As the season of Halloween and scary things is fast approaching, rather than looking for ghosts and bumps in the night, perhaps UK employees should be more worried about the everyday risks they face at work.
Researchers found that 561,000 workers sustained a non-fatal injury at work last year, according to the self-reports from the Labour Force Survey – and 60,645 employees suffered non-fatal injuries reported by employers in 2022/23.
Which Sectors are the Riskiest to work in?
A new study by coworking office space platform Spacepool, has dived into the figures to reveal the scariest sectors and where in the UK have the most accidents.
Those who work in health and social care have the most non-fatal accidents in the UK and work in the most petrifying profession . Surprisingly, workers in the health and social work field have the most non-fatal accidents. The profession saw 10,834 injuries occur, 4% more than the next sector, manufacturing.
Out of the results, the biggest number of incidents occurred due to slips, trips and falls from the same level, with over 3,000 reported.
Industries with the highest non-fatal injuries
|
Main Industry |
Total number of reported non-fatal injuries to employees |
21/22 non- fatal accidents |
Percentage increase/ decrease |
Total accidents last two years |
|
Human health and social work activities |
10,834 |
11,990 |
–10% |
22,824 |
|
Manufacturing |
10,382 |
10,766 |
–4% |
21,148 |
|
Transportation and storage |
8,059 |
7,907 |
2% |
15,966 |
|
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
6,873 |
7,496 |
-8% |
14,369 |
|
Education |
4,845 |
4,787 |
1% |
9,632 |
|
Construction |
4,038 |
4,223 |
-4% |
8,261 |
|
Accommodation and food service activities |
3,992 |
3,679 |
9% |
7,671 |
|
Public administration and defence |
3,405 |
3,580 |
–5% |
6,985 |
|
Information and communication |
2,616 |
2,532 |
3% |
5,148 |
|
Arts, entertainment and recreation; |
2,598 |
2,541 |
2% |
5,139 |
|
Water supply; sewerage, waste management |
1,957 |
1934 |
1% |
3,891 |
|
Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
690 |
696 |
–1% |
1386 |
|
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply |
252 |
251 |
0.4% |
503 |
|
Mining and quarrying |
104 |
99 |
5% |
203 |
The next sector to appear on the list was manufacturing, although injuries have dropped by 4%, in the last two years, over 21,000 workers have reported an injury. Both years saw over 10,000 incidents occur.
The transportation and storage industry were next, with 15,966 in two years. The latest data saw a 2% increase in reported injuries.
The accommodation and food service profession has seen the biggest increase in workplace injuries, soaring by 9%
Although only ranking seventh for the most dangerous jobs due to incidents, it’s the accommodation and food sector that has seen the biggest increase in injuries.
21/22 saw 3,679 occur, while the latest data saw 3,992 reported injuries, meaning an 9% increase. The biggest incidents came from slips, trips and falls, with 1,381 reported.
The next biggest increase came from the mining and quarry industry, a stereotypically dangerous profession. Injuries in that sector increased by 5%, despite only 104 total reported cases.
Workers in Cumbria are most likely to suffer a workplace accident, data suggests
Out of the 60,000 reported injuries to employers, the Cumbrian County saw the biggest rate of reported injuries of 100,000 employees. Out of the 617 incidents, the rate saw 304 non-fatal injuries occur out of 100,000 employees, 136% more than the county in last place, inner London.
15 counties with the biggest non-fatal accidents rate per 100,000
|
Rank |
Area |
Total number of reported non-fatal injuries |
Rate of total reported non-fatal injury per 100,000 employees |
|
1. |
Cumbria |
617 |
304 |
|
2. |
Leicestershire |
762 |
295 |
|
3. |
Lincolnshire |
861 |
282 |
|
4. |
North Yorkshire |
678 |
279 |
|
5. |
Staffordshire |
966 |
275 |
|
6. |
Warwickshire |
702 |
274 |
|
7. |
Derbyshire |
759 |
270 |
|
8. |
Somerset |
632 |
267 |
|
9. |
Nottinghamshire |
735 |
260 |
|
10. |
Suffolk |
829 |
257 |
|
11. |
East Sussex |
464 |
256 |
|
– |
Devon |
796 |
256 |
|
12. |
Lancashire |
1,203 |
251 |
|
13. |
Merseyside |
1,329 |
236 |
|
14. |
Cambridgeshire |
728 |
231 |
|
15. |
Tyne and Wear |
1,103 |
230 |
The Leicestershire district saw the next highest rate of injury take place per 100,000 with 295. Followed by Lincolnshire with 282 per 100,000.
Workers in inner London are considered the safest workers, only 129 injuries per 100,000 were reported.
Eugene Tavyev, CEO and Founder at Spacepool added: “It’s scary to see the number of workplace injuries occurring across the UK. Accidents can happen, but it’s important that employees feel safe to report these injuries to their employer. If you suffer a workplace injury, make sure after you report the accident to seek medical attention if required, get any witness statements, or take photographs of where the incident occurred. This can help with the inquiry if needed, or stop this from happening to other colleagues in future.”