New figures published for workplace ill health and injury in Scotland

Policy Notice

Date:

31 October 2012

Figures published today show slight falls in a number of key areas of workplace ill-health and injury in Scotland.

The provisional statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that in Scotland between April 2011 and March 2012:

• There were 9,551 reported injuries to employees in 2011/12 compared to 10,216 in 2010/11, a fall of seven per cent The average in Scotland for the past five years is 10,775.
• The rate of injury for 2011/12 is 425.7 per 100,000 employees, compared with 451 in 2010/11, a fall of six per cent. The five year average in Scotland is 469.8 per 100,000 employees.
• 64,000 people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work, down from 77,000 in 2010/11. The average across Scotland for the past five years was 91,000.
• 20 workers were fatally injured - up from 14 the previous year. The average for the past five years was 23 worker deaths per year.

HSE head of operations in Scotland, Alistair McNab, said:

"While there has been a welcome drop in injury and ill-health in Scotland, the increase in workplace deaths proves that there is no room for complacency.

"It is important that efforts are concentrated on managing the risks that lead to serious harm in workplaces throughout Scotland. It is unacceptable that Scottish workers are still failing to come home from work safe.

"HSE will continue to work with industry to ensure employers are clear on what their responsibilities are and how they can implement safe working practices."

Notes to editors

1. The full statistics, including comparisons to previous years, are available online at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics
2. In 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available across the EU, the standardised rate of work-related fatal injury excluding traffic accidents, was 0.59 per 100,000 workers in GB, the second lowest in the EU.
3. The Labour Force Survey is a survey of households living at private addresses in the UK. Its purpose is to provide information on the UK labour market which can then be used to develop, manage, evaluate and report on labour market policies, and includes questions about work-related ill health, which HSE then publishes. The survey is managed by the Office of National Statistics in Britain.
4. 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).
5. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to prevent death, injury and ill health. 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. www.hse.gov.uk

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