The number of people in Great Britain who reported suffering work-related ill health fell slightly in 2023/24, compared with the previous year, but work-related fatalities and non-fatal injuries were both up, according to the latest annual statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
News
Work-related ill health improved slightly in 2023/24 but deaths and injuries rose, HSE data shows
By
on 20 November 2024
Data released on 20 November by HSE revealed that 1.7 million workers reported they were suffering from work-related ill health in 2023/24 – down a fraction from the 1.8 million figure for 2022/23. An estimated 776,000 of those illnesses related to stress, depression or anxiety, representing a drop of almost 100,000 compared with 2022/23.
Photograph: iStock/sorn340
HSE’s statistics showed that an estimated 33.7 million working days were lost to work-related ill health or injury in 2023/24, compared with 35.2 million in the previous corresponding period.
However, the number of work-related fatalities increased to 138 in 2023/24 from 136 the previous year, as reported by Safety Management earlier this year. The 2023/24 fatalities figure is provisional at this stage and will be finalised by July 2025, said HSE.
The data also revealed that 604,000 workers reported via the Labour Force Survey that they had sustained a non-fatal injury in the workplace in 2023/24 – up from 561,000 in 2022/23. The figure reported by employers under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) was considerably lower at 61,663.
“Today, Great Britain is one of the safest places in the world to work but these statistics serve as a reminder that there is still room for further improvement, and we remain committed to ensuring people remain safe and healthy wherever work is taking place,” said HSE chief executive Sarah Albon.
The number of workers suffering from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder in 2023/24 was 543,000, which is 15 per cent higher than in 2022.23. Statistics on occupational lung disease, meanwhile, remained broadly flat, with 12,000 deaths from past exposures at work reported in both periods.
NEWS
Employers in Scotland urged to share insights on workforce health as healthy life expectancy falls to record low
By Belinda Liversedge on 06 August 2025
Public Health Scotland has put a call out to employers to help them in a series of engagement events and activities, as part of a strategy to improve the health of the working age population in Scotland.
Take ‘movement snacks’ to reduce health risks from desk working, say experts
By Belinda Liversedge on 01 August 2025
Sitting has been called the new smoking, and now professors have come up with a more helpful analogy to beat our addiction to the seat – movement snacks.
Campaign reminds farmers how to stay safe when using ATVs
By Belinda Liversedge on 31 July 2025
The National Farmers Union has launched a new campaign to raise awareness of safety on quad bikes (ATVs) by highlighting simple steps to help reduce the likelihood of an accident.