Figures published today by the Heath and Safety Executive show an 11 per cent drop in major injuries compared to 2011/12. The provisional statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that in Britain between April 2012 and March 2013:

•  19,707 major injuries such as amputations, fractures and burns, to employees were reported (a rate of 78.5 injuries per 100,000 employees) – compared with 22,094 in 2011/12 (a rate of 88.5 per 100,000 employees)
• 148 workers fatally injured – down from 171 the previous year. The average for the past five years was 181 worker deaths per year.
• Workplace injuries and ill-health (excluding work related cancer) cost society an estimated £13. 8 billion in 2010/11 compared with £16.3 billion in 2006/07 (both in 2011 prices).

Chair of HSE, Judith Hackitt said: “This year’s figures demonstrate that Britain continues to be improve its health and safety performance, with important falls in the number of workers fatally injured and the number of employees suffering major injuries. “But we still see too many deaths and injuries occur in the work place many of which could have been prevented through simple safety measures.  Getting this right is the key to ensuring that everyone can make it home safely at the end of their working day. “As the economy grows, new and inexperienced additions to the workforce  can increase in the risk of injuries to workers. We’re committed to helping employers understand that health and safety is about sensibly and proportionately managing risks and ensuring people understand the risks involved not creating unnecessary paperwork.” There has also been little change in the industries in which workers are most likely to be injured by their jobs – with construction (156.0 major injuries per 100 000 employees) agriculture (239.4 major injuries per 100 000 employees) and waste and recycling (369.8 major injuries per 100 000 employees) among the higher risk sectors.

 Notes to editors:

1. The full statistics, including comparisons to previous years, are available online at the HSE website.
2. In 2010, the most recent year for which statistics are available across the EU, the standardised rate of work-related fatal injury excluding traffic accidents, was 0.71 per 100,000 workers in GB, the third lowest in the EU.
3. The reporting of health and safety incidents at work is a statutory requirement, set out under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). A reportable incident includes: a death or major injury; any accident which does not result in major injury, but the injured person still has to take seven or more days off their normal work to recover; a work-related disease; a member of the public being injured as a result of work-related activity and taken to hospital for treatment; or a dangerous occurrence (which does not result in a serious injury, but could have done).
4. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to prevent death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement.