Fatal injuries to workers in Britain at record low

E50:09 24 June 2009

The number of people killed at work in Britain has fallen to a record low, new figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal.

Provisional data shows that 180 workers were killed between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 - a rate of 0.6 per 100,000 employees - down from 233 in 2007/08 and 17 per cent lower than the previous lowest total of 217, recorded in 2005/6.

Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair, said:

"We very much welcome any reduction in the number of workers being fatally injured and the fact that the number for 2008/09 is a record low.

"There is inevitably variation in the figures year on year, but we can take heart from the fact that Great Britain consistently has fewer fatal injuries than comparable industrialised nations in the rest of Europe.

"This statistical snapshot needs careful analysis to help us to understand underlying factors, including the impact of the recession.

"Statistics on fatal injuries do not give us the whole picture. Work-related ill health is a significant problem and accounts for four times more working days lost than workplace injury, so there is still a major challenge we all face to prevent death, injury and ill health in all of our workplaces.

"The number and proportion of workers being killed in the workplace is likely to reduce in an economic downturn. But we also know from the past that the number and the rate of fatal injuries increase when trading conditions pick up.

"These statistics are encouraging but there is no magic wand in health and safety. When those running organisations show personal leadership, and when workers are involved in tackling the risks that they face, safety can be improved and lives saved - that is how we can turn this encouraging sign into real sustained improvement."

Sizeable falls have been recorded in some of the historically most dangerous industries in Britain.

• 26 fatal injuries to agricultural workers were recorded - a rate of 5.7 per 100,000 workers - a big reduction in the 46 recorded in 2007/08 and the latest five year average (40)
• 53 fatal injuries to construction workers were recorded - a rate of 2.4 per 100,000 workers - a significant fall from the 72 recorded in 2007/08 and average number of fatalities (70) for the previous five years
• 63 fatal injuries to services workers were recorded, a rate of 0.3 per 100,000, and a fall from the figure for 2007/08 (73) and the latest five year average (76)
• 32 fatal injuries to manufacturing workers were recorded, a rate of 1.1 per 100,000, representing a slight fall from 2007/08 (33) and the average for the previous five years (37)

The new figures show that compared with the latest data available for the four other leading industrial nations in Europe - Germany, France, Spain and Italy - Great Britain has over the last five years had the lowest rate of fatal injuries.

These figures are the first fatal injury statistics to be published since the recession was confirmed in January 2009.

Notes for editors:

1. HSE's mission is to prevent death, injury and ill health in Britain's workplaces. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement.
2. The full statistical bulletin can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh0809.pdf and a summary at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm
3. The reporting of health and safety incidents at work is a statutory requirement, set out under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). A reportable incident includes: a death or major injury; any accident which does not result in major injury, but the injured person still has to take four or more days off their normal work to recover; a work related disease; a member of the public being injured as a result of work related activity and taken to hospital for treatment; or a dangerous occurrence, which does not result in a serious injury, but could have done.
4. The figures for 2008/09 are provisional. They will be finalised in June 2010 following any necessary adjustments arising from investigations, in which new facts can emerge about whether the accident was work-related. The delay of a year in finalising the figures allows for such matters to be fully resolved in the light of formal interviews with all relevant witnesses, forensic investigation and coroners rulings.

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