Every year the UK government reveals a detailed report outlining some statistics related to fatal injuries that have occurred in the workplace. We’re going to take a look at some of the data released in their 2022 workplace fatal injuries report and see how it differs from previous years.

Overall fatal injuries at work

Between March 2021 and March 2022, 123 workers were killed in accidents at work. This number may seem high, but it has actually more than halved since 2001 to 2002 figures. If we reach back further to fatal injuries that occurred in the workplace in 1981, that figure stood at 495, so there has been a substantial reduction of the last few decades. The trend has also shown a steady decrease as years pass by, with the most recent 2021/2022 figures showing a decrease of 22 work fatalities compared to the previous year. It appears the Covid-19 pandemic had no impact on the number of fatalities suffered at work.

Fatal injuries to workers by gender and age

The vast majority of fatal injuries have always involved males. In the 2021/2022 report, 94% (116) of workplace fatalities happened to males, which is a similar proportion to previous years.

In terms of age, the latest report reveals that 29 people aged 60 or over suffered fatalities at work. This makes up 24% of all fatalities at work, though only 11% of the UK workforce is made up with people aged 60 or above.

Below you’ll find the rate of fatal injuries per 100,000 workers by age group between March 2021 to March 2022.

• Aged 16 to 19 - 0.12
• Aged 20 to 24 - 0.32
• Aged 25 to 34 - 0.24
• Aged 35 to 44 - 0.30
• Aged 45 to 54 - 0.36
• Aged 55 to 59 - 0.53
• Aged 60 to 64 - 0.89
• Aged 65+ - 1.63

These figures show that those aged 60 or above at a far higher risk of suffering a fatality at work, while the younger generations, particularly those aged 16 to 19, suffered the least fatalities at work.

Read: Is my employer to blame for my accident at work?

Fatal injuries by work industry

It should come as no surprise to learn that the construction and agriculture industries typically suffer the most fatalities most years. The profile of fatal injuries by workplace industry is fairly similar across the past five years, with 73% of fatal injuries occurring in construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, and transportation and storage.

In 2021 to 2022, there was a fatality decrease of 10 in the construction industry (30 against 40) compared to the previous year.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing saw a decrease of 12 from the previous year (22 against 34).

Meanwhile, manufacturing saw an increase of 3 from the previous year (22 against 19) while the transportation and storage industry saw an increase of 5 from the previous year (16 against 11).

Have you lost a loved one in an accident at work? Or perhaps you’ve fortunately survived an accident at work and feel you deserve compensation? Our team of employment law solicitors here at Fonseca Law are here to listen to your situation and offer our expertise to win you the compensation you deserve. To get in touch give us a call on 01495 303124, e-mail enquiries@fonsecalaw.co.uk or complete our online contact form and a member of the team will get back to you.