From the CEO’s desk

We are living in a world of great uncertainty, opportunity and change at the moment.  Geopolitics is unpredictable, climate change continues, social media dominates, AI is gaining momentum and science in general is moving forwards at great pace.  In a world where sometimes, the only certainty appears to be uncertainty, one thing that does sadly remain predictable is the number of people impacted by workplace accidents and work-related ill health.

The UK workplace ill health and accident statistics for 2024/25 recently released by the HSE make for familiar reading.  As has been reported before by the BSIF over the last 10 years there has been no significant change.  124 workplace accident fatalities is thankfully an improvement on the average of 135 but conversely 680,000 workplace non-fatal injuries is 15% more than the average.  

An estimated 11,000 lung disease deaths related to previous workplace exposure is a slight reduction from the 10-year average of 12,000 however there has been a sudden increase in the estimate of respiratory problems caused or made worse by workplace exposure.  This number has jumped by 15% to 22,000 and since 2021 it has increased by 30%.  These numbers are based on a 3-year average so any sudden increase should be treated particularly seriously.

At the BSIF we are asking why this number has started to increase and what can we do to reverse this trend.  We know that in recent years facial hair has become much more commonplace in the workforce.  Does this mean that more of the workforce are now wearing poorly fitted respiratory protective equipment (RPE)?  Could the increase also be due to different materials and working practices being used in industry such as the cutting of high silica content materials?  Are we starting to see a long-term impact of COVID in the numbers?  We do not know but the truth is probably a combination of these and other factors.  BSIF will continue to champion proper face fitting of RPE through the Fit2Fit accreditation scheme alongside working to educate employers and duty holders about the importance of this issue.

As previously stated, workplace non-fatal injuries are up to 680,000.  This figure is, as ever, an estimate based on the UK’s Labour Force Survey conducted quarterly by the Office for National Statistics.  18% of these injuries, approximately 122,000, resulted in more than 7 days absence from work and should therefore have been reported under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations).  The actual number of accidents reported under RIDDOR was less than half of this at 59,219!  This under-reporting of accidents is well known in the UK and commented on by HSE.  Since COVID the annual number of accidents reported through RIDDOR has consistently been around 60,000 whereas in the five years prior to COVID it was consistently around 70,000.  If increasing numbers of employers are neglecting their RIDDOR obligations does this reflect a gradual erosion of responsible safety cultures within some of these businesses?

These accident statistics on a personal level describe immense tragedy and suffering for the victims, their families and their friends; arguably preventable – and it happens every year.  It also comes at a huge cost to the economy.

This stagnation of outcomes and the tacit acceptance of the misery it inflicts is not acceptable and is a huge motivator as I lead the BSIF into its next chapter.

On this point of accepting the status quo it is revealing to look at the latest HSE 10-year strategy document “Protecting people and places: HSE strategy 2022 to 2032”.

The fourth of the five key objectives of the strategy is to “maintain Great Britain’s record as one of the safest countries to work in”.  All workplace safety stakeholders, particularly the HSE, should be rightly proud of past achievements, but I would question whether “maintaining” is good enough when we are talking about protecting people who have dedicated years of their lives to working for the benefit of our community and our economy. 

The HSE has had resources stripped away from it over the last 10 years and it is focussing much more on work-related mental health and stress.  It is therefore not surprising that they have had to change their approach to workplace safety, retaining their enforcement activities and targeting specific sectors whilst reducing other education and support activities.  It is an organisation of talented, passionate, hard-working professionals but they need more safety dedicated resource.  Otherwise, even just maintaining Great Britain’s safety record may soon not be achievable.

John Hooker is CEO of the BSIF. For more information, visit www.bsif.co.uk