Injury analysis - data sources

The Labour Force Survey

From the Labour Force Survey, levels and rates of work-related injury can be calculated for a range of household and workplace variables. Tables are routinely produced by age, gender, region, industry, occupation and workplace size. A research report by the Institute for Employment Research published in 2005 analysed twelve years of Labour Force Survey data and concluded that the main factors influencing an individuals risk of workplace injury were:

• Occupation
• Job tenure (with higher risks for those new to their job)
• Part-time working
• Shift working

The higher rates of injury seen for men compared with women can almost entirely be explained by differences in job characteristics.  Similarly, once job profile is taken into account, there is no regional effect on injury rates.

• Full report - RR386

In addition to figures on injury levels and rates, the Labour Force Survey provides data on working days lost due to workplace injuries. In 2006/07, we estimate that 5.8 million working days were lost due to accidents at work. On average, an injured person missed 7 days of work because of their accident and those with a reportable injury missed an average of 20 days.

RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) 95

The current Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) regulations have been in place since 1 April 1996.

• Historical comparisons

Data is collected and published for three categories of injury:

• fatal injuries
• non-fatal major injuries which are certain specified injuries to workers including most fractures and other injuries leading to resuscitation or 24-hour admittance to hospital
• non-fatal over-3-day injuries where the injured person is unable to resume their normal work activities for more than three days.

• Suite of Riddor tables

In 2008/09, 134,000 injuries to workers were reported under RIDDOR. These broke down as follows:

• 180   fatalities
• 29,000  major injuries
• 105,000  over-3-day injuries

The chart below shows recent trends in major and over-3-day injuries to workers.

Chart 24: Non-fatal accidents reported under RIDDOR by severity

• View data

In addition to the annual series, quarterly data for non-fatal reported injuries are also available. These are derived from an unvalidated snap shot of the live database of reported accidents and so are subject to some small revisions. However, they do provide a useful guide to current trends.