Statistics

Explanatory note

This page provides information about the statistics of fatal and non-fatal injuries to workers in recent years, for Great Britain. It provides messages for the surface engineering industry identified by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC2007), code 25610 'treatment and coating of metals'.

Top level rates of fatal (all workers) and non-fatal injury to employees are presented for accidents in the treatment and coating of metals industry based on reports by employers and others under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 for all enforcing authorities. Rates of fatal injuries are expressed as per 100 000 workers (ie employees and self employed) as this data is reliable. The rate for non-fatal injury is expressed per 100 000 employees, as employment data for the self employed is unknown and reporting of major and over 3 day injuries amongst the self employed is unreliable. Provisional figures are denoted by 'p'.

Under these reporting regulations HSE (and local authorities) get to know of all fatal injuries, but it is known from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)(see information below) that non-fatal injuries are under-reported.

Deaths of all employed people and members of the public arising from work activity are reportable to either HSE or the local authority. There are three categories of reportable injury to workers defined under the regulations: fatal, major and over-3-day injury. Examples of major injuries include: fractures (except to fingers, thumbs or toes), amputations, dislocations (of shoulder, hip, knee, spine) and other injuries leading to resuscitation or 24 hour admittance to hospital. Over-3-day injuries include other injuries to workers that lead to their absence from work, or inability to do their usual job, for over three days. A non-fatal injury to a member of the public is reportable if it results in the injured person being taken from the site of the incident to hospital.

Injuries which are not reportable under RIDDOR 95 are: road traffic accidents involving people travelling in the course of their work, which are covered by road traffic legislation; accidents reportable under separate merchant shipping, civil aviation and air navigation legislation; accidents to members of the armed forces; and fatal injuries to the self-employed arising out of accidents at premises which the injured person either owns or occupies.

Employment estimates

Injury rates for employees produced by HSE are based on employment estimates produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). When HSE finalises the provisional injury statistics, rates are revised using the employment data available at that particular time. Injury rates are not revised to incorporate subsequent revisions to employment estimates by the ONS.

Labour Force Survey

HSE developed the (annual) Labour Force Survey (LFS) as a source of information on workplace injury to complement the flow of the injury reports made by employers and others under RIDDOR. The LFS gives estimates on the levels of workplace injury that are not subject to under-reporting, and together with the rates of reported injury, gives estimates of the levels of reporting of injuries in industries. LFS worker injury rates (combined employees and self employed) are presented as three year moving averages, to reduce annual fluctuations that stem from sampling error. The statistics are derived from a number of different sources, some of which are surveys and are therefore subject to sampling errors because the estimates are based on a sample rather than the whole population. Further results and background information are available in the LFS fact sheet.