HSE statistics 2015/2016 – Reduction in workplace fatalities

The health and safety statistics for Great Britain have been launched for 2015/16 period by the HSE with a reduction in the number of workplace fatalities:

Key figures for Great Britain (2015/16)

• 1.3 million working people suffering from a work-related illness
• 2,542 mesothelioma deaths due to past asbestos exposures (2015)
• 137 workers killed at work (2016/17)
• 72,702 other injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR
• 621,000 injuries occurred at work according to the Labour Force Survey
• 30.4 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury
• £14.1 billion estimated cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions (2014/15)

Provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents revealed that 137 workers were fatally injured between April 2016 and March 2017.

This is the second lowest year on record and there has been a long-term downward trend in the number of fatal injuries to workers. The construction sector has been responsible for the most fatalities amounting to 30 fatalities. The common accident types which resulted in the fatalities include:  Struck by moving vehicle (31), Falls from a height (25) , Struck by moving object (20) and  Contact with electricity (8).

Since the inception of the Sentencing guidelines there has been a significant increase in the amount of prison sentences which have been handed down to persons found in breach of health and safety legislation.

Source

http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/

https://www.shponline.co.uk/53349-2/

http://www.ehn-online.com/news/article.aspx?id=16559