These statistics are compiled through fatal workplace injuries reported, under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) and through enforcement bodies (as well as fatal injuries to members of the public from work-related activities).
The main cause of fatal injuries to workers over this time period continued to be falls from height (50), struck by moving vehicle (25), struck by moving object (20), trapped by something collapsing/overturning (15) and contact with moving machinery (8). Demographically, male workers comprised 95% of those fatally injured and 89 of the fatalities were for people aged between 16 and 59, with 45 aged 60 or over.
While, thankfully, fatal injury numbers have decreased over the long term, they have “plateaued” more recently, for example, with between 2013/14 and 2023/24 an average of 136 deaths occurring - ranging between 113 in 2019/20 and 149 in 2018/19 (although the figure for 2019/20 is widely seen as affected by the restrictions in place as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic). When broken down by sector, the direct figures of fatalities for 2023/24 show:
- Construction - 51 fatal injuries recorded, an increase of 4 from the previous year.
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing - 23 fatal injuries recorded, a increase of 2 from the previous year.
- Manufacturing - 16 fatal injuries recorded, an increase of one from the previous year.
- Administrative and support services - 12 fatal injuries recorded, an increase of 3 from the previous year.
- Transportation and Storage - 11 fatal injuries recorded, a decrease of 2 from the previous year.
- Wholesale, retail, motor repair, accommodation and food - 9 fatal injuries recorded, an decrease of 2 from the previous year.
- Waste and recycling - 4 fatal injuries recorded, the same as the previous year.
If assessing the rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers, both long-term and short-term trends are consistent with the above findings and the current rate is similar to pre-coronavirus levels. When broken down by sector however we start to see a slightly different picture:
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing – 5.71/100,000 workers (down on the annual average of 8.23/100,000 workers between 2019/20 to 2023/24p);
- Waste and recycling – 3.88/100,000 workers (up on the annual average of 3.65/100,000 from 2019/20 to 2023/24p);
- Construction – 2.43/100,000 workers (up on the annual average of 1.96/100,000 2019/20 to 2023/24p).
- Administrative and support services – 0.82/100,000 workers (up on the annual average of 0.63/100,000 between 2019/20 to 2023/24p).
- Transportation and Storage - 0.68/100,000 workers (down on the annual average of 0.84/100,000 between 2019/20 to 2023/24p).
- Manufacturing - 0.64/100,000 workers (very slightly up on the annual average of 0.63/100,000 between 2019/20 to 2023/24p).
- Wholesale, retail, motor repair, accommodation and food - 0.17/100,000 workers (down on the annual average of 0.19/100,000 between 2019/20 to 2023/24p).
- The “all industries” average was 0.42/100,000 workers (slightly up on the annual average of 0.40/100,000 between 2019/20 to 2023/24p).
With Construction and Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, in the top three for both datasets, the ongoing challenge for these sectors in particular is clear. With the Government looking to build 1 million new homes over the course of this Parliament, it may bring even more pressure on the former too.
In a report issued this month “Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2024”, the HSE, commenting on construction said:
“The number of fatalities in construction in 2023/24 was 51, an increase of 4 from the previous year total (47). The five-year average for fatal injuries in this sector is 42. While the number of fatalities fluctuates year-on-year, the average number of worker deaths in construction in the latest 2 years is statistically significantly higher than the pre-pandemic period (2016/17- 2018/19).”
All sectors need to ensure they are recognising and managing their health, safety and wellbeing risks successfully and with construction currently it needs to be at the forefront of thinking.
Links to the information contained in this article are:
Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2024 (hse.gov.uk)
Statistics - Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain (hse.gov.uk)