Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Statistics
| Main industry: | Agriculture | Extraction and Utility Supply | Manufacturing | Construction | Services1 | All Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 20 | 9 | 33 | 54 | 62 | 178 |
| Self employed | 19 | - | 1 | 18 | 12 | 50 |
| Workers* | 39 | 9 | 34 | 72 | 74 | 228 |
| Members of the public | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 349 | 359 |
| Total fatalities | 42 | 11 | 36 | 75 | 423 | 587 |
p = provisional
* The term ‘workers’ includes employees and the self-employed combined.
1 The figures for services include railway incidents reported to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). Of the member of the public figures for services (349), and hence the total, 263 were suicides or trespass on railways, and 15 other railway incidents classified as member of the public. These incidents come within scope of RIDDOR.
| Main industry: | Agriculture | Extraction and Utility Supply | Manufacturing | Construction | Services1 | All Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 8.7$ | 5.5 | 1.2 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Self employed$ | 9.5 | - | 0.4 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| Workers* | 9.1 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
$ For 2007/08 year, some employment estimates are not yet available, so an additional estimation has been made to enable rates to be produced. This covers the self-employed, and employees in agriculture. These rates will be updated when more accurate employment data becomes available.
These five broad categories as used above are determined according to Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). This system is used in UK official statistics for classifying businesses by the main type of economic activity they are engaged in, and is the responsibility of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest version is ‘SIC 2003’.
RIDDOR (The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) is the primary determinant as to whether a fatal accident is included in these figures or not. More detail can be found in the technical note.
Because of the seriousness of the incidents involved, statistics relating to fatal injuries do not suffer from underreporting in the same way as other accident statistics. These statistics are, therefore, of considerable value in providing a reliable way of both measuring long-term trends and comparing the safety regimes in different countries.
However, there are difficulties associated with comparing figures from one year to the next. This is because the annual figure for fatal injuries at work is a count of the number of occurrences of an event that thankfully happens rarely. This means that when comparing the figures for one year with another, the size of the count will be determined not only by possible changes in the inherent risk of work conditions but also, to a considerable extent, by the effect of chance variation. Given this, the provisional figure of 228 worker fatalities for 2007/08 is not, in statistical terms, significantly different from counts in recent years (see below). Using standard statistical methodology it is possible to estimate the effect of chance variation on the overall count. Thus it can be estimated that depending on the play of chance this year’s figure of 228 could have been anywhere between 199 and 260. Thus the figure for this year is very much in line with the average figure for the last five years of 230.
Because the figures are smaller, the play of chance will be even more pronounced when considering the data for individual sectors. Thus, particular caution needs to be applied when looking at trends over time in specific sectors.
In order to understand the underlying trend that can be ascribed to changes in the inherent risk of working conditions, it is necessary to look at data covering a number of years. This more detailed trend analysis will be given in the annual statistical release in October.
| Main industry: | Agriculture | Extraction and Utility Supply | Manufacturing | Construction | Services1 | All Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 13 (14) | 6 (10) | 37 (35) | 52 (54) | 68 (78) | 176 (191) |
| Self employed | 26 (22) | - (-) | 2 (1) | 18 (25) | 9 (8) | 54 (56) |
| Workers* | 38 (36) | 6 (10) | 39 (36) | 70 (79) | 76 (86) | 230 (247) |
| Members of the public | 6 (7) | 2 (3) | 2 (-) | 6 (7) | 376 (398) | 397 (415) |
| Total fatalities | 44 (43) | 8 (13) | 41 (36) | 75 (86) | 453 (484) | 621 (662) |
1The figures for services include railway incidents reported to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). For member of the public figures, the yearly average of 397 becomes 90 if railway-related incidents are excluded, and the 2006/07 figure of 415 becomes 88.
| Main industry: | Agriculture | Extraction and Utility Supply | Manufacturing | Construction | Services | All Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 5.7 (6.1) | 3.5 (6.3) | 1.2 (1.2) | 4.4 (4.4) | 0.3 (0.4) | 0.7 (0.7) |
| Self employed | 14.8 (11.7) | - (-) | 1.1 (0.4) | 2.3 (3.1) | 0.3 (0.3) | 1.4 (1.4) |
| Workers* | 9.7 (8.6) | 3.4 (6.0) | 1.2 (1.2) | 3.6 (3.9) | 0.3 (0.4) | 0.8 (0.8) |
The finalised figure for 06/07 represents a net increase of 6 compared to the provisional figure of 241 released last year. A few incidents occurring towards the end of the period can be reported late; while some fatal investigations can take time to conclude, with the records being updated accordingly as the latest information becomes available.