Analysis of the impact of job tenure on workplace injury rates
Background
Previous analysis in 2000 showed that job tenure had a significant impact on workplace injury rates with those new to their jobs being more at risk of injury1. Age and hours of work were also significant. This report updates that analysis using more up-to-date Labour Force Survey (LFS) data.
Approach
Injury rates for workers who have been working for less than a year have been annualized (ie for workers who have been working for 3 months their annualized rate is 4 times their actual rate). This allows comparisons to be made across the different job tenure bands. No adjustment needs to be made for workers who have worked for longer than a year as the LFS only asks about injuries in the previous 12 months. A similar adjusted injury rate has also been calculated for the usual hours of work, that standardizes the hours worked to 39.5 to be consistent with the previous analysis.
Results
The tables below show the results for age, job tenure and usual hours worked breakdowns. The estimates are based on a three year pooled dataset containing 2005/06, 2006/07 & 2007/08. Corresponding charts are shown in the annex.
The injury rates are expressed per 100,000 workers. The "95% C.I." column in the tables shows the 95% confidence interval around the estimate. For example, the rate for the 16-24 year old group is estimated to be 1216 per 100,000 workers plus or minus 170.
All Workplace2 & Reportable3 Injury Rates by Age (05/06 - 07/08)
| Age band | Reportable injury | All workplace injury | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | 95% C.I. | Rate | 95% C.I. | |
| 16-24 | 1216 | 170 | 3575 | 290 |
| 25-34 | 958 | 116 | 2886 | 200 |
| 35-44 | 1022 | 101 | 2851 | 169 |
| 45-54 | 1083 | 112 | 3120 | 187 |
| 55-59/64 | 1025 | 141 | 2919 | 237 |
| 60/65-74 | 889 | 230 | 2088 | 344 |
| 75+ | * | * | * | * |
* sample cases too low to produce an estimate
This shows that the youngest workers (those aged under 25) have the highest injury rates.
All Workplace & Reportable (Annualised) Injury Rates by Job Tenure (05/06 - 07/08)
| Reportable injury | All workplace injury | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job tenure | Rate | 95% C.I. | Rate | 95% C.I. |
| Less than 6 months | 3316 | 638 | 9861 | 1113 |
| Between 6 months and 1 year | 1023 | 236 | 3821 | 447 |
| Between 1 and 5 year | 1084 | 95 | 3092 | 162 |
| 5+ years | 973 | 72 | 2829 | 123 |
This shows that the injury rate for those who have been in their current job for less than six months is three times higher than those with longer experience. As the further analysis by industry below shows (which uses data up to 2010/11), this effect is seen across all sectors.
| Job Tenure | Industry † | Estimated All Workplace Injury Incidence Rate * per 100,000 Workers (2006/07 - 2010/11) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | 95% C.I. | |||
| lower | upper | |||
| Less than 6 months | Production | 5030 | 2870 | 7190 |
| Construction | 10800 | 7050 | 14560 | |
| Services | 5590 | 4630 | 6550 | |
| Public Sector | 4360 | 3130 | 5580 | |
| Total | 8270 | 7400 | 9150 | |
| Between 6 months and 1 year | Production | 4170 | 2950 | 5390 |
| Construction | 4150 | 2770 | 5530 | |
| Services | 2800 | 2370 | 3220 | |
| Public Sector | 2560 | 1930 | 3190 | |
| Total | 3320 | 2970 | 3670 | |
| Between 1 and 5 year | Production | 3660 | 3250 | 4060 |
| Construction | 3370 | 2880 | 3860 | |
| Services | 2270 | 2110 | 2430 | |
| Public Sector | 2460 | 2240 | 2680 | |
| Total | 2680 | 2560 | 2800 | |
| 5+ years | Production | 2930 | 2680 | 3180 |
| Construction | 3440 | 3070 | 3810 | |
| Services | 2000 | 1870 | 2120 | |
| Public Sector | 2630 | 2470 | 2800 | |
| Total | 2540 | 2450 | 2630 | |
* Injury rates for workers who have been working for less than a year have been annualized (ie for workers who have been working for 3 months their annualised rate is 4 times their actual rate). This allows comparisons to be made across the different job tenure bands. No adjustment needs to be made for workers who have worked for longer than a year as the LFS only asks about injuries in the previous 12 months.
† Industry Groupings (SIC 2007):
- Production (SIC sections A, B, C, D, E)
- Construction (SIC section F)
- Services (SIC sections G-N, R-U)
- Public Sector (SIC sections O, P, Q)
All Workplace & Reportable (Standardized to 39.5 Hours) Injury Rates by Job Tenure (05/06 - 07/08)
| Reportable injury | All workplace injury | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual hours | Rate | 95% C.I. | Rate | 95% C.I. |
| Less than 16 | 1888 | 482 | 6017 | 857 |
| Between 16 and 29 | 1330 | 211 | 3905 | 364 |
| Between 30 and 49 | 1085 | 70 | 3075 | 118 |
| Between 50 and 59 | 867 | 139 | 2705 | 248 |
| 60 or more | 565 | 138 | 2083 | 265 |
Part-time workers, particularly those working less than 16 hours per week have a higher chance of having a workplace injury.
Background about the Labour Force Survey
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a national survey of over 50 000 households each quarter which provides information on the UK labour market. The Heath and Safety Executive commissions annual questions in the LFS to gain a view of work-related illness and workplace injury based on individuals' perceptions.
The LFS survey data is used to make inferences about the whole population. When data obtained from a sample is used in this way, there is an element of sampling error, or uncertainty, about the sample estimate. Confidence intervals (C.I.) represent the range of uncertainty resulting from the estimate being derived from a sample of people, not the entire population. They are calculated in such a way that the range has a 95% chance of including the true value in the absence of bias - that is the value that would have been obtained if the entire population had been surveyed.
All workplace injuries include all those sustained as a result of a non-road traffic accident, not just reportable injuries resulting in over 3 days of absence from work.
One way of increasing the reliability of survey data is to increase the sample size. Five years worth of data has been pooled to achieve this, 2006/07 - 2010/11
Annex - supporting charts
All workplace and reportable injury rates by age
Annualised all workplace and reportable injury rates by job tenure
All workplace and reportable injury rates standardized to 39.5 hour week by usual hours of work
Estimated all workplace injury incidence rate* per 100,000 workers (2006/07 - 2010/11)
Footnotes
- Trends and context to rates of workplace injury. Back to reference of footnote 1
- All workplace injuries include all those sustained as a result of a non-road traffic accident, regardless. Back to reference of footnote 2
- Reportable workplace injuries include all those sustained as a result of a non-road traffic accident, resulting in over 3 days of absence from work. Back to reference of footnote 3