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Workplace Injury Statistics UK 2025
When they happen, workplace injuries can cost thousands of pounds to both employer and employee. Here are statistics gathered from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Gov.uk showing the number of injuries, the most common workplace injuries, the cost of workplace injuries and the worst industries for accidents.
- Number of Workplace Injuries
- Most Common Workplace Injuries in the UK
- Cost of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
- Workplace Injuries by Industry
Number of Workplace Injuries
In the 2023/24 reporting year, RIDDOR data shows there were 61,663 company-reported non-fatal workplace injuries to employees in Great Britain, and Labour Force Survey (LFS) data reports another 604,000 self-reported injuries, totaling 665,663 workplace injuries for the year.
Of the RIDDOR company-reported injuries (which tend to be more serious), 44,038 incapacitated the worker by 7 days or more, representing 71% of all injuries. The number of workplace accidents varies quite a bit from year to year, as you can see in the following table—especially during years impacted by the pandemic.
| Number of Reported Non-fatal Injuries to Employees in Great Britain | LFS | RIDDOR | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 604,000 | 61,663 | 665,663 |
| 2022/23 | 561,000 | 60,645 | 621,645 |
| 2021/22 | 565,000 | 62,481 | 627,481 |
| 2020/21 | 441,000 | 51,229 | 492,229 |
| 2019/20 | 691,000 | 65,543 | 756,543 |
| 2018/19 | 581,000 | 69,306 | 650,306 |
How frequent are workplace injuries? It depends on if you're looking at self-reported LFS data or company-reported RIDDOR data. According to LFS there were 1,890 non-fatal workplace injuries per 100,000 employees in 2023/24, but according to RIDDOR there were just 217 injuries per 100,000 employees (155 of which kept the worker out for at least 7 days). Read more how this is broken out by industry below. Now let's see which injuries are most common at work.
Most Common Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries
There are three factors to consider when analysing the most common workplace injuries: the type of accident (e.g., struck by object, slip, trip or fall, etc.), the nature of the injury (e.g., sprain, fracture, laceration, etc.) and the body part injured (e.g., head, eye, back, etc.).
Kind of Accident
The most common type of non-fatal workplace accident causing injury to employees is: slips, trips and falls on the same level. This type of accident accounts for 22% of workplace injuries. These kinds of accidents can cause injury of ankles, back, wrists, heads, etc.
Being injured whilst handling, lifting or carrying is the 2nd most common type of workplace accident in Great Britain, accounting for an estimated 20% of all work injuries. These accidents can cause back injuries, wrist injuries, etc.
Acts of violence accounted (i.e., being physically assaulted by someone) for 8% of workplace injuries, while being hit by a moving object accounted for another 7% of workplace injuries.
| 7 Most Common Kinds of Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries | Labour Force Survey (LFS) | RIDDOR | Average Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slips, trips or falls on same level | 124,000 | 18,928 | 22% |
| 2 | Injured while handling, lifting or carrying | 115,000 | 10,543 | 20% |
| 3 | Acts of violence | 49,000 | 5,651 | 8% |
| 4 | Struck by moving, including flying/falling, object | 41,000 | 6,439 | 7% |
| 5 | Contact with moving machinery or vehicle | 38,000 | 3,513 | 6% |
| 6 | Falls from a height | 28,000 | 4,977 | 5% |
| 7 | Strike against something fixed or stationary | 19,000 | 2,284 | 3% |
| Other kinds of accident | 168,000 | 9,328 | 28% | |
| All accident kinds | 582,000 | 61,663 | 100% | |
Nature of Injury
The most common workplace injuries are sprains and strains, accounting for 26% of all injuries last year. The second most common type are superficial injuries, which account for 16% of all injuries. Lacerations represent 15% of workplace injuries while fractures represent a further 14% of job-related injuries. Of note, fractures are less likely to lead to long-term incapacitation compared to sprains and strains.
| Most Common Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries | LFS | RIDDOR | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprains and strains | 152,000 | 16,395 | 26% |
| Superficial injuries | 104,000 | 2,003 | 16% |
| Lacerations and open wounds | 89,000 | 5,940 | 15% |
| Fracture | 71,000 | 18,608 | 14% |
| Burns | 29,000 | 1,614 | 5% |
| Dislocation | 18,000 | 1,070 | 3% |
| All injuries | 582,000 | 61,663 | 100% |
Site of Injury
There is no LFS data for the site of injury for self-reported injuries, but we can look at the RIDDOR data (to reiterate, this data only represents a portion of workplace injuries—those reported by a company).
In terms of general parts of the body, upper limbs are most commonly injured in workplace-related accident in Great Britain, with 23,113 RIDDOR-reported injuries affecting the fingers, thumbs, hands, wrists or the rest of the arm (37% of workplace injuries) in 2023/24. Specifically, there were 6,468 injuries to one or more fingers/thumb(s), 4,418 injuries to wrists and 4,107 injuries to hands. 67% of upper limb injuries keep an employee off work for over 7 days.
However, the back is the specific body part most commonly injured at work. In the 2023/24 reporting year there were 7,905 back injuries to employees reported in Great Britain, representing 13% of injuries. Back injuries typically keep an employee out of work for a long time, with 93% of injuries incapacitating an employee for over 7 days.
There were 5,821 head injuries due to work last year (9% of the total), 4,382 of which kept the employee out for 7+ days. Of head injuries, 739 were related specifically to the eye (1% of all injuries).
