessed: 17/12/2021)

HSE (2021) Technical Report: The Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the interpretation of Health and Safety Statistics 2020/21 https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/adhoc-analysis/covid19-impact19-20.pdf (accessed 17/12/2021)

HSE releases workplace fatality figures for 2020/21

Posted on by Melusi Chirikure

A total of 142 workers were killed at work in Great Britain in 2020/21, which is a 26% increase (29 deaths) from the previous year, newly released HSE figures show.

However, the number of fatalities has remained level in recent years – the average annual number of workers killed at work over the five years from 2016/17 to 2020/21 is 136, putting this year’s numbers slightly above average.

The most common cause of fatal injuries continues to be falls from height (35), followed by being struck by a moving vehicle (25) and being struck by a moving object (17), which all account for more than half of the fatalities.

One notable finding was the disproportionate risks to older workers; with around 30% (41) of fatal injuries involving workers aged 60+, even though they only make up around 11% of the workforce.

In another finding, 38% of worker fatal injuries were to self-employed workers even though they only make up 16% of workers. In comparison, the proportion of fatal injuries to self-employed workers is higher in 2020/21 than in the 5-year period from 2016/17 to 2020/21, where 31% of fatal injuries were to self-employed workers.

A more positive finding saw a 43% decrease in workplace fatal injuries to members of the public as a result of a work-related incident, with 60 fatalities in 2020/21 compared to 106 in 2019/20.

Sources

HSE (2021) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2021’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 13/07/2021)

HSE (2021) ‘HSE releases annual workplace fatality figures for 2020/21’. Available at: https://press.hse.gov.uk/2021/07/07/hse-releases-annual-workplace-fatality-figures-for-2020-21/ (accessed: 13/07/2021)

HSE 2019/20 health & safety at work statistics: The 5 key takeaways

Posted on by Melusi Chirikure

The HSE have released the annual health and safety figures for the year 2019/2020, and here are the 5 key takeaways.

Please note that this report falls largely outside the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public life (the first nationwide lockdown began 23rd March). Therefore findings should not be mainly attributed as to being the results of the pandemic.

1. Worker stress, depression or anxiety cases are up 37% from last year:

The cases for new and long-standing illnesses last year totalled 1.35 million, and this year’s figure is up a significant 21% to 1.63 million.

However, the most significant news: stress, depression or anxiety cases have gone up by a worrying 37% and are now the primary illness type (51%) of all new and long-standing illness cases (they made up 45% of cases last year). Stress, depression or anxiety are also responsible for an estimated 17.9 million working days lost this year – a massive increase of 40% from last year.

Overall, working days lost due to illness have gone up by 9 million (a 39% increase) from last year to 32.5 million – the highest number since 2001/02.

However, the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorder cases (480,000) fell by around 18,000 cases compared to 18/19, although new incidents were 14,000 more than last year.

2. Infectious disease cases had not increased by the end of March:

In the latest Labour Force Survey, work-related infectious disease (virus, bacteria) incidents remain unchanged from last year at around 24,000 cases, below the 2017 to 2019 3-year average of just over 30,000 cases. It must be noted again that the survey only relates to ill-health cases during the 12-month period before March this year.

However with the first COVID-19 case in the UK confirmed on 31 January, this is a notable finding.

3. Workplace fatalities reached a record low:

There were 111 worker (or employees/self-employed) fatalities in 19/20 – the lowest figure ever reported by RIDDOR since records began in 1974. The rate of fatal injuries also fell to a record low of 0.34 per 100,000 workers.

Whilst falls from height remain the biggest cause of death to workers (26%), the overall fall in fatalities continues an ongoing positive downward trend.

4. There are less serious injuries occurring at work, but more people are getting injured:

This year there were 4,937 less non-fatal injuries than last year for the lowest recorded figure from RIDDOR since 1985. Slips, trips or falls remain the biggest cause of RIDDOR reported injuries (29%).

However, this contrasts with Labour Force Survey statistics reporting 112,000 more non-fatal workplace injuries than last year, reaching the highest figure since 2010/11 with an estimated 693,000 cases this year.

Additionally, an estimated 6.3 million days were lost due to workplace injury – an increase of 1.6 million (34%) from last year.

This means that an estimated 38.8 million working days this year were lost due to work-related ill-health and non-fatal injuries; of which, at 10.6 million days more than 2018/19 is the largest single-year change on record.

5. HSE notices, prosecutions and fines fell significantly this year

2019/20 saw a 21% fall in notices issued by enforcing bodies, a 13% & 12% drop in prosecutions & convictions respectively by the HSE (and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland), and a 34% drop in fines.

The construction industry remained the sector with the most convictions (42% of all convictions), but manufacturing organisations were responsible for 45% of all fines received (£16 million) whilst only responsible for 27% of convictions.

Bibliography

HSE (2020) ‘Health and safety statistics’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ (accessed: 24/11/2020)

HSE (2020) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2020’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 24/11/2020)

HSE (2020) ‘Kinds of accident statistics in Great Britain, 2020’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/kinds-of-accident.pdf (accessed: 24/11/2020)

HSE (2020) ‘Historical picture statistics in Great Britain, 2020 – trends in work-related ill health and workplace injury’. Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/history/historical-picture.pdf (accessed: 24/11/2020)

HSE (2020) ‘Enforcement statistics in Great Britain, 2020’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/enforcement.pdf

HSE (2020) ‘LFS – Labour Force Survey – Self-reported work-related ill health and workplace injuries: Index of LFS tables’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/lfs/index.htm#illness (accessed: 24/11/2020)

HSE (2020) Potential impact of COVID-19 on HSE’s main statistical data sources in 2019/20 https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/adhoc-analysis/covid19-impact19-20.pdf (accessed 24/11/2020)

HSE releases 2018/19 health & safety figures: The key takeaways

Posted on by Melusi Chirikure
The 2018/19 Health and safety statistics summary can be found on: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/

The HSE have released the annual health and safety figures for the year 2018/2019, and here are the key takeaways:

1. Work related ill-health cases are a mixed bag:

The cases for new and long-standing illnesses last year totalled 1.36 million; and this year’s figure is down ever so slightly (1.35 million); however work-related musculoskeletal disorder cases (498,000) are up from last year (470,000) by a large 28,000 cases.

Stress, depression or anxiety cases (which made up 44% of all illness cases last year and an almost identical 45% this year) are up by around 6,000 and are responsible for 54% of all working days lost due to illness this year. However, working days missed due to stress, depression or anxiety are 2.7 million less than last year; a significant improvement.

Overall, working days lost due to all work-related ill health are down by almost 3.5 million; however the annual total costs of illness to businesses (around £15 billion) has remained unchanged from last year.

2. Fatal injuries to workers have gone up:

In 2017/18 there were 141 worker fatalities and in 2018/19 the figure is up to 147, which is the joint highest figure for 6 years but slightly lower (149) than the ten-year average since 2009/10. However a downward trend still remains overall, with the latest ten-year average a full 56% lower than the previous decade’s average of 233 fatalities a year.

3. Workplace fatal injuries to members of the public have gone down:

Fatal injuries to members of the public have declined from last year, with the latest figure of 92 the lowest since 1996 and well below the 1999 to 2019 twenty-year average of 322* fatalities. In Europe as a whole, the UK still retains a lower workplace fatality rate than Germany, Italy, France and Spain – in fact the UK three-year average rate for 2013-2015 was the lowest of all EU member states.

*Major changes in 2013/14 and 2015/16 to what is included in public fatalities figures should be taken into account when interpreting these statistics.

4. Less people are getting injured at work:

This year there were 2,323 less non-fatal injuries than last year (69,208 injuries compared to last year’s figures of 71,531). This latest figure is the lowest recorded since 1985, and the rate of non-fatal injuries to workers has shown a long-term downward trend overall. As a result, 28.2 million working days this year were lost due to work-related ill-health and non-fatal injuries compared to 30.7 million days last year; a significant improvement.

5. The HSE prosecuted less cases this year

2017/18 saw 11,522 notices issued by enforcing bodies, 493 cases prosecuted (or referred to COPFS in Scotland) by the HSE, and £72.6 million in fines from such convictions; and 2018/19 saw slightly less issued notices (11,040), more than 120 less prosecutions (364) and £54.5 million in fines — £18.1 million less than last year. However, the average fine per case this year is similar to last year (£150,000 and £148,000 respectively), which indicates that the significant drop in fines is most likely a result of the fall in HSE prosecutions.

Bibliography

HSE (2019) ‘Health and safety statistics’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ (accessed: 11/11/2019)

HSE (2019) ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2019’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf (accessed: 12/11/2019)

HSE (2019) ‘Kinds of accident statistics in Great Britain, 2019’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/kinds-of-accident.pdf (accessed: 12/11/2019)

HSE (2019) ‘Historical picture statistics in Great Britain, 2019 – trends in work-related ill health and workplace injury’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/history/index.htm (accessed: 12/11/2019)

HSE (-) ‘European comparisons’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/european/ (accessed: 12/11/2019)

HSE (2019) ‘Health and Safety statistics in the United Kingdom, 2019’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/european/european-comparisons.pdf (accessed: 12/11/2019)

HSE (2019) ‘Enforcement statistics in Great Britain, 2019’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/enforcement.pdf

HSE (2019) ‘LFS – Labour Force Survey – Self-reported work-related ill health and workplace injuries: Index of LFS tables’. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/lfs/index.htm#illness (accessed: 13/11/2019)

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