The latest fatality statistics¹ from the Health and Safety Executive make for worrying reading with provisional findings showing that 135 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2022/23. Whilst this is a return to pre-Covid-19 levels, it’s also an increase on the previous year, when there were 123 fatalities.

Analysis of the statistics shows which types of fatal accident were most common; the sectors that experienced the highest number of fatalities; and the age profile of the workers. 

Construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing continue to account for the greatest number of fatal accidents. Fatalities in the construction sector increased by more than 50% from 29 in 2021/22 to 45 in 2022/23. ²

Although it’s too early to determine whether this year’s increase in work-related fatal injuries is a trend or just an anomaly, the figures are worrying. “I am concerned that these figures point to a deterioration in safety behaviours and the resources directed to the effective management of health and safety since the pandemic,” says Mark Pearce, loss control technical lead at Allianz. “The increase in fatalities in the construction sector is particularly concerning.”

As a result of factors such as Brexit, an ageing workforce and a post-pandemic employment rethink, the UK is experiencing a labour shortage. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures³ show that 13% of businesses were experiencing worker shortages in mid-July 2023, with jobs ranging from bricklayers through to home carers and agricultural workers included on the government’s list of shortage occupations⁴.

To illustrate how large these shortages are, the latest Construction Skills Network report states that an extra 225,000 construction workers will be needed by 2027⁵. 

The ONS report also highlights a worrying consequence of the skills shortage. Nearly four out of 10 businesses (38%) struggling to recruit are asking employees to work increased hours to cover. Longer hours can lead to tired employees, poor decision-making, and more risk.

Inflationary pressures also feed into the risk. Rising costs can mean that businesses hire cheaper but less experienced workers or cut corners on training and health and safety measures.

The pinch is being felt at the HSE too. A series of Freedom of Information requests by trade union Unite found a significant reduction in the number of unannounced construction inspections⁶. In 2013/14, it undertook 11,303 proactive construction inspections but by 2021/22, this figure had fallen to just 7,793 inspections. This represents a reduction of a third (31%) over less than a decade. 

Sadly, fewer inspections inevitably means that health and safety can become less of a priority and standards can slip.

Ensuring a proactive and robust approach to health and safety is a must for every organisation. Without it, businesses face a variety of unwanted consequences.

First and foremost, no organisation wants work to be the cause of an employee illness, injury or death. Unfortunately, as well as the 135 workers killed in work-related accidents, the latest HSE health and safety statistics (2021/22)⁷ show that 565,000 working people sustained an injury at work, with 61,713 of these injuries reported under RIDDOR.

Additionally, 1.8 million working people suffered a work-related illness, of which work-related stress, depression or anxiety (914,000 workers) and work-related musculoskeletal disorders (477,000 workers) were the two main conditions.

Even where no incidents occur, a lax approach to health and safety can affect employees. Everyone wants to feel safe at work and if employees perceive that their employer is not taking their health and safety seriously, it can quickly lead to lower morale and higher sickness absence and turnover rates.

It can also damage an organisation’s reputation. Workplace accidents make the news, especially when the organisation is prosecuted. This will affect the company’s image with customers as well as with current and prospective employees.   

Alongside the financial implications of a damaged reputation and lower employee morale, organisations with a poor health and safety record can also find themselves hit with fines and insurance claims.

Recent examples include National Rail’s fine of £1.2m following the death of an employee who was crushed by a railway track while carrying out maintenance work⁸; a £1m fine for a manufacturing company after an employee was seriously injured and lost an eye when he was struck in the face by a crane hook ⁹; and a £200,000 fine for a manufacturing company that failed to protect two of its workers from exposure to vibration¹⁰.

In some cases, a health and safety failing can even result in a custodial sentence. In August 2023, Joseph Jones, the owner of JJ Tyres & Recovering in Bootle, was jailed for 10 months for an accident at his premises¹¹. Kenny McCord had been salvaging spare parts under a tipper van when the flatbed fell and crushed him. Although his colleagues were able to release him and he underwent surgery, he later died from his injuries. The HSE investigation found Jones had no risk assessments, safe systems of work or lifting plan and did not provide staff with adequate training.

Rising costs, supply chain issues and difficult trading conditions are making it a tough time for many UK businesses. While it may be tempting to reduce investment in health and safety to get through this period, this is an area that every business should be prioritising.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the minimum an employer must do to protect employees and others is:

• Identify hazards that could cause injury or illness in the business
• Determine the risk that someone could be harmed and how seriously
• Take action to eliminate the hazard, or if that isn’t possible, control the risk.

Effectively managing health and safety, identifying hazards and putting in place measures to eliminate or reduce and control risk is key to providing a safe environment for employees and others, including minimising the potential for accidents and incidents to occur.

An organisation’s approach to managing health and safety should also be systematic and sustained. This ensures that any changes that may occur within the organisation that could affect risk are picked up quickly.

As an example, if an organisation starts making a different product or changes suppliers or there’s a change in working hours, a sustained approach will identify how this affects risk, before it potentially causes an accident.

The iterative Plan, Do, Check, Act process can help to identify the health and safety actions required, relating them back, where appropriate, to leadership, management, training and worker involvement. This works as follows:

“The earlier we’re made aware of a personal injury accident, the greater the impact we’re able to have on the claim. Once informed, we can start work of achieving the best outcomes for both our customer and the injured parties,” said Mark Merrix. 

Swift claims reporting by businesses means we’re able to carry out an early investigation, often on site, to determine cause and responsibility. Where there are strong grounds to support a liability denial, securing evidence early could  substantially improve our defence.

At the same time, where fault is established, we’re then able to pro-actively support the injured parties rehabilitation, focusing on a return-to-work treatment plan. With the support of both our in-house and external rehabilitation teams we can help ensure that the correct, early treatment intervention is provided. For many cases, this could help to reduce recovery times and improve prognosis outcomes.

“Allianz fully adopts the 100% compensation principle, so, where liability is established, we’ll always pay 100% of the compensation due to the injured party,” Mark Merrix, head of casualty claims at Allianz.

Reducing notification times not only helps to reduce recovery times and improve customer outcomes, but it also substantially reduces the risk of unnecessary litigation and legal costs. Which in turn, helps optimise results for our customers, without impacting compensation payments.