UK Health and Safety Statistics for 2018/2019
The health and safety statistics in our infographic make sobering reading and show how much still needs to be done.
The Truth Behind the Statistics – Why Health and Safety Matters
Whatever the size of your organisation, your top priority is the health and safety of your employees. Clear safety procedures benefit everyone and ensure compliance with your legal obligations, as stated in the Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974.
Alarming Statistics
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimated that 28.2 million working days were lost due to ill health and non-fatal injuries in the workplace in 2018/19. In the same year, employees reported 69,208 non-fatal workplace injuries and 147 fatalities. These are alarming statistics, as highlighted in our infographic.
These figures represent an extraordinary human cost in terms of physical and mental wellbeing. They also indicate a huge financial cost in lost productivity and sick leave payments.
Here are the key benefits when health and safety is your number one priority.
1. Protects Employees and Reduces Sick Leave
No workplace is entirely risk-free. There is always the possibility for trips and falls, whether on a construction site or in an office.
However, the dangers are greatly reduced if businesses operate a clearly defined and easy to follow health and safety strategy. This protects employees from physical injury and mental stress, and helps to keep costly sick leave to a minimum.
2. Increases Productivity and Efficiency
If staff are absent others must fill the gaps, which increases workloads, responsibilities and hours. The result is stress, exhaustion, and more sick leave – and so the cycle continues.
Employees appreciate a company that puts their welfare first and will respond accordingly. This is how you build loyalty and trust, and encourage productivity and efficiency. If your people are willing to go the extra mile, they’ll keep you ahead of the competition – and that’s an invaluable asset.
3. Saves Costs and Increases Profit
If key staff are absent, those covering their tasks may lack the experience or skill of their sick colleagues in a particular area. Delays occur, mistakes creep in and there’s every possibility of long-term disruption to essential projects, which hardly encourages repeat business.
A safe workplace goes a long way to reducing these concerns and the resultant costs. Skilled workers are keen to stay rather than heading off for a more responsible employer. Then time and money must be spent recruiting and training all over again.
4. Legal and Insurance Costs
Employers have a legal responsibility to keep their employees safe and comply with the law. Failure to do so leads to substantial fines, enormous legal fees and, in extreme cases, jail sentences. Constant accidents also increase insurance premiums, and we all know these aren’t cheap.
HSE estimated that in 2017/18 the annual cost of work-related ill health was £9.8 billion, whilst the annual costs of work-related injury and new cases of ill health totalled £15 billion in the same period. It all adds up to a staggering number of sick and injured people, time lost, and money down the drain.
Safe, Secure and Compliant with The Compliance Genie™
The Compliance Genie™ app is a powerful tool that manages all your health, safety and compliance requirements in one place. Risk assessment, incidence management and H & S audits never need to be time-consuming and onerous again. It’s easy to use and cost-effective.
This ingenious app brings together all documentation, assessments, processes and checklists for every part of your operation. Automatic updates ensure all employees have the latest information, which allows the entire workforce to be safe and compliant.
Don’t become let your business become an alarming statistic.
Contact Be Safe Technologies today to find out more.
