Fewer people suffering injury or workplace ill health

Headline figures include: * 22,433 major injuries to employees were reported compared with 24,944 in 2010/11. The average for the past five years is 27,170 * 88,731 other injuries serious enough to keep people off work for four or more days were reported, down from 91,742 the previous year. The average for the past five years is 103,627 * 173 workers were fatally injured, down from 175 the previous year. The average for the past five years was 196 per year. The HSE also says 1.1 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work, down from 1.2 million in 2010/11. The manufacturing sector accounted for about 10% of the British workforce, but for 25% of fatalities to employees and 16% of reported injuries. There were 31 fatal injuries in manufacturing last year and 17,495 reported non-fatal injuries. The rate of major injury in food manufacturing was twice that of the sector as a whole. In manufacturing, 1.8 million working days were lost due to self-reported work-related illness and a further 651,000 due to self-reported work-related injury. Chair of HSE, Judith Hackitt said: "Any reduction in the number of people being injured or made unwell by their jobs should be welcomed. Given the challenging economic conditions which many sectors have faced in recent years, it is particularly encouraging to see continued reductions in levels of injury and ill health. "Britain has earned the reputation of being one of the safest places in Europe to work, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. We need to ensure that we all focus