Businesses urged to make worker safety top priority in 2014

Fresh appeal from the HSE as provisional figures show number of fatalities at work fell in 2012/13

THE Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging all businesses to focus on their legal responsibility to ensure lives are not put at risk and to make the safety of workers their top priority for 2014.

The fresh appeal comes as the latest provisional figures show that the number of deaths across Great Britain (across all industries) has fallen in the last year, with 148 people killed at work, compared with 171 deaths during 2011/12. Also, more than 20,600 workers suffered a major injury in 2012/13, representing a 10.8% drop on the previous year.

High-risk industries include: construction, which had 39 deaths last year; agriculture, with 29 deaths; manufacturing, with 20 deaths; and waste and recycling, with 10 deaths. Together, these four industries accounted for more than two-thirds of all workplace deaths in Great Britain during 2012/13.

A spokesperson for the HSE said: ‘Whilst the number of workplace deaths and major injuries has decreased nationally, these statistics highlight why we still need good health and safety in workplaces. The HSE therefore urges employers to spend their time tackling the real dangers that workers face and stop worrying about trivial matters or pointless paperwork.

‘It’s important to remember that while we still have one of the lowest rates of workplace deaths in Europe, one death is still one too many. I would urge businesses to focus on helping to cut the number of deaths further in 2014.’