The Health and Safety Executive released figures on Wednesday 3 July 2013 which showed that the number of deaths suffered by workers in the workplace has fallen over the last year.
Provisional data released by the Health and Safety Executive showed that there were 148 fatal injuries to workers between April 2012 and March 2013, as compared to 172 fatal injuries between April 2011 and March 2012. The overall rate of deaths in the workplace has also fallen to 0.5 per 100,000 workers, a figure which is below the five-year average of 0.6 per 100,000 workers.
The Health and Safety Executive’s figures also showed that:
- In England 118 fatal injuries were recorded – a fall from the average of 144 deaths over the past five years and a 10% decrease from the 131 deaths recorded in 2011/12
- In the construction industry there was a fall in the number of fatalities to workers, with just 39 deaths being recorded between April 2012 and March 2013, as compared to an average of 53 deaths in the past five years and a fall from the number of 48 recorded in 2011/12
- In the agricultural industry 29 deaths to workers were recorded – a rate of 8.8 deaths per 100,000 workers. However, this must be put in context in that this was a sharp decrease to the average of 36 deaths in the past five years and a decrease from the 35 deaths recorded in 2011/12
Wales possibly had the most significant fall in the number of deaths to workers across Great Britain – there were just 8 deaths recorded, as compared to a previous average (over the last five years) of 12 worker deaths and a decrease from the 19 fatal injuries recorded in 2011/12. HSE is striving to make health and safety simpler and clearer for people to understand so that more people do what is required to manage the real risks that cause death and serious injury.”
Marc Hadrill, a personal injury solicitor at Redmans, commented on the figures that “As Ms Hackitt notes, Great Britain has one of the lowest levels of workplace fatalities in Europe and the figures released by the HSE on Wednesday show that there has generally been a marked decrease in the number of workplace fatalities. However, the HSE must not – and I would imagine will not – rest on its laurels and will continue to work to decrease these figures further.”
Judith Hackitt, Chairman of the HSE, released the following statement: “The fact that Britain continues to have one of the lowest levels of workplace fatalities in Europe will be of little consolation to those who lose family members, friends and work colleagues.
Redmans Solicitors are employment law solicitors offering employment law advice to employers and employees
