Health & Safety at Work: HSE Report

The United Kingdom has a well-established health and safety culture. As a result, health and safety statistics in the UK are closely monitored and reported regularly. In this blog, we will look at some of the key statistics relating to the 2021/22 HSE health and safety report.

Key statistics in 2021/22:

• 1.8 million work related ill health cases
• 0.9 million work related stress, depression or anxiety cases
• 0.5 million work related musculoskeletal disorder cases
• 36.8 working days lost due to work related ill health or non fatal workplace injuries
• 0.1 million workers suffering from COVID-19 they believe was due to exposure at work
• 0.6 million workers suffering from a work-related illness caused or made worse by effects of coronavirus
• 0.6 workers sustaining a non-fatal injury
• 123 workers killed in work related incidents
• 12,000 lung disease deaths each year estimated to be linked to past exposures at work

Work related ill-health

As well as 1.8 million workers suffering from work-related ill health, there were 722,000 workers suffering from a new case of work-related ill health, and 30.8 million working days were lost due to
work-related ill health. 13,000 deaths each year were estimated to be linked to past exposure
at work, primarily to chemicals or dust.

Work related stress, depression or anxiety

914,000 Workers suffered from work related stress, depression or anxiety, with 372,000 new cases of workers suffering from a case of work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Also 17 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety.

Work related musculoskeletal disorders

A shocking 477,000 workers suffered from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, 139,000 workers reported suffering from a new case of work-related musculoskeletal disorder and 7.3 million working days lost due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Occupational lung disease

12,000 lung disease deaths are estimated each year to be linked to past exposures at work. There were 2,544 Mesothelioma deaths in 2020, with a similar number of lung cancer deaths linked to past asbestos exposure. There were 19,000 estimated new cases of breathing or lung problems caused or made worse by work each year on average over the last three years, according to self-reports from
the Labour Force Survey.

Coronavirus pandemic

HSE reported 123,000 workers suffered from COVID-19, which they believe may have been from exposure to coronavirus at work. Around 40% of those suffering were in human health and
social work activities. 585,000* workers suffered from a work-related illness caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and around a quarter of those suffering were in human health and social work activities.

*excludes the 123,000 workers in the first statistic.

Workplace injury

123 workers were reported killed in work-related accidents, 565,000 workers sustaining a non fatal injury according to self reports from the Labour Force Survey. However 61,713 employee non-fatal injuries were reported by employers under RIDDOR and 6 million working days lost due to non-fatal workplace injuries according to self-reports from the Labour Force Survey.

Costs to Britain*

A whopping £18.8 billion lost due to work-related injury and ill health excluding long latency illness such as cancer, with £11.2 billion lost due to new cases of work-related ill health excluding long
latency illness such as cancer. £7.6 billion annual costs of workplace injury

(*Estimated based on Labour Force Survey, RIDDOR and HSE Cost Model for 2018/19-2021/22, referred to as 2019/20 cost estimate)

Overall, health and safety statistics in the UK show that there is still work to be done to improve the safety of workers. While the number of fatal injuries has remained relatively stable over the past few years, there are still a significant number of non-fatal injuries and work-related illnesses. The industries with the highest rates of injuries and illnesses are often those that involve manual labour or exposure to hazardous substances. As such, it is important for employers to take the necessary steps to protect their workers and ensure that they are following health and safety regulations. By doing so, they can help to reduce the number of injuries and illnesses in the UK and create a safer working environment for everyone.

Sources:

• The Labour Force Survey
• Death Certificates
• The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)
• Eurostat
• Specialist physician and general practitioner reporting (THOR)
• European Labour Force Survey
• Coronavirus pandemic impact