HSE figures show UK is one of the safest places to work in Europe

Statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) confirm that the UK is one of the safest places to work in Europe, having one of the lowest rates in leading industrial nations of fatal injuries to workers for the eight consecutive year.

The HSE is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety and seeks to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health.

The provisional annual data for fatal work-related accidents in the UK shows little change from previous years, continuing the long-term trend that has seen the rate of fatalities fall over 50% over the last 20 years. The figures reveal142 workers were fatally injured at work between April 2014 and March 2015 ( a rate of 0.46 fatalities per 100,00 workers). This is in comparison to last year’s figures of a record low of 136 (0.45 fatalities per 100,000 workers). Given that fatal accidents at work are extremely rare, the annual figures are subject to chance variation.

The latest statistics show the rate of fatal work accidents in several key industrial sectors. Within the construction industry, 35 fatal injuries were registered – a rate of 1.62 death per 100,000 workers, in comparison to the average of 45 fatalities in the past five years and down from the 44 deaths recorded in 2013/14.

The agricultural sector recorded 33 fatal injuries – a rate of 9.12 deaths per 100,000 workers. A figure that shows no change in the past five years but an increase on the figures from 2013/14 where 27 fatalities were recorded.

The figures for the waste and recycling sector show that five fatal injuries were recorded – a rate of 4.31 deaths per 100,000 workers. This number is down on the past five years’ average of six deaths but up on 2013/14’s figures of four deaths.

The published data included a breakdown by country and region. Geographical locations indicate a great deal of variation in terms of industries and occupations. An example of this is that there are noticeably fewer employees in low risk occupational groups, with relatively more in higher risk ones in Scotland and Wales, as compared to England. Also, in some regions the amount of fatalities is relatively small and, as such, is susceptible to considerable variation.

The latest figures on deaths from asbestos-related cancer have also been released by the HSE. Mesothelioma, contracted through past exposure to asbestos, is one of a very few work related diseases where deaths can be counted directly and the figures show 2,538 deaths in 2013 compared to 2,548 in 2012.

The Health and Safety Statistics release in October will provide a more detailed assessment of the data. This will take information from the HSE’s full range of sources, including variations in non-fatal injuries and health patterns, with a fuller examination of trends.

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