Health & Safety Update (December 2009)
Big Improvement in Workplace Safety and Health Record
The latest HSE statistics show that Britain became a healthier
and safer place to work last year. The statistics show there has
been a significant reduction in the numbers of people killed,
injured or suffering work related ill-health from April 2008 to
March 2009.
In brief the statistics reveal that:
- across England, Scotland and Wales, 29.3 million working days
(equivalent to 1.24 days per worker) were lost to injury and ill
health last year - compared with 33.9 million in 2007/08;
- workplace fatal injuries fell from 233 in 2007/08 to a record
low of 180 in 2008/09, and there was a reduction of more than 7,000
in the number of workplace injuries classified as serious or
incurring more than three days absence from work;
- comparison with international data shows Britain to be one of
the safest places to work in the EU.
In more detail the key facts for 2008/09 are:
Ill Health
The number of people estimated to be suffering from work-related
ill health fell by 79,000 in 2008/09 to 1.2 million. As a result
three million fewer working days were lost to ill health in 2008/09
- a total of 24.6 million.
Injuries
- Major injuries at work have fallen since 2000 and this trend
continued last year with 28,692 workers reported as being injured
in 2008/09 (94.8 per 100,000) compared with 29,389 in 2007/08 (96.5
per 100,000).
- A statistically significant fall was recorded in the estimated
number of self-reported injuries - down from 299,000 in 2007/08 to
246,000 this year. This improvement saw business lose 1.6 million
fewer working days through all types of injury, a total of 4.7
million.
- 180 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.6 per 100,000
workers
- 104,301 other injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR,
a rate of 397.2 per 100,000 employees
- 246,000 reportable injuries occurred, according to the Labour
Force Survey (LFS), rate of 870 per 100,000 workers.
Working Days Lost
29.3 million days were lost overall (1.4 days per worker), 24.6
million due to work-related ill health and 4.7 million due to
workplace injury.
Enforcement
The HSE continues to take a tough line with firms who put
workers at risk by breaking safety legislation. It brought 1,231
offences to court in 2008/9, and issued 8,054 enforcement
notices.
Commenting on the results, Judith Hackitt (Chair, HSE) said:
"The improvements shown in these statistics point to other
factors than simply a reduction in activity levels in a recession.
While the recession will undoubtedly have an impact, the effect is
not direct and easy to explain."
It is clear to see that good safety management is of value to
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