The Government has been told to reverse cuts to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after new data showed a sharp rise in workplace injuries and accidents in the UK.
The HSE report showed two million workers in Great Britain suffered injuries in 2022/23, up from 1.8million in the last report. Stress, depression, and anxiety were contributing factors in approximately half of these cases, marking a significant increase from pre-pandemic levels. This surge has profound consequences, with an estimated 875,000 cases resulting in the loss of 35.2 million working days
Karen McDonnell, Policy Advisor at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “We are concerned that the tremendous progress made in UK workplace safety has stalled, with statistics showing we’re reducing fatal injuries at almost half the rate we were between 1990 and 2010. While 1990-2010 saw success with a 68 per cent reduction in fatal injuries at work, recent years have seen progress stall, with 2010-2022 witnessing a mere 36 per cent reduction.
“Any loss of life in the workplace is a tragedy, and while Britain is one of the safest countries in the world to work, it’s deeply concerning that people are still having the same accidents that their parents or grandparents had.”The RoSPA called for more funding for the HSE, adding that the Executive’s 2020-2021 budget was 43 per cent down on 2009-2010, while staffing levels have been cut by 35 per cent since 2010.If you have been seriously injured at work and need some advice, call SC Law on 0208 966 1299 and see if we can help you.
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