Non-fatal
injuries at work in Great Britain
Important Note
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the government’s response has impacted recent trends in health and safety statistics published by HSE. More details can be found in our report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health and safety statistics.
441,000
Workers sustained a non-fatal injury according to self-reports from the Labour Force Survey in 2020/21 (LFS)
51,211
Employee non-fatal injuries reported by employers in 2020/21 (RIDDOR)
| Workplace injuries and ill health | Estimated working days lost |
|---|---|
| Injuries with up to 7 days absence | 339000 |
| Injuries with over 7 days absence | 102000 |
Non-fatal injuries to employees by most common accident kinds
(Non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR 2020/21, includes those accident kinds that account for 5% or more of the total)
Non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR 2020/21 where accident kinds account for 5% or more of the total, Slips, trips or falls on same level 33%, Handling, lifting or carrying 18%, Struck by moving object 10%, Acts of violence 8% and falls from height 8%
| Type of injury | Percentage of injuries |
|---|---|
| Slips, trips or falls on same level | 33 |
| Handling, lifting or carrying | 18 |
| Struck by moving object | 10 |
| Acts of violence | 8 |
| Falls from a height | 8 |
Rate of self-reported workplace non-fatal injury
(LFS: Estimated rate per 100,000 workers)
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of self-reported non-fatal injury to workers showed a generally downward trend. In 2020/21 the rate was lower than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level.
| Year | Self-reported workplace non-fatal injury | Lower Bound | Upper Bound |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | 3980 | 3810 | 4150 |
| 2001/02 | 3780 | 3620 | 3940 |
| 2002/03 | 3800 | 3630 | 3960 |
| 2003/04 | 3480 | 3320 | 3650 |
| 2004/05 | 3210 | 3050 | 3370 |
| 2005/06 | 3030 | 2870 | 3190 |
| 2006/07 | 3100 | 2940 | 3260 |
| 2007/08 | 2850 | 2700 | 3000 |
| 2008/09 | 2570 | 2410 | 2720 |
| 2009/10 | 2580 | 2430 | 2740 |
| 2010/11 | 2130 | 1970 | 2280 |
| 2011/12 | 2090 | 1940 | 2240 |
| 2012/13 | 2240 | 2090 | 2400 |
| 2013/14 | 2130 | 1980 | 2290 |
| 2014/15 | 2030 | 1880 | 2180 |
| 2015/16 | 2030 | 1870 | 2190 |
| 2016/17 | 1970 | 1810 | 2130 |
| 2017/18 | 1770 | 1620 | 1920 |
| 2018/19 | 1830 | 1680 | 1990 |
| 2019/20 | 2160 | 1980 | 2340 |
| 2020/21 | 1410 | 1250 | 1570 |
Trend statements
- Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of self-reported non-fatal injury to workers showed a generally downward trend. In 2020/21 the rate was lower than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level.
Rate of employer-reported non-fatal injury
(RIDDOR: Rate per 100,000 employees)
Chart shows the rate of employer-related non-fatal injury in Great Britain since 1986/87
| Year | Employer reported non-fatal injury rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rates for the period 1986/87 to 2011/12 | 0 | 25 | |
| 1986/87 | 620 | ||
| 1987/88 | 608 | ||
| 1988/89 | 605 | ||
| 1989/90 | 602 | ||
| 1990/91 | 588 | ||
| 1991/92 | 570 | ||
| 1992/93 | 540 | ||
| 1993/94 | 519 | ||
| 1994/95 | 532 | ||
| 1995/96 | 494 | ||
| 1996/97 | 510 | ||
| 1997/98 | 517 | ||
| 1998/99 | 497 | ||
| 1999/00 | 482 | ||
| 2000/01 | 466 | ||
| 2001/02 | 448 | ||
| 2002/03 | 443 | ||
| 2003/04 | 456 | ||
| 2004/05 | 441 | ||
| 2005/06 | 425 | ||
| 2006/07 | 409 | ||
| 2007/08 | 391 | ||
| 2008/09 | 374 | ||
| 2009/10 | 351 | ||
| 2010/11 | 335 | ||
| 2011/12 | 319 | ||
| 2012/13 | 318 | ||
| 2013/14 | 307 | ||
| 2014/15 | 297 | ||
| 2015/16 | 277 | ||
| 2016/17 | 267 | ||
| 2017/18 | 265 | ||
| 2018/19 | 258 | ||
| 2019/20 | 242 | ||
| 2020/21 | 185 | ||
Trend statements
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of non-fatal injury to employees reported by employers showed a downward trend. The rate fell further in 2020/21, though more sharply than previously seen.
Notes
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides the most complete estimate of workers sustaining a non-fatal injury at work, regardless of whether time off work was taken (based on self-reports by workers).
This data is supplemented with reports by employers of workplace injuries under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). RIDDOR requires employers to report certain workplace non-fatal injuries, generally the more serious (those that result in more than 7 days absence from work or specified on a pre-defined list of injuries). It is known that employers substantially under-report these non-fatal injuries: the level of overall employer reporting of RIDDOR defined non-fatal injuries to employees is estimated at around a half. Any comparisons between different subsets within RIDDOR data (e.g. comparisons between one industrial sector and another) need to take account of the possibility of there being markedly different reporting levels in the subsets being compared.
LFS data has several advantages over RIDDOR including: data are available for all workplace injuries, irrespective of time off work; they are not subject to the substantial under-reporting that affects RIDDOR; and they are not affected by changes in legislation. However, RIDDOR provides greater richness in terms of details about the injury sustained.
More information on non-fatal injuries at work