Safety By Numbers - 2022 Workplace Safety Stats
Now that the HSE has issued its yearly summary data, we can learn more about workplace health and safety stats in the UK for 2021-2022.
1.8 million workers—an increase of 5.8% from the previous year—experienced work-related ill health in 2021/22. Even if the number of new cases has decreased from 850,000 to 722,000, this rise in numbers shows a concerning trend regarding long term health issues within the workplace.
Equally alarming is that, according to self-reports, 565,000 workers suffered a non-fatal accident in 2021/22 – a 28% increase year over year. Additionally, there have been more injuries recorded by employers under RIDDOR, up from 51,211 to 61,713. While this increase on previous years is likely due to more people returning to work after the COVID-19 pandemic, it highlights a potentially dangerous spike that will require careful monitoring over the next twelve months.
While this 28% increase in work-related accidents is concerning on the surface, it’s crucial to remember that this is still below post-pandemic levels. In 2018/19, the last year unaffected by the pandemic, 581,000 workers were injured in the workplace.
On the other hand, between 497,000 to 722,000 new cases of illness have been reported compared to times before the pandemic. Additionally, the number of cases increased by 29%, from 1.4 million to 1.8 million.
The research also reveals that 123 people died at work during this time, corroborating preliminary data from its fatal injuries report released earlier this year and showing the deadly effects of negligent health and safety policies.
The coronavirus pandemic prevented the previous year’s study from including statistics on the cost of work-related illness and injury to employers, but this year’s report does. It reveals that in 2021–2022, a startling 36.8 million working days were lost as a result of work-related illness and non-fatal workplace injury.
The most recent data available also demonstrates the considerable expenditures borne by businesses, workers, and the government. The staggering cost of work-related illnesses and injuries (excluding long-lasting conditions like cancer) totalled £18.8 billion in 2019–20, of which £3.5 billion was borne by employers.
More specifically, £11.2 billion of the overall cost was attributable to newly diagnosed illnesses, while £7.6 billion was brought about by accidents at work.
Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the research discloses that 123,000 workers experienced new or recurrent COVID-19 cases in 2021/22, which they suspect may have been caused by coronavirus exposure at work. This suggests there is a notion that the pandemic is over, and the virus is no longer a top concern for businesses. This marks a 32% increase over the previous year.
Overall, the report makes it clear that the rise in COVID-19 cases and stress and mental health-related incidents set a clear expectation for employers that the risk mitigation actions they have taken in the past are no longer sufficient to protect their workers fully. Employers must recognise that these conditions should be considered alongside all the traditional workplace safety and hazards they are accustomed to tackling.
