HSE releases workplace fatality stats

HSE: safety must remain a priority
HSE: safety must remain a priority

Latest statistics from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) on workplace fatalities serve as a warning to bosses about areas that remain stubbornly problematic in manufacturing.

In the year from April 2021 to March 2022, 123 workers died in work-related accidents. 

The figure is lower than 2020/21, but HSE said it was in line with pre-pandemic figures. 

The construction industry recorded the highest number of deaths at 30. 

Agriculture, forestry and fishing; and manufacturing both recorded 22, but the former has the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers. 

HSE said the three most common causes of fatal injuries remained the same: falling from height (29), being struck by a moving vehicle (23), and being struck by a moving object (18).

HSE chief executive Sarah Albon said that while Great Britain was “one of the safest countries in the world to work” the figures showed that safety must remain a priority. 

“Every loss of life is a tragedy, and we are committed to making workplaces safer and holding employers to account for their actions, as part of our mission to protect people and places,” she stated. 

According to HSE the most common types of accidents in general in the printing industry involve manual handling, slips and trips, and machinery.  

The figures do not include deaths arising from occupational diseases or diseases arising from certain occupational exposures, including Covid-19.

With much of the country sweltering this week, and weather warnings issued for extreme heat, HSE has also issued guidance on temperature in the workplace