More people are being killed at work now after suffering a fall from height than in the last 17 years, according to the latest fatality figures released by the HSE in July.
There were 138 worker deaths in 2023/24 of which 51 were construction workers – 37% of all the industries surveyed. The annual data release covers the period from April 2023 to March 2024.
A further 87 members of the public were killed following a work-related incident in 2023/24. This is an increase of 14 from last year.
Across all industries, the number of annual workplace deaths “remains broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels”, the HSE said.
But, for construction, the latest figure was 70% higher than HSE’s data for 2018/19 – the last full year before covid hit, when there was a dip in construction deaths to 30.
“While the number of fatalities fluctuates year-on-year, the average number of worker deaths in construction in the latest two years is statistically significantly higher than the pre-pandemic period,” the HSE said.
The number of fatalities in construction in 2023/24 saw an increase of four from the previous year total (47). The five-year average for fatal injuries in this sector is 42.
The tally for construction in 2023/24 was more than double that of the second-worst-affected industry – agriculture, forestry and fishing, with 23 fatalities. If measured as a fatality rate per 100,000 workers, agriculture, forestry and fishing is 7.51, roughly three times that of construction.
Most common causes
The three most common causes of fatal injuries across all sectors were falls from height (50), being struck by a moving vehicle (25) and being struck by a moving object (20).
Deaths resulting from falls from height were up 22% from 2022/23, which saw 41 deaths.
This latest HSE release does not break down cause of death by sector until the November 2024 release. But sector-specific figures for the previous year (2022/2023) released in November 2023 show that falls from height accounted for 51% of construction deaths.
The Access Industry Forum (AIF), which represents the principal work-at-height trade associations and federations, points out that the last time the total number of fatal falls from height was greater was back in 2007/08, when the figure was 58.
“Since then, the number of fall-from-height fatalities has shown no improvement, seemingly reducing for a year or two, only for the number to sadly rise again.”
It points out that, despite advances in height safety, ongoing campaigning and increasing awareness of the risks of work at height, the proportion of falls from height has continued to increase in recent years. It was 25% in 2021/22, rising to 30% in 2022/23.
“The 2023/24 figure for fatal falls from height now sits at an unacceptable 35% above the five-year average of 37,” the AIF says in a statement.
The statistics show that work-related fatal injuries are predominantly to male workers. In 2023/24, 131 male workers suffered fatal injuries, accounting for 95% of the deaths recorded.
The highest rate of fatal injury is to workers in the 65+ age bracket. Workers aged 60-64 have a rate around twice the ‘all ages’ rate, while the rate for workers aged 65+ is three times as high as the ‘all ages’ rate.
