Manchester-based personal injury specialists JMW Solicitors has listed the most dangerous industries to work in in Britain, in terms of workplace injuries.

Data from Britain’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shows that the construction industry sees the highest rate of worker fatalities in the UK, with 39 deaths in the last year. 

Falling from a height caused half of these fatalities.

Richard Powell, head of personal injury at JMW Solicitors, said: “The rate of non-fatal injuries in construction does not deviate from other industries – but falling from a height causes half of all fatalities, which points to an area in which more pressure must be applied.

“Organisations must endeavour to better protect their workers, revisiting the practices in place to train employees to work safely at a height.

"The fact that the fatal injury rate in the construction industry is around four times that of the all-industry rate clearly bears additional work on employers to safeguard workers," he added.

Waste industry

The waste industry accounted for three fatal injuries to workers in 2020/21 in Britain.

The causes of these fatalities were:

• Being struck by a moving vehicle,
• Having contact with moving machinery,
• Being struck by a moving or falling object.

Richard Powell said that such hazards exist across all industries and being struck by a moving object accounted for 17 deaths in Britain between 2020 and 2021, while being struck by a moving vehicle resulted in 25 deaths.

“Ensuring that all personnel in the vicinity of a moving vehicle or object are aware of the mobile hazard is the best way to reduce the risk of injury,” he pointed out. 

Ten workers in transport and storage were killed over the same period with the leading cause of death being struck by a moving vehicle, followed by falling from a height. 

“If working at a height, it is vital that extensive safety measures, such as rail guards and arrest blocks, are in place throughout the working site,” Powell said.

Fatal injuries

Agriculture, forestry and fishing saw 34 fatal injuries to British workers in the period, a sizeable increase on the annual average of 28 in the previous four years.

Of these, 30% were caused by being struck by a moving vehicle, and 16% by an animal.

“The agriculture, forestry and fishing industries face unique hazards, many of which are life-threatening. We have also seen a substantially higher rate of musculo-skeletal disorders pertaining to this line of work than in any other industry,” said Powell.

Cases of “farmer’s lung” and occupational asthma are rife – the former causing an average of seven deaths a year. More must be done to protect workers from such conditions and ensure that they are aware of their rights should they suffer from an illness caused by working, the lawyer said.

Accommodation and food services see a rate of 2,460 injuries per 100,000 workers in Britain, while the wholesale and retail trade sectors report a slightly lower figure of 2,100.

Both figures dwarf the all-industry average, which stands at 1,680.

“The figures represented here also include the motor repair sector, in which injury causes are led by being struck by a moving vehicle. When good communicative practices are in place, such as verbal and physical signals, the chance of meeting a moving vehicle is greatly reduced,” Powell said. 

The manufacturing sector experienced 20 fatal injuries to its workers over 2020-21 – a five-year high.

Moving object

Fatalities were predominantly caused by falling from a height, closely followed by being struck by a moving object, and contact with moving machinery.

An estimated 65,000 workers in public administration and defence suffered from a work-related illness that was caused or worsened by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were a further 70,000 work-related cases of stress, depression or anxiety – or 3.1% of the workforce.