Ankles are another body part commonly injured at work—there were 5,691 ankle injuries in 2023/24 (9% of all injuries).
| Number of RIDDOR reported non-fatal injuries to employees | Over 7-day incapacitation | Total | Percentage of Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All injuries | 44,038 | 61,663 | ||
| All head injuries | 4,382 | 5,821 | 9% | |
| Eye | 642 | 739 | 1% | |
| Ear | 82 | 82 | 0% | |
| Other parts of face | 779 | 1,273 | 2% | |
| Head (excluding face) | 2,750 | 3,562 | 6% | |
| Several locations of head | 129 | 165 | 0% | |
| All torso injuries | 10,337 | 12,327 | 20% | |
| Neck | 812 | 876 | 1% | |
| Back | 7,504 | 7,905 | 13% | |
| Trunk | 1,556 | 2,847 | 5% | |
| Several locations of torso | 465 | 699 | 1% | |
| All upper limb injuries | 15,396 | 23,113 | 37% | |
| One or more finger/thumb(s) | 5,976 | 6,468 | 10% | |
| Hand | 2,883 | 4,107 | 7% | |
| Wrist | 1,479 | 4,418 | 7% | |
| Rest of upper limb | 4,583 | 7,514 | 12% | |
| Several locations of upper limb | 475 | 606 | 1% | |
| All lower limb injuries | 11,718 | 17,770 | 29% | |
| One or more toes | 703 | 709 | 1% | |
| Foot | 1,445 | 3,421 | 6% | |
| Ankle | 3,366 | 5,691 | 9% | |
| Rest of lower limb | 5,848 | 7,487 | 12% | |
| Several locations of lower limb | 356 | 462 | 1% | |
| Several locations | 1,423 | 1,704 | 3% | |
| General locations | 492 | 565 | 1% | |
| Unspecified locations | 290 | 363 | 1% | |
Cost of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
How much do workplace injuries and illness cost? Let's look at HSE data for costs to both employer and employee.
Costs to the Employer of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
According to the HSE, a fatal employee accident costs a business £119,200 on average. Non-fatal injuries cost a business £1,900 on average, but injuries that incapacitate an employee for at least 7 days cost 4X as much (£7,800). Illnesses caused by work have a larger financial impact on a business, with an average cost of £4,400—but work-related illnesses keeping an employee out for at least a week cost a business £9,200 on average.
| Financial Costs of Workplace Accidents and Illnesses to Employers (2023 prices) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fatal injuries | £119,200 | |
| Non-fatal injuries | ||
| 7 or more days absence | £7,800 | |
| Up to 6 days absence | £120 | |
| Average | £1,900 | |
| Ill Health | ||
| 7 or more days absence | £9,200 | |
| Up to 6 days absence | £170 | |
| Average | £4,400 | |
The high cost of injuries and illnesses in the workplace contributes to the cost of employers' liability insurance, which is required by law in most cases.
Costs to the Employee of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
The cost to an employee of a workplace injury or illness can be much greater. The cost to an employee is more than monetary—it includes both a 'human' and a 'financial' element. What does 'human' cost refer to? In addition to financial costs, employers' liability insurance payouts can compensate for the ‘human costs’ of an injury—this refers to quality of life losses.
For example, the average fatal injury costs an employee £308,000 (e.g., in lost wages) but an additional £1,573,000 in 'human' costs (e.g., the quality of life impact on the family of the deceased).
| Total Costs of Workplace Accidents and Illnesses to Employees (2023 prices) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fatal injuries | £1,881,000 | |
| Non-fatal injuries | ||
| 7 or more days absence | £28,200 | |
| Up to 6 days absence | £470 | |
| Average | £7,000 | |
| Ill Health | ||
| 7 or more days absence | £25,700 | |
| Up to 6 days absence | £570 | |
| Average | £12,300 | |
Costs are just one reason that workplace safety is so important.
Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries by Industry
When comparing workplace injury statistics across industries, it's useful to look at both the rate of injuries (e.g., the number of injuries per employee) and the actual number of injuries. The rate of injuries in an industry gives a sense of how dangerous a specific line of work is. For this section we considered both LFS and RIDDOR data.
Rate of Workplace Injuries by Industry
The industry with the highest overall rate of non-fatal workplace injuries in the Great Britain is agriculture, forestry and fishing, with a weighted average of 2,878 non-fatal injuries per 100,000 employees. This industry has a rate of self-reported injuries via both the Labour Force Survey (3,090 injuries/100,000 employees) and RIDDOR (425 injuries/100,000 employees). The data show that agriculture, forestry and fishing are the most dangerous jobs in the UK for employees. Construction and manufacturing are two large industries with very high rates of injuries as well.
In terms of total number of injuries, Labour Force Survey stats show that Human health and social work activities (79,000 injures), then Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (75,000 injuries) are the industries with the most non-fatal injuries. Like the LFS data, RIDDOR data shows that Human health and social work activities have the most non-fatal injuries (11,307) followed by Manufacturing (9,866).
FAQs
Methodology
To calculate the figures in this study, we analysed 2022/23 data from both the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). LFS reflects self-reported injuries and RIDDOR data reflects injuries reported by companies.
RIDDOR is the best data source available for some workplace injury metrics in the UK (e.g., body parts most commonly injured), however non-fatal injuries are substantially under-reported via RIDDOR so actual numbers of injuries are higher than the RIDDOR figures, which is why we also included LFS data where available.