£14.3 Billion lost to Illness at Work - latest HSE statistics published

More than a million people are being made ill by their work, costing society £14.3 billion, according to new figures released on 27^th October, 2015.

Despite Britain remaining one of the safest places to work in Europe, injury and ill-health statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive show that an estimated 27.3 million working days were lost due to work related ill health or injury in 2014/15.

In the same year 142 workers were killed, and there were 611,000 injuries in the workplace.

Of the estimated 1.2 million people who suffered from a work related illness, 516,000 were new cases.

Astutis Operations Director and Lead Tutor Brenig Moore said:

"Despite the general trend for work-related illnesses and injuries continuing to go in the right direction over the years, there is a considerable amount for the industry to focus its efforts on. 142 workers killed, 611,000 injured and an estimated 1.2 million people suffering from a work-related illness is testament to the fact that we need to continually work towards lowering these figures for the benefit of all involved. No-one should be subjected to unnecessary risk during the course of their work - everyone should be entitled to come home fit and healthy at the end of each day."

HSE’s Chief Statistician Alan Spence explains more about the latest findings in the video below:

The full statistical report PDF and industry specific data can be found on the HSE website.

HSE Chair Judith Hackitt commented:

“It’s encouraging that there have been improvements in injuries and ill health caused by work related activities. But behind the statistics are people, their families, friends, work colleagues, directly affected by something that’s gone wrong, that is usually entirely preventable. Nobody should lose their life or become ill simply from doing their job. These figures show that despite the great strides and improvements made over the last 40 years since Britain’s health and safety regime was established, there is still more that can be done”.