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Great Britain remains one of the safest places in the world to work

11 Nov 2020

    • New statistics released by the HSE show that Great Britain is still one of the safest places in the world to work with the lowest number of deaths on record. However, more than half of Britain’s working days lost in 2019/20 were due to mental ill health.

    The annual report by the HSE includes statistics for work-related ill health, workplace injuries, working days lost, enforcement action taken, and the associated costs to Great Britain.

    The emergence of COVID-19 as a national health issue at the end of the final quarter of 2019/20 does not appear to be the main driver of changes seen in the 2019/20 data, although it is possible that COVID-19 may be a contributory factor.

    Figures show that around 693,000 workers sustained non-fatal injuries in 2019/2020 and 1.6 million workers are suffering from work-related ill health.

    The statistics, compiled from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and other sources, illustrate that in Great Britain in the 2019/2020 period there were:

    • 111 fatal injuries at work;
    • 6 million working people suffering from a work-related illness; and
    • 8 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury.

    In addition, 325 cases were prosecuted and resulted in a conviction. Fines from convictions totalled £35.8 million. In 2019/2020, the estimated economic cost to Great Britain totalled £16.2bn with 38.8 million working days lost.

    In response to the report, Sarah Newton, HSE Chair said:

    “The COVID-19 pandemic has focussed attention on the health and safety issues people face in the workplace. HSE remains committed to taking action where workers are not protected, to ensure the guidance and assistance we provide for employers in managing risks is the best available, based on the latest evidence and science.

    “Although Great Britain continues to be up there with the safest places in the world to work, these figures highlight the scale of the challenge HSE currently faces in making Britain an even healthier and safer place to work. This includes our role in the response to the pandemic to ensure workplaces are COVID-secure.

    “We must continue to drive home the importance of managing risk and promoting behaviours to ensure employers work right so that workers are able to go home healthy and safe at the end of each day.”

    The full annual injury and ill health statistics report can be found on the HSE’s website.