The Health and Safety Executive released their most recent accident statistics towards the end of last year.
Key figures highlighted in this HSE report show 1.7 million working people suffering from a work-related illness, of which:
- 776,000 workers suffering work-related stress, depression or anxiety
- 543,000 workers suffering from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder
- 2,257 mesothelioma deaths due to past asbestos exposures (2022)
- 138 workers killed in work-related accidents
- 604,000 working people sustained an injury at work according to the Labour Force Survey
- 61,663 injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR
- 33.7 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury
- £21.6 billion estimated cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions (2022/23)
As detailed above in 2023/24, 138 workers were killed in work-related accidents. Three different accident kinds accounted for around 60% of the fatal injuries to workers over the last five years. Falls from a height, being struck by a moving vehicle and being struck by a moving, including flying/falling, object continue as the three main causes of fatal injury, between them accounting for over half of all fatal injuries each year since at least 2001/02.
There were 61,663 such reported incidents to employees in 2023/24 (although the report notes that it is known that RIDDOR defined non-fatal injuries to employees are substantially under reported by employers, with current levels of reporting estimated at around half). Despite long-term reductions in the number of workers injured each year, the kind of accident profile remains similar year on year, says the report. Two different accident kinds accounted for around half of all employer reported non-fatal injuries to employees in 2023/24; slips, trips or falls on same level (31%) and injured while handling, lifting or carrying (17%). By contrast, these two accident kinds accounted for 1% of fatal injuries to workers over the period 2019/20-2023/24.
Asbestos-related Diseases in Great Britain 2024
According to this document from the HSE:
- Over 5,000 asbestos-related disease deaths per year currently, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis
- 2,257 mesothelioma deaths in 2022, with a similar number of lung cancer deaths linked to past exposures to asbestos
- 493 deaths in 2022 mentioning asbestosis on the death certificate (excluding deaths that also mention mesothelioma)
Inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause cancers such as mesothelioma and lung cancer, and other serious lung diseases such as asbestosis and pleural thickening. All asbestos-related diseases typically take many years to develop so current statistics reflect the legacy of past working conditions.
Widespread use of asbestos containing products in the past – particularly in the post-WWII building industry – led to a large increase in asbestos-related disease in Great Britain over the last few decades. The cancer, mesothelioma, has such a strong relationship with asbestos that annual deaths give a particularly clear view of the effect of past exposures.
Annual mesothelioma deaths increased substantially over a number of decades, largely as a result of asbestos exposure prior to 1980. Figures for the latest two years suggest overall numbers may now be starting to reduce.
Download January’s review