The provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents reveals that 111 workers were fatally injured at work between April 2019 and March 2020 (a rate of 0.34 deaths per 100,000 workers), the lowest year on record. This represents a fall of 38 deaths from the previous year, although the safety body says that it is likely that the fall was accentuated by the impact of Coronavirus on the economy in the final two months of the year.
In line with previous years’ fatal injury statistics, these figures do not include deaths from occupational disease. Covid-19 infection is therefore not part of the figures and will not feature in fatal injury statistics in subsequent years.
HSE chief executive Sarah Albon says: “No one should be hurt or killed by the work they do. In these extraordinary times, we have seen many workers risking their lives to help others during the Coronavirus outbreak. Although these statistics are not a reflection on Covid-19 related loss of life, it is a pertinent time to reflect.
“Every workplace fatality is a tragedy and while we are encouraged by this improvement, today’s statistics is a reminder that we cannot become complacent as we look to continue to work together to make Great Britain an even safer place to live and work.”
The new figures show the spread of fatal injuries across industrial sectors: construction (40); agriculture, forestry and fishing (20); manufacturing (15); transport and storage (11); admin and support services (6); wholesale, retail, motor repair, accommodation and food (6); waste (5); and other (8).
The three most common causes of fatal injuries, meanwhile, continue to be: workers falling from height (29), being struck by a moving vehicle (20) and being struck by a moving object (18), accounting for 60% of fatal injuries in 2019/20.
The new figures also continue to highlight the risks to older workers: 27% of fatal injuries in 2019/20 were to workers aged 60 or over, even though such workers make up only around 10% of the workforce.
In addition, members of the public continue to be killed in connection with work-connected accidents. In 2019/20, 51 members of the public were killed as a result of a work-connected accident in HSE enforced workplaces and a further 41 occurred on railways (enforced by the Office for Road and Rail). Typically, in recent years the number of such deaths has ranged between 12 and 16 deaths annually.
Albon continues: “These statistics remind us that in certain sectors of the economy, fatal injury in the workplace remains worryingly high. Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounts for a small fraction of the workforce of Great Britain, yet accounted for around 20% of worker fatalities in the last year. This is unacceptable and more must be done to prevent such fatalities taking place.
“Work-related deaths fracture families, they shatter communities, and so many of them can be avoided. The work that HSE does is about more than numbers, we are continually working with duty holders to ensure that they assess and appropriately manage risk to their employees. These efforts are a vital part of keeping essential services going, particularly as duty holders adapt to the current circumstances.”
Data on Mesothelioma, which is contracted through past exposure to asbestos and is one of the few work-related diseases where deaths can be counted directly, killed 2,446 in Great Britain in 2018. This is slightly lower than the average 2,550 over the previous five years. According to the HSE, the current figures are largely a consequence of occupational asbestos exposures that occurred before 1980.
A fuller assessment of work-related ill-health and injuries, drawing on HSE’s full range of data sources, will be provided as part of the annual Health and Safety Statistics release in November.