2022/23 Work-related fatality figures published by the HSE

HSE Alerts

14 Jul

According to statistics released last week (Thursday, July 6) by the Health and Safety Executive, 135 employees died in incidents related to their work in Great Britain last year. The number of injuries in construction in 2022/23 was 45, an increase of 16 from the previous year total (29), though this difference is not statistically significant. The five-year average for fatal injuries in this sector is 37.

Construction (45 deaths), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (21), manufacturing (15), and transportation and storage (15) had the greatest fatality rates.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the country's workplace regulator, releases annual statistics that covers the period of April 2022 and March 2023.

The three most common causes of fatal injuries are falls from height (40), being struck by a moving object (29), and being struck by a moving vehicle (20).

Although the number of worker fatalities in 2022–2023 was greater than the year before (123), it was still within pre–pandemic standards. 145 was the total for 2020–2021.

One of the safest locations to work in the world is Great Britain. Although there has been a long-term decline in the number of fatal workplace accidents, the incidence was largely flat in the years before the coronavirus epidemic.

HSE’s Chief Executive Sarah Albon said: “Any loss of life in the workplace is a tragedy.

“While these figures show Great Britain is one of the safest countries in the world to work, safety must continue to be at the top of everyone’s agenda.

“Our mission is to protect people and places and we remain committed to maintaining safe workplaces and holding employers to account for their actions.”

Rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers.

Over the long-term, the rate of fatal injury to workers showed a downward trend, though in the recent years prior to the coronavirus pandemic the rate had been broadly flat. The current rate is similar to pre-coronavirus levels.