Health and Safety at Work Statistics Released

The HSE has published the annual work-related ill health and workplace injuries statistics for the period 2023/24.

 

The key figure highlighted by the HSE is that 1.7 million workers were suffering from work-related ill health through the 2023/24 period, including:

• 776,000 suffering from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety, down from 875,000 from the year before.
• 543,000 suffering from work-related musculoskeletal disorders, an increase from 473,000 the year before.

 

During the 2023/24 period, 604,000 workers sustained non-fatal injuries, with slips, trips, and falls continuing to be the leading causes. Among these, 61,663 injuries were officially reported under RIDDOR regulations. Additionally, work-related fatalities saw a slight increase, rising from 135 in 2022/23 to 138 in 2023/24. Despite this increase, the UK’s workplace fatality rate remains lower than most other European nations.

 

Workplace-related lung disease fatalities remain significant, with an estimated 12,000 deaths for this year, including 2,257 mesothelioma deaths. However, the HSE anticipates mesothelioma will decline in coming years following the prohibition on the use of asbestos.

 

The overall cost of workplace injuries over the past year has increased in some areas while decreasing in others:

• Annual costs of workplace injuries and new cases of work-related ill health, excluding long latency illnesses such as cancer, have increased from £20.7 billion to £21.6 billion.
• However, the overall annual cost of just workplace injuries has decreased from £7.7 billion to £7.1 billion, while the costs of new cases of work-related ill health have increased from £13.1 billion to £14.5 billion.

 

In terms of differences between sectors, health and social work, public administration, defence, and education reported the highest rate of self-reported work-related ill health, while non-fatal injuries were most prevalent in construction, retail, and transportation.

 

The HSE’s chief executive, Sarah Albon, summed up the statistics as highlighting that today Great Britain is now one of the safest places in the world to work but stating that there is still room for further improvement. It can be expected that the statistics will guide the HSE’s focus over the next year.

 

The full statistics can be downloaded from the HSE website.

 

If you have any questions or would like support with managing issues at your workplace, please speak to your usual contact or get in touch using the form below.