The latest report on work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain for 2023/24 is out, and it offers some sobering (although sadly not surprising) insights.

138 workers lost their lives in work-related accidents over the past year, a slight increase from the previous year’s 136 fatalities. This number remains in line with pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that a previous long-term decline in workplace deaths may have hit a plateau. Perhaps more surprisingly, 87 members of the public also lost their lives due to work-related incidents (excluding deaths to patients/ service users in the health/ adult social care sectors).

Fatal Injuries to Workers

High-Risk Industries: A Closer Look at Construction and Agriculture

It is no surprise that certain sectors are more dangerous than others, and the latest figures reaffirm this. Construction and agriculture, forestry, and fishing continue to be the industries with the highest fatalities, accounting for more than half of all worker fatalities:

- Construction: With 51 fatalities last year, this sector saw a slight rise from 47 the year before. It remains one of the most hazardous sectors, with a fatal injury rate about 5 times higher than the average across all industries.

- Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing: This sector had 23 fatalities, up from 21 the previous year.

Although construction has the highest total number of fatalities, agriculture, forestry and fishing has the highest figures per 100,000 workers employed.  The fatality rate here is startling - 21 times higher than the average across all industries.  

From this personal injury practitioner’s perspective, claims from the construction industry are commonplace, though claims from agriculture, forestry and fishing appear significantly less common.

Leading Causes of Fatal Accidents

Certain types of accidents continue to dominate the fatality statistics. Three main causes stand out, making up 70% of all worker deaths:

Falls from Height: Heading the list with 50 deaths, or 36% of all fatalities. This is a slight increase from previous years and remains the leading cause of death at work.

Struck by Moving Vehicle: Accounting for 25 deaths, or 18% of the total.

Struck by Moving Object: Responsible for 19 deaths, making up 14% of all fatalities.

Clearly these are areas where employers should focus considerable effort.

 

Who is Most at Risk? Gender, Age, and Employment Status Matter

 

Gender: The vast majority of those who died - 95% - were men, a trend consistent over the years. This mirrors the higher representation of men in high-risk jobs like construction and agriculture.

Age: Perhaps surprisingly, workers aged 60 and over make up 34% of all fatalities, even though they only account for 11% of the workforce. This age group has a fatality rate four times higher than the rate for all age groups, highlighting a significant vulnerability.

Employment Status: About 36% of fatalities involved self-employed workers. The fatality rate for the self-employed is around three times that of employees (although this varies by sector), pointing to the heightened risks faced by those working without the backing of an employer’s safety resources.

Regional Differences in Workplace Fatalities

The report also sheds light on how fatal injury rates vary across Great Britain. England generally sees a lower rate of fatalities compared to Scotland and Wales, reflecting differences in the types of jobs and industries that dominate each region.

Longer-term trends

There is a long-term reduction in the number of workers killed by work activities (there was 236 in 2003/4 and 496 in 1981).  However, this may have levelled out in recent years.

Fatal Injuries to members of the Public

 

87 members of the public lost their lives due to work-related accidents during this period, marking an increase from the 73 fatalities reported the previous year.

This number excludes deaths in healthcare and social care settings regulated separately by the Care Quality Commission.

While the overall number of public fatalities fluctuates annually, recent years have shown a notable reduction compared to pre-pandemic levels, where the average was around 102 deaths per year. This decline is particularly evident in sectors like retail, accommodation, and food services. However, this increase in the latest figures serves as a reminder that work-related risks extend beyond the workforce, affecting the broader public as well.

NB – These figures exclude deaths from occupational diseases and indeed are somewhat overshadowed by the same.  The document notes that ‘Each year around 13,000 deaths from occupational lung disease and cancer are estimated to have been caused by past exposure, primarily to chemicals and dust, at work.’

 

The statistics are provisional until 2025, so staying updated with future releases will help keep a pulse on the evolving landscape of workplace safety in Great Britain.

The full report can be viewed here.