In-year RIDDOR analysis - Quarter 4 2008/09

Major injuries

Comparing the snapshot figures for 2008/09 with those for 2007/08:

• Major injuries are down 1.6%. (Table 1)
• All main accident kinds are down compared with last year, except falls which have increased substantially - but see note 1. (Table 1)
• The number and rates of major injuries fell in all main industry sectors except for Public Services. (Tables 3 & 5)

All non-fatal injuries (major and over-3-day injuries combined)

Comparing the snapshot figures for 2008/09 with those for 2007/08:

• Non-fatal injuries are down 4.4%. (Table 2)
• All the main accident kinds, except falls, have reduced. (Table 2)
• The number of non-fatal injuries in all main industries has fallen, as have the rates, except in Retail, wholesale & hospitality where they increased slightly. The reduction in numbers in Rest of manufacturing (ex recycling) was 15.2% and just under 10% in construction and food, drink & tobacco. (Tables 4 & 6)

Recent trends

• Major and over 3 day injuries have been on a downward trend since 2004/05.  Recently reductions in major injuries were less, but have increased again in the last year, possibly due to the tougher economic conditions.
• All main accident kinds with the exception of slips & trips show downward movement since 2004/05.  There was some evidence of the trend flattening for handling injuries, but there were encouraging reductions at the end of 2006/07 and early in 2007/08. Slips & trips remain erratic with no clear trend - in quarter 4 (January - March 2009) there was a sharp increase mainly due to the icy weather conditions.
• All main industries show a downward trend in the rate of non-fatal injury since 2004/05.  The bulk of the reduction was in the first year of the PSA period, but there have been sudden reductions over the last year in most industries. The exceptions are Food, drink and tobacco manufacture, Public services and Transport, storage & communication where the major injuries rate has risen in the last year. In the case of Retail, wholesale & hospitality the major injuries rate has fluctuated, but with little change overall.

Important note about data for public services

There is a discontinuity in the public services series at Q1 2007/08 due to a change in the way council workers are coded.  Between 2003/04 and 2007/08 these workers were generally coded to SIC 75 (public admin) but are now coded to the activity they are engaged in, for example education, social care, refuse collection etc.

Seasonal adjustment

Seasonal adjustment is the process of removing known and regular variations associated with the time of the year.  The data are adjusted so that seasonal effects do not mislead the user and to give a clearer indication of underlying trend.

Important Supporting Notes

Slips, trips and falls

From Q1 2008/09, slips and trips down steps and stairs are recorded as Falls rather than Slips and Trips. This has led to a discontinuity in both series with the falls series increasing by approximately 50% and the slips series reducing by approximately 10%.

Seasonal adjustment

Seasonal adjustment is the process of removing known and regular variations associated with the time of the year. The data are adjusted so that seasonal effects do not mislead the user and to give a clearer indication of underlying trend. Each year, when the quarter 1 data are published, the seasonal factors are reviewed and the data remodelled to give the most up-to-date picture of seasonality. As a result of this review, small revisions are made to the seasonally adjusted back-series. The latest review, in Q1 2008/09, led to revisions back to Q1 2005/06.