The Leading News & Information Service For The Facilities, Workplace & Built Environment Community

Over 60s Account for 30% of Workplace Fatalities 

Over 60s Account for 30% of Workplace Fatalities 
22 July 2021
 

Annual workplace fatality figures from the Health and Safety Executive highlight the risks to older workers, with around 30 per cent of fatal injuries in 2020/21 involving workers aged 60 or over.

This is despite the fact that such workers only make up around 11 per cent of the workforce.

There is little conclusive evidence to suggest that older workers have an increased risk of occupational accidents than younger workers. However, while older workers are generally less likely than younger workers to have occupational accidents, accidents involving them are likely to result in more serious injuries, permanent disabilities or death, than for younger workers. Older workers may experience more slips, trips and falls than younger workers, and recovery following an injury may take longer.

 

Key Stats from the Report

 

  • A total of 142 workers were killed at work in Great Britain in 2020/21, an increase of 29 from the previous year.
  • The average annual number of workers killed at work over the five years 2016/17-2020/21 is 136. 
  • The three most common causes of fatal injuries continue to be workers falling from height (35), being struck by a moving vehicle (25) and being struck by a moving object (17), accounting for more than half of fatalities in 2020/21.
  • In 2020/21, 60 members of the public were killed as a result of a work-related incident.
  • 2,369 people died of Mesothelioma in Great Britain in 2019. This is seven per cent lower than the average of 2,540 deaths over the previous seven years.
  • The waste and recycling sector, a relatively small sector in terms of employment, accounted for three worker deaths in 2020/21. This sector has one of the highest rates of fatal injury to workers (around 17 times as high as the five-year-average all industry rate).
  • The construction sector accounted for the largest share of fatal injuries to workers in 2020/21 – 39. The annual average rate of fatal injury over the last five years in construction is around four times as high as the average across all industries.

 

HSE’s Chief Executive, Sarah Albon, said: “Whilst the working world in which we now live has created new health challenges for workers and for those who have a duty towards them, safety must also remain a priority. Whilst the picture has improved considerably over the longer term and Great Britain is one of the safest places to work in the world, every loss of life is a tragedy, we are committed to ensuring that workplaces are as safe as they can be and that employers are held to account and take their obligations seriously.”

Picture: a photograph of a person walking down some outdoor steps

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 22 July 2021

Share


Related Tags


Related Articles

Security Firm Serco Fined £2.25m After Death of Custody Officer

Serco has been fined £2.25 million after several health and safety failures lead to the death of Custody Officer Lorraine Barwell. Lorraine was assaulted at...

 Read Full Article
HSE Publishes Annual Workplace Fatality Figures

HSE reports show that 123 workers died in work-related accidents from April 2021 to March 2022. 2,544 deaths in 2020 were due to Mesothelioma, cancer that can be...

 Read Full Article
Explosion - Four Dead - Valero Pays £6 Million

Valero Energy UK will have to pay at least £6 million after four people died in an oil explosion. B&A Contracts have also been fined after the incident at...

 Read Full Article
HSE Calls Levels of Irreversible Lung Disease in Construction ‘Unacceptable’

Life-threatening lung disease caused by silica dust claims the lives of more than 500 construction workers each year. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is planning...

 Read Full Article
M&E Companies Must Protect Workers from Extreme Heat Stress

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is urging employers to take steps to prevent heat stress and dehydration in their workforce. 2022 was the sixth-warmest year on...

 Read Full Article
Studies Show Home Workers Suffer Higher Rates of Back Pain

An independent study of over a thousand workers shows that the rate of chronic sufferers of back pain is highest among those working from home full-time. Conducted by...

 Read Full Article
BOHS Highlights Link Between Workplace Health and Sustainability Goals

Worker health protection standards directly relate to sustainable development goals, according to The British Occupational Hygiene Society and the Chartered Society for...

 Read Full Article
HSE Campaigns to Alleviate Worker Injuries

Experts at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are warning construction workers are picking up injuries and conditions that can stop them working and leave them...

 Read Full Article
Compliance Fines after Electrician’s Injuries at B&M Warehouse

B&M and Daker have been fined after an electrician suffered serious burns to 15 per cent of his body when he was caught in an explosion at a warehouse in...

 Read Full Article
EasyJet Passenger Dies at Gatwick Airport After Falling From Escalator

Formal investigations are underway after a passenger disembarking from an easyJet flight at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal has died. In an incident that took...

 Read Full Article