HSE Statistics – Work-Related Fatal Injuries 2023/24

The HSE uses employer reports submitted under RIDDOR – the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

RIDDOR reports exclude fatal diseases and accidents where workers were travelling by road, air or sea. Workplace deaths attributed to ‘natural causes’ such as heart attack are also excluded unless there is a clear link between the cause of death and a work-related accident.

Figures are also provisional, meaning that they may be revised at a later date. (For example, the 2022/23 report initially stated 135 workers were killed. The revised total was 136.)

A total of 138 people were killed in work-related accidents in 2023/24. This number represents a slight increase over the previous year, when 136 workers lost their lives.

The three most lethal industries are:

1. Construction (51 deaths)
2. Agriculture, forestry and fishing (23 deaths)
3. Manufacturing (16 deaths)

Although figures have fluctuated slightly, the top three are consistent with 2022/23.

There’s been similar consistency in the types of fatal accidents. The main fatal accidents were:

1. Falls from height (50 deaths)
2. Struck by a moving vehicle (25 deaths)
3. Struck by a moving object (20 deaths)

The HSE calculates how dangerous an industry is using two metrics: the total number of fatalities and the fatal injury rate, which counts the number of fatalities per 100,000 workers.

Construction had the highest total number of fatalities, with 51 deaths. This figure is an increase from 47 fatalities in 2022/23 and higher than the five-year average of 42 deaths per year.

However, it’s arguable that the fatal injury rate is a better metric to measure lethality.

Using the fatal injury rate, agriculture, forestry and fishing jumps to the number one spot, with 7.51 workers dying for every 100,000 employed in the industry.

Construction’s fatal injury rate is 2.43, which puts it in third place after waste and recycling (3.88 fatalities per 100,000 workers).

The significant gap in fatal injury rate between the first and second-place industries reveals how dangerous agriculture, forestry and fishing can be.

Men are dying in work-related accidents far more often than women – a fact that has been consistent for years.

Of all fatal accidents, 95% involved male workers. This percentage reflects the male-dominated nature of the three industries with the highest total fatalities (construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and manufacturing.)

Filtered by age, approximately a third (34%) of fatalities involved workers over 60, despite the fact this group make up just 11% of the total UK workforce.

The fatal injury rate also increases with age:

• Workers aged between 60-64 have a fatal injury rate double that of younger workers.
• Workers aged 65 and over have a fatal injury rate four times that of younger workers.

Because of the different populations in England, Wales and Scotland, the HSE uses the fatal injury rate to compare fatalities across countries.

England has a lower fatal injury rate (0.39) than Wales (0.48) and Scotland (0.65). This discrepancy doesn’t necessarily prove English safety managers are more successful than their Welsh and Scottish counterparts, however. More people in England simply work in jobs considered lower-risk compared to Wales and Scotland – a fact that the fatal injury rate can’t account for.

According to current HSE statistics, the three most lethal accident types are consistent with last year, but the rankings have changed slightly.

Falls from height remain the leading fatal accident, with 50 deaths (a significant increase over last year’s 40 fatalities.) This surge continues a worrying trend; numbers have risen in recent years and are consistently above the five-year average of 37 fatal falls annually.

Struck by a moving vehicle is second, with 25 deaths. The year prior, this accident type was in third (20 deaths). It has switched positions with struck by a moving object (20 deaths in 2023/24 compared with 29 deaths in 2022/23).

Work-related accidents claimed the lives of 87 members of the public in 2023/24. That’s a substantial increase over last year’s figures (73 deaths), but fatal incidents involving the public are still down compared with the pre-pandemic period.

Current HSE statistics show a slight rise in fatal incidents in construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and manufacturing, which has pushed total fatalities past last year.

However, these increases aren’t necessarily a sign work is getting more dangerous. As the HSE notes, chance is a factor in all fatal accidents. Sometimes, workers are just tragically unlucky and suffer an accident that might not have happened another day.

Because of this variability, the HSE publishes annual figures alongside five-year averages. This comparison provides a better overview of workplace safety, and despite the recent increase, fatal accidents are trending down.

In 2023/24, there were 138 workers killed. Two decades ago, this number was 236. Going back further to 1981, it was 495.

The fatal injury rate is currently at 0.42 for all industries, down from 2.1 in 1981. Despite some spikes, it has also been steadily trending downward over the past four decades.

Of course, this decrease can be partly explained by the changing nature of work in Great Britain; more people than ever are employed in lower-risk industries (particularly in England, as shown by the national splits).

You can read the full report on the HSE website: Work-Related Fatal Injuries in Great Britain 2024.

The HSE is still early in its ten-year plan: Protecting People and Places: HSE Strategy 2022 to 2032.

There is no strategic objective for decreasing workplace fatalities. Instead, the HSE wants to maintain Great Britain’s status as one of the safest places in the world to work.

It will continue offering guidance, conducting compliance checks and enforcing regulations as necessary. It will also renew its focus on high-risk industries.

However, the HSE maintains that risks are best handled by those who create them. The regulator will continue to trust businesses to manage their workplaces and protect their employees, which makes investing in training for you and your teams essential.

Our online Health and Safety Training can help. We have a range of courses covering risks in industry, construction and manufacturing. Each course supports compliance with the relevant regulations and offers practical advice on staying safe and managing risk.