SHE Matters: Workplace fatalities

The Health and Safety Executive (‘HSE’) has published provisional workplace fatality statistics1 for Great Britain (‘GB’) up to March 2021. In the 12 months up to 31 March 2021, a total of 142 workers were killed in GB; this represents a rise of 29 fatalities (or 26%) compared to the previous year. In addition, during the same period, 60 members of the public were also killed as a result of work-related accidents; this represents a decrease, down by 43%, compared to the 106 deaths from the previous year.

When considering sectoral death rates, we can see that:

• over half of all fatal injuries to workers in 2020/21 were in the construction and agriculture, and forestry and fishing sectors, with 39 and 34 deaths, respectively; and
• a further 20 deaths were attributed to the manufacturing sector.

The statistics also show that the three most common types of accident which lead to death are:

• falls from height (35 deaths);
• being struck by a moving vehicle (25 deaths); and being struck by a moving object (17 deaths).

In addition, both being trapped by an object collapsing or overturning, along with making contact with moving machinery, accounted for 14 deaths each, a total of 28.

The natural, and surprising, observation from these headline figures alone is that there has been a rise in fatalities during a time when fewer people have been at work; this may suggest a degree of procedural drift from safe systems of work and risk assessments, in so far as ensuring that the highest standards of safety are being adhered to in the workplace.

That said, the rise is measured against the backdrop of a particularly low number of fatalities in 2019-2020. In part, as suggested by the HSE, this may be explained by the fact that the previous years statistics could have been impacted by the first lockdown in March 2020. However, we are not entirely persuaded on that point given that the first lockdown did not occur until March 2020, with the 2019-2020 figures running between March-March.

Further, the HSE notes that “the long-term picture for the fatal injury rate is similar to that for fatal injury numbers: a generally downward trend but has been broadly flat in recent years”.

It should also be remembered that these figures do not provide a complete picture of workplace fatalities; the true number will be higher. These statistics exclude deaths relating to occupational disease and those which happened at sea and in the air.

For non-employees, the significant decrease in fatalities is explained by the fact the public in GB have been largely living under lockdown restrictions for much of the period to which these statistics relate.

We can expect a fuller and more detailed assessment of work-related ill-health and injuries in December 2021, when the HSE’s release the annual health and safety statistics.

How you can manage these risks

In the meantime, the release of these figures is a stark reminder for you to ensure that you are effectively managing risks in the workplaces, particularly as many people are now starting to return to the workplace and there will undoubtedly be marked difference in the way people are now working.

To that end, on a practical level, you should review your safety documents to identify and address any gaps, particularly as a result of changing work practices, along with ensuring new and/or temporary employees, and contractors are appropriately inducted and existing employees are given appropriate refresher training to ensure competence. Upon the return to the workplace, you should ensure vehicle and machinery maintenance is up to date, especially for those that have been out of use for prolonged periods of time.

Critically, you should engage with your employees and communicate safety expectations and standards in clear terms, along with answering any questions or addressing any concerns those employees may have.