Fatal injuries arising from accidents at work in Great Britain 2017 – Headline figures recently published by HSE*

27th July 2017

The Health and Safety Executive has recently released its annual figures of workplace fatalities for the year 2016/2017.  The figures highlight that 137 people were killed at work.  Of these, 57 fatalities were in construction and agriculture. In terms of age, around a quarter of fatal injuries in both the current year’s figures and the combined five-year period to date, were to workers aged 60 and over, even though such workers made up only around 10 per cent of the workforce.

Around three-quarters of the fatal injuries were accounted for by just six different accident kinds.  The three main causes of fatal injury are: being struck by moving vehicles; falls from a height and being struck by a moving (including flying or falling) object.

The figure of 137 fatal injuries represents the second lowest on record (after 2013/14 –136 fatalities) and represents a reduction of 10 fatalities from 2015/16. However, this change could equally be explained by natural variation in the annual figures. In statistical terms the number of fatalities has remained broadly the same in recent years – the average annual number of workers killed at work over the five years 2012/13 -2016/17 being 142.

However, as work place fatalities are preventable this downward trend needs to continue – with the right approach to risk management in the workplace.  Furthermore, organisations need to understand that as well as safety being a value of key importance, there is also the dilemma of the prevalence of workplace health-related issues, which account for an overall higher rate of fatalities.

The S2 Partnership provides a range of Health & Safety services and products, managing the health & safety requirements of all types of organisations in the UK and abroad.  Health & safety risk management need not be a difficult or time-consuming exercise, particularly if you are in a low-risk environment – so we always begin by finding out what help or advice you need, guiding you through the process to deliver a safe working environment. For more information, click here.

To view a copy of the whole report, click here:

*The figures are currently provisional and will be finalised in July 2018