Fall in workplace injuries

The provisional statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that in Britain between April 2012 and March 2013:

Chair of HSE, Judith Hackitt said:

"This year’s figures demonstrate that Britain continues to be improve its health and safety performance, with important falls in the number of workers fatally injured and the number of employees suffering major injuries. 

 "But we still see too many deaths and injuries occur in the work place many of which could have been prevented through simple safety measures.  Getting this right is the key to ensuring that everyone can make it home safely at the end of their working day. 

 "As the economy grows, new and inexperienced additions to the workforce  can increase in the risk of injuries to workers. We’re committed to helping employers understand that health and safety is about sensibly and proportionately managing risks and ensuring people understand the risks involved not creating unnecessary paperwork.”

There has also been little change in the industries in which workers are most likely to be injured by their jobs – with construction (156.0 major injuries per 100 000 employees) agriculture (239.4 major injuries per 100 000 employees) and waste and recycling (369.8 major injuries per 100 000 employees) among the higher risk sectors.