GB plc – Health and safety performance in 2025

1. What were the trends in Great Britain for 2025?

The headline findings/statistics from the HSE report for 2024/25 include:

• 124 workers killed at work;
• 59,219 non-fatal, work-related injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR;
• 680,000 working people sustaining an injury at work according to self-reports to the Labour Force Survey (LFS); and
• 1.9 million workers suffering from new or long-standing a work-related ill health

While these figures see reductions on the published 2024 figures for fatal and RIDDOR reported injuries in 2024 (from 138 and 61,663 respectively), self-reported injuries and work-related ill health both increased (from 604,000 and 1.7 million respectively).

Last year, work related illness and injury led to a loss of 33.7 million working days at an estimated cost of £21.6 billion (2022/23). For this year both however showed significant increase at 40.1 million working days and £22.9 billion (2023/24). These increases year on year account for 6.1 million more days lost at an additional cost of £1.3 billion.

Key figures for Great Britain 2024 to 2025 - HSE

2. Work-related fatal injuries

The profile of risk for fatal accidents has changed little over recent years (except for ‘being stuck by moving object’ dropping a place down the list), the figures being:

• Falls from a height - 35
• Struck by a moving vehicle - 18
• Trapped by something collapsing/overturning - 17
• Struck by a moving object - 14
• Contact with moving machinery - 13

92 members of the public were also killed because of work - related accidents in 2024/25, a 5.5% increase on 2023/24.

By sector the figures for numbers of fatal injuries were:

1. Construction (35) 28% of reported fatalities (down by 9%);
2. Agriculture, forestry and fishing (23) 18% of reported fatalities (up 2%);
3. Transport and storage (15) 12% of reported fatalities (up by 4%);
4. Admin and support services (13) 10% of reported fatalities (up by 2%)
5. Wholesale, retail, motor repair, accommodation and food (12) 9.5% of reported fatalities (up by 3%);
6. Manufacturing (11) 8.8% of reported fatalities (down by 2.5%); and
7. Waste and recycling (3) 2.5% of reported fatalities (reduced by 0.5%).

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:

1. Agriculture, forestry and fishing a rate of 8.23;
2. Waste and recycling a rate of 2.70;
3. Construction a rate of 1.66;
4. Transport and storage a rate of 0.96;
5. Admin and support services a rate of 0.87;
6. Manufacturing a rate of 0.42; and
7. Wholesale, retail, motor repair, accommodation and food a rate of 0.23; and
8. All industries average rate of 0.37.

Whereas transport and storage and admin and support services both showed increases in their rates, all other sectors were either static (Wholesale etc.) or showed a reduction.

In comparison to the five-year annual average rate figures, agriculture, forestry and fishing was 22 times as high as the ‘All industries’ rate, waste and recycling 8 times and construction 5 times as high.

Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2025

3. Work-related, reported injuries

For non-fatal injuries, 680,000 workers sustained non-fatal injuries (self-reports from the LFS). Of these, 81% (556,000) were injuries with up to 7 days absence and the remaining 19% (124,000) over 7 days.

59,219 employees had non-fatal injuries reported through RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013), in 2024/25.
The most common causes of non-fatal injuries to employees unfortunately remains very consistent and predictable, these being:

1. Slips, trips or falls on same level - 30% (down 1% from last year);
2. Handling, lifting or carrying - 17% (the same as last year);
3. Struck by moving object - 10% (the same as last year);
4. Acts of violence - 10% (up 1% from last year); and
5. Falls from a height - 8% (the same as last year).

Commenting on the longer-term trends for these figures, the HSE state:

“Prior to the coronavirus pandemic the rate of self-reported non-fatal injury to workers showed a generally downward trend. The rates in each of the latest three years are similar to the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level, with an estimated 2,070 injuries per 100,000 workers in 2024/25.

For RIDDOR-reported injuries the rate of non-fatal injury to employees reported by employers shows a downward trend, with 209 reported injuries per 100,000 employees in 2024/25.”

Non-fatal injuries at work in Great Britain - HSE

4. Work-related ill health and occupational diseases

1.9 million working people were suffering from a work-related illness either new or long standing in 2024/25. This is up by 200,000 from last year. While there was 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 5,360 per 100,000 workers.

In terms of new and long-standing cases of work-related ill health by type, 2024/25, the published figures show:

1. Stress, depression or anxiety - 52% (up 6% on last year);
2. Musculoskeletal disorders - 27% (down 5% on last year); and
3. Other ill health conditions* - 21% (the same as 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, stress/depression/anxiety has increased as the major cause of work-related ill-health, musculoskeletal disorders on the other hand have decreased, while other ill-health conditions have stayed the same by comparison.

In 2024/25, 964,000 workers were reported as suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This represents 2,770 per 100,000 workers and resulted in an estimated 22.1 million working days lost.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders affected 511,000 workers (new and long-standing) in 2024/25, with 7.1 million working days lost. A further breakdown of these figures show:

• 221,000 (43%) were back disorders;
• 211,000 (41%) were upper limbs or neck disorders; and
• 78,000 (15%) were lower limbs disorders.

For occupational lung disease, 11,000 deaths each year are estimated to be linked to past exposures at work, of these, there were 2,218 mesothelioma deaths (in 2023) - as well as a similar number of lung cancer deaths - linked to past exposure to asbestos.

A breakdown of the figures relating to occupational lung disease fatalities show:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - 35%
• Lung cancer due to other agents - 23%
• Asbestos-related lung cancer - 20%
• Mesothelioma - 20%
• Other disease - 3%

Work-related ill health and occupational disease in Great Britain - HSE

Work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain, 2025

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders statistics in Great Britain, 2025

Occupational Lung Disease statistics in Great Britain, 2025

5. What do these figures mean for your workplace?

The management of health and safety in Great Britan continues to provide a predominantly safe working environment for most workers and has a significant level of oversight and reporting in terms of its performance.

In 2024/25 the HSE, as part of their role:

• Completed 246 criminal prosecutions with a 96% conviction rate;
• Issued over 4,400 enforcement notices, including approximately 3,200 improvement notices and 1,200 prohibition notices;
• Over £33 million awarded in fines; and
• Investigated 86% of fatal injury investigations (within 12 months of receiving primacy).

Health & Safety Executive: Annual Report & Accounts 2024/25

Good health and safety is an investment in minimising liability as well as promoting a positive culture, employee attraction, retention and loyalty and productivity. While most employers work to deliver compliant, safe and healthy workplaces, we need to continue to actively manage changing and evolving risks.

• How are you using the information gathered on your health, safety and building performance, and how is this being used to inform the organisation of your risk management and control?
• What health and safety information are you currently reporting/disseminating through your organisation, and what more could you be providing?
• Are the ongoing changes in workstyle, operations, technology and building use being accurately reflected in your risk registers and arrangements?
• 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? Is your mental health provision focussed on proactive or reactive management?
• Have your health and safety policy and procedures been reviewed recently and are they relevant to your organisation now?
• How does your organisation score against your sector for its health and safety performance?

We offer a range of accredited solutions for your strategic, tactical and operational health, safety and building management. How could we be helping you?

Assurity Consulting is the UK’s leading independent consultancy specialising in workplace health, safety and environmental solutions. As your partner in compliance management you will reap the benefit of our more than 35 years’ experience of helping customers across a range of different sectors – manage their compliance responsibilities as effectively as possible. If you need any help with your health, safety or environmental compliance, or if you would like more information on the services Assurity Consulting offer, please get in touch.

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