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The total number of workers killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain has fallen to 123, a decrease of 22 fatalities on the previous year, but the fatal injury rate ‘remains broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels’, according to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) provisional figures for 2021/2022.
Great Britain’s OSH regulator’s annual statistics, which were published on Wednesday (6 July), suggest that some progress has been made in two of the four industry sectors responsible for the largest proportion of the nation’s work-related fatalities. However, they also indicate that the two remaining sectors have performed worst since 2020/2021.
The latest statistics, which covers from April 2021 to March 2022, reveal that the profile of fatal injuries by industry sector is broadly similar to that for the five-year period starting in 2017/2018, with construction; agriculture, forestry and fishing; manufacturing; and transportation and storage accounting for 73% of fatal injuries.
The construction sector, which is responsible for around 25% of the total number of fatal injuries to workers in 2021/2022, reported 30 fatalities, a decrease in 10 deaths on the previous reporting year. The HSE notes that the five-year average for this sector is 36 fatalities.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, which accounts for 18% of the total number of fatalities, also reported an improvement, with 22 fatal injuries, a decrease from 34 in 2020/2021. The sector’s five-year average is 28 fatalities.
However, manufacturing’s number of fatalities rose from 19 deaths in 2020/2021 to 22 deaths, which was also an increase of three on the sector’s five-year average.
The transportation and storage sector’s total number of fatal injuries rose slightly more than that seen in manufacturing. In 2021/2022, there were 16 fatalities, an increase of five on the previous year. The sector’s five-year average is 14 fatalities.
However, the fatal injury rate, which considers changes in the numbers of people in employment between years, has been broadly flat in recent years and the latest figures show they are in line with pre-pandemic levels. Even so, some sectors have shown noticeable trends.
‘Every loss of life is a tragedy, and we are committed to making workplaces safer and holding employers to account for their actions’
Based on the annual average rates over the past five-year period of reporting, the latest figures reveal that the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector ‘remains markedly higher than the average across all industries’ and is 21 times as high as the all industry rate, the report notes.
The waste and recycling sector has also performed poorly over the five-year period. The report shows it has an elevated rate of fatal injury which is 11 times as high as the average across all industries. However, the waste and recycling industry only reported a single fatality in 2021/2022 and this means that the fatal injury rate is significantly lower than the sector’s average rate for the five-year period.
Interestingly, although the construction sector’s fatality rate is around ‘four times as high as the average rate across all industries’, the report reveals that it is a lot less than the agriculture, forestry and fishing’s rate even though construction accounts for a greater number of cases.
Falls from a height, being struck by a moving vehicle and being struck by a moving, including flying or falling object have consistently been responsible for more than half of all fatalities each year since at least 2001/2002, the HSE notes.
In 2021/2022, falls from a height topped the table and accounted for 24% of all worker deaths, with a total of 29 fatalities. Struck by a moving vehicle, with 23 fatal injuries, came second and accounted for 19% of total deaths. Struck by moving, including flying/falling, object, accounted for 18 fatal injuries, or 15% of all worker deaths.
Looking at the age of the workforce, the report notes that around a quarter (24%) of the fatalities in the latest statistics were workers aged 60 or over, which is significant because the report notes that they only make up 11% of the workforce.
The fatal injury rate for the five-year period starting in 2017/2018, shows that the rate of fatal injury increases with age; workers aged between 60-64 have ‘a rate around twice the average rate across all age groups’, the report notes. For workers aged 65 and over, ‘the rate is four times as high as the average rate across all age groups’.
The report also reveals that overall, the fatal injury rate for the self-employed for the past five-year reporting period is 2.5 times that of the employee rate, although it notes that this does vary by industry.
The difference in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector is particularly striking. The rate of fatal injuries for self-employed workers is 11.25 per 100,000 compared to 6.03 per 100,000 for employees.
The HSE notes that the coronavirus pandemic has ‘introduced challenges to measuring employment, particularly around workers on furlough’.
This has resulted in an over-estimation of the number of workers who were ‘at work’ in 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 compared to previous years. This also means that the fatal injury rate has been underestimated.
In addition to worker deaths, 80 members of the public died as a result of a work-related accident, the HSE reveals. Although this is an increase on the previous year it is below the pre-pandemic level.
The report’s provisional figures, which were compiled from notifications collated under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), will be finalised in July 2023.
The HSE’s chief executive Sarah Albon said that although ‘Great Britain is one of the safest countries in the world to work’, it was important that safety was prioritised.
'We are calling on businesses to review how they protect their workforce, to ensure they leave no stone unturned in their efforts to prevent workplace accidents, injuries and ill-health'
She said: ‘Every loss of life is a tragedy, and we are committed to making workplaces safer and holding employers to account for their actions.’
Ruth Wilkinson, head of health and safety at IOSH, added that the reduction in the number of workplace fatal injuries should not be a cause for celebration.
‘This is not acceptable and we are calling on businesses to review how they protect their workforce, to ensure they leave no stone unturned in their efforts to prevent workplace accidents, injuries and ill-health,’ she said.
‘One death at work is one too many. Every working person should expect they can carry out their duties in a safe and healthy way and in a safe and healthy working environment.’
Rhian Greaves, legal director, regulatory – safety, health and environment at DAC Beachcroft, told IOSH magazine: ‘Each fatality is a tragedy for the family, friends, colleagues and employers of those lost and it’s very easy to be depressed by a statistical story of stagnating performance and common themes around industry sectors and accident types.
‘Clearly there is much still to be done by many businesses, particularly in those sectors where the fatal accident rate is persistently high. But the last several years have also seen a change in corporate attitude with many organisations proactively looking at ways to integrate health and safety management into their daily decisions and routines. We have to welcome and encourage this approach, which will have a positive impact in time.’
On the same day, the HSE also published its annual figures for mesothelioma. The data for 2020 shows that 2,544 people died from the asbestos-causing disease and this is slightly above the average of 2,523 deaths recorded over the previous eight years.
