According to the Health and Safety Executive, work-related accidents resulted in 124 deaths in 2010, 14 less than the year before.
The new Statistics recorded between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2025 continued a downward trend of fatal workplace accidents. For example, 223 accidents in 2004-5 resulted in 223 deaths, while in 1981, the figure was 495. This number rose to 600 during a period in the middle 1980s.
Construction was the industry that had the most deaths, 35 in total. There were also 23 deaths in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries, as well as 15 in transport and storage.
Falling from height was the leading cause of death, accounting for 35 deaths. Another 18 deaths were caused by being hit by an object moving and another 17 by being trapped in something that collapsed or overturned.
The vast majority (95%) of fatalities were men, but it is also important to note that 40 % of all fatal injuries occurred in workers 60 years and older, despite this age group making up only 12% of the total workforce.
49 out of the 124 victims were self-employed. In the HSE report, it was noted that “the increased rate of self-employed employees is especially evident in the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector, and administrative and service activities where the fatality rate to self employed workers is approximately two and three times higher than the employee rate.”
In 2024/25, 92 people died in workplace accidents (excluding those who were ‘patients or service users’ of the healthcare sector and the adult social care sector).
Ruth Wilkinson is the head of policy and Public Affairs at Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. She said, “There were almost two-and a half deaths each week last year. This is not a cause for celebration.”
These figures serve as a reminder that things can go wrong and they do. We are calling on companies to consider if they’re doing everything they can to avoid accidents and ensure that their employees are safe, so they can go home safely at the end each day.
Businesses need to invest in strong health and safety systems, with leadership commitment and worker participation and robust risk management. You can’t price someone’s death.
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