While injuries - both fatal and non-fatal – tend to take the headlines, work related ill health must also be forefront in our minds, particularly with the huge focus on wellbeing we are seeing organisations adopt.
Using the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) “Health and safety at work - Summary statistics for Great Britain 2024”, this month we are considering what some of the trends indicate.
In this whitepaper:
1. What were the trends in Great Britain for 2024?
2. Work-related fatal injuries
3. Work-related non-fatal, reported injuries
4. Work-related ill health and occupational diseases
5. So what could this mean for your workplace?
1. What were the trends in Great Britain for 2024?
The headline findings/statistics from the HSE report include:
- 138 workers killed at work in 2023/24 figures;
- 61,663 non-fatal, work-related injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR;
- 604,000 working people sustaining an injury at work according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS); and
- 1.7 million working people suffering from a work-related illness.
In total, work related illness and injury led to a loss of 33.7 million working days (2023/24) at an estimated cost of £21.6 billion (estimated cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions (2022/23)).
The overall figures remain relatively similar to previous years, albeit with slight increases in fatal and non-fatal injuries and those reporting through the LFS. Employers might reflect on the fact that whereas the number of days lost to illness and injury reduced by 1.5 million days between 2023 and 2024, the estimated cost increased by nearly £1 billion.
2. Work-related fatal injuries
The profile of risk for fatal accidents has changed little over recent years with
- Falls from a height (50)
- Struck by a moving vehicle (25)
- Struck by a moving object (20)
- Trapped by something collapsing/overturning (15)
- Contact with moving machinery (8)
87 members of the public were also killed because of work related accidents in 2023/24, a 28% increase on the previous year.
By sector the figures were:
- Construction (51) 37% of reported fatalities (up by 4%);
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing (23) 16% of reported fatalities (up 1%);
- Manufacturing (16) 11.5% of reported fatalities (no change);
- Admin and support services (12) 8% of reported fatalities (doubled from last year)
- Transport and storage (11) 8% of reported fatalities (reduced by 3%);
- Wholesale, retail, motor repair, accommodation and food (9) 6.5% of reported fatalities (reduced by 5%); and
- Waste and recycling (4) 3% of reported fatalities (reduced by 1%).
When adjusting the rates to account for the levels of employment (the rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers), the picture is different however, showing:
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing a rate of 7.51;
- Waste and recycling a rate of 3.88;
- Construction a rate of 2.43;
- Admin and support services a rate of 0.82;
- Transport and storage a rate of 0.68;
- Manufacturing a rate of 0.64; and
- Wholesale, retail, motor repair, accommodation and food a rate of 0.17.
In comparison to the five year average figures, construction, admin and support services and waste and recycling all showed increases.
All these figures were reported by HSE in their “Work related fatal injuries in Great Britain” report for 2023/24.
Some further statistics from HSE:
- 59% of all fatalities caused by falls from a height were in the construction sector (annual average of 22 per year).
- 26% of all fatalities caused by being struck by moving vehicle over the last five years were in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (annual average 6 per year).
3. Work-related non-fatal, reported injuries
604,000 workers sustained non-fatal injuries (self-reports from the LFS). Of these 78% (476,000) were injuries with up to 7 days absence and the remaining 22% (127,000) over 7 days. 61,663 employees had non-fatal injuries reported through RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013), in 2023/24.
The most common causes of non-fatal injuries to employees unfortunately remains very consistent and predictable, these being:
- Slips, trips or falls on same level 31% (down 1% from last year);
- Handling, lifting or carrying 17% (the same as last year);
- Struck by moving object 10% (down 1% from last year);
- Acts of violence 9% (up 1% from last year); and
- Falls from a height 8% (the same as last year).
Historically the HSE identify that there has been, “a large reduction in non-fatal injuries. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of self-reported non-fatal injury to workers showed a generally downward trend and the current rate is similar to the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level. Likewise, for RIDDOR reported injuries (covering generally more serious injuries), prior to the coronavirus pandemic the rate of non-fatal injury to employees reported by employers under RIDDOR showed a downward trend and the current rate is below the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level.”
4. Work-related ill health and occupational diseases
1.7 million working people were suffering from a work-related illness either new or long standing in 2023/24. This is down by 100,000 from last year. While there remains a decrease in the long term trend of self-reporting ill health, rates have risen in recent years again with the latest figures equivalent to a rate of 4,940 per 100,000 workers (4.9%), although this is down on 2022/23 (5,250 per 100,000 workers).
In terms of new and long-standing cases of work-related ill health by type, 2023/24, the published figures show:
- Stress, depression or anxiety 46% (down 3% on last year);
- Musculoskeletal disorders 32% (up 5% on last year); and
- Other ill health conditions* 21% (down 3% on last year).
*Other ill health conditions include occupational cancer, work-related skin disease, hand-arm vibration and noise induced hearing loss.
Over the last twelve months, whereas stress/depression/anxiety remains the major cause of work-related ill health, musculoskeletal disorders have shown the greatest increase.
In 2023/24, 776,000 workers were reported as suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety (new or long-standing), with 300,000 new cases.
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders affected 543,000 workers (new or long-standing) in 2023/24. A breakdown of these figures show:
- 232,000 (43%) were back disorders;
- 203,000 (37%) were upper limbs or neck disorders; and
- 108,000 (20%) were lower limbs disorders.
For occupational lung disease, 12,000 deaths each year are estimated to be linked to past exposures at work, with over 20,000 estimated new cases of breathing or lung problems caused or made worse by work (LFS figures averaged over the last three years). There were also 2,257 mesothelioma deaths (in 2022) - as well as a similar number of lung cancer deaths - linked to past asbestos exposure.
A breakdown of the figures relating to occupational lung disease fatalities show:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – 35%
- Non-asbestos related lung cancer – 22%
- Asbestos-related lung cancer – 20%
- Mesothelioma – 20%
- Other disease – 3%
Statistics - Work-related ill health and occupational disease
Occupational Lung Disease statistics in Great Britain, 2024
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders statistics in Great Britain, 2024
Work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain, 2024
5. So what could this mean for your workplace?
Our health and safety management in Great Britain continues to be world class, but our workplaces are still adapting, in utilisation, occupation and operation. Employers and those managing the risks must therefore recognise where these risks are evolving. For some sectors and activities, the figures identify there are several predictable risk areas that need to be effectively controlled. For others, particularly ill health and wellbeing, factors are changing, the increase in musculoskeletal disorders for example, so:
- Are changes in workstyle, operations and building use being reflected in your risk registers and arrangements?
- Are you actively gathering information on your health, safety and building performance and how is this being reported/disseminated through the organisation?
- Is your current mental health provision suitable for your workplace today? How is it being used and do you need to adapt your provision to reflect changes in your work practices?
- Have your health and safety policy and procedures been reviewed recently and are they relevant to your organisation now?
- Has your supply chain been able to adapt with you to change and continued to deliver what you need? Have you assessed/re-assessed your main suppliers to make sure they can still offer the service you need?
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