Health and Safety Executive

Latest injury trends, impact of the economy and using statistics to make the case for Health and Safety

Kate Sweeney, HSE Chief StatisticianSBTAF, 19 May 2014

Health and Safety Executive

Overview of the latest

injury statistics

Fatal injuries in the workplace

• Fatalities to workers reduced in 2012/13 (148 compared with 171 in 2011/12)

• Evidence of a levelling off in downward trend over past 5 years

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Self-employedEmployeeWorker fatal injury rate

Underlying trend in RIDDOR data

• Change to Over-7-Day reporting from Over-3-Day reduced reports by approximately 30% (no suggestion that the change affected major injury reporting)

• Modelling suggests the underlying trend is still downwards for the whole economy series

Impact of the economic cycle on injury rates

• Previous research has shown a pro-cyclical effect i.e. injury rates increase when the economy grows and fall when it shrinks

• New modelling has been undertaken to include the latest recession– Confirms the previous findings with strongest effects in

construction and manufacturing

Injury rates by job tenure

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Annualised rate of workplace injury per 100k workers

• Injury rate for those in post for less than 6 months three times as high as rate for more experienced workers

• Same effect seen across all sectors (Labour Force Survey, 2006/07-

10/11)

Does this mean the recovery will reverse injury trends?

• Some upward pressure expected but difficult to quantify the likely impact

– Best estimate is that 10-15% of the falls seen in injury rates over the latest recession were due to the economic cycle (closer to 20% for construction)

– Hence 85-90% of the reduction was NOT due to the recession i.e. there is still an underlying downward trend

Health and Safety Executive

Making the case for

intervention

Three key drivers for intervention on health and safety

Moral Case

Economic case

Legal Case

The Moral Case

All workers have a fundamental right to work in an environment

where risks to health and safety are properly controlled.

[Health and safety Strategy of GB]

The Moral Case – how are we doing?

• Over the last decade, on average each year circa:– 200 workplace fatal injuries

– 200 000 workplace injuries resulting in more than 7 days absence

– 13 000 premature deaths from occupational disease

– 500 000 new cases of work-related illness

The economic case - What is the economic impact of illness and injury?

Individual Employer Government

Lost working time

Lost income/production Production disturbance

Admin costs Other incurred financial costs eg healthcare costs, compensation, legal costs Monetised value of pain grief and suffering

Statistics about lost working time

• Data on days lost are available from the Labour Force Survey

• Respondents report the actual duration of their absence and this is converted to full-time equivalents

• In 2011/12, around 27.0 million working days were lost in total, – 22.7 million due to work-related illness;– 4.3 million due to workplace injuries.

equivalent to around 115 000 lost work years

Trends in working days lost

• The number of working days lost has fallen over the last decade– reflects the fall in illness and injury case numbers

Estimated working days lost due to work-related incidentsNote: average sampling variability +/- 9% on the total

Average days lost per incident

• More days taken (on average) for a case of ill health than an injury

Average working days lost per case 2011/12

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The HSE cost model

• HSE analysts have developed a model to monetise the cost of work-related illness and workplace injury

• The model aims to reflect the economic costs of injuries and common ill health conditions arising from current working conditions

• The model estimates both financial costs (monetary costs) and non-financial costs (monetary values given to individuals’ ‘pain, grief and suffering’)

• Costs are apportioned between individuals, employers and government

HSE cost model - inputs

• Incidents– Fatal injuries– Non-fatal injuries (measured by LFS)– New cases of work-related illness (LFS)

• Costs– Wide range of sources for information on financial

costs e.g. ONS surveys on earnings, NHS data on treatment costs etc

HSE Cost model - results

• Cost in 2010/11 is estimated at £13.8bn (2011 prices)– £8.4bn illness; £5.4bn injury

• Big cost – but how big is big?– Cost of road casualties - £15bn in 2010– NHS England budget 2013/14 - £95bn– 2012 floods cost UK economy £600m

Who bears the cost?

• More than half the cost in borne by individuals

Breakdown of costs to society by cost bearer, 2010/11

57%

21%

22%

Individual

Employer

Government

How do the costs break down?

• Largest factor is pain, grief and suffering

Recent trends

• Estimated cost has fallen around £2.5bn since 2006/07

Total cost of workplace injuries (including fatalities) and ill health in Great Britain, 2006/07–2010/11 (2011 prices)

The economic case – statistics to quantify the economic impact

• Can also estimate unit or ‘per case’ costs– Used for policy appraisal

Overall Unit cost / Appraisal

value

Unit cost to Employer

Workplace Fatal Injury £1,576,000 £138,000

Reportable injury £23,500 £3,700

Non-reportable injury £700 £80

Ill health £16,700 £4,000

Find out more

• Statistics website http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/index.htm

• Cost information http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/cost.htm

• Days lost tables http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/lfs/index.htm