RECORD LOW FOR FATAL WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS IN THE UK

The latest statistics just released by the HSE show that in the year April 2019 to March 2020, 111 workers were killed as a result of accidents at work. This compares to 149 deaths the previous year and is the lowest level on record, however at this stage it is not possible to say what impact the current COVID-19 pandemic has had on the statistics.

The most common cause of fatal injury remains falls from height accounting for 29 deaths, being struck by a moving vehicle resulted in 20 fatalities. Other common types of fatal accident included struck by a moving object (18 deaths), trapped by something collapsing / overturning (15) and contact with moving machinery (14).

The most hazardous industry sector was agriculture forestry and fishing with 20 fatalities a rate of 5.96 per 100,000 workers. This was closely followed by the waste and recycling sector with 5 fatalities a rate of 4.57 per 100,000 workers.

The highest overall number of fatalities was in the construction sector with 40 fatalities, however as this sector employs a larger number of people the overall rate was lower at 1.74 per 100,000 workers

The overall rate of fatal injury for all sectors was 0.42 per 100,000 workers which remains one of the lowest rates in the EU.

Full details of these statistics can be found on the HSE’s website at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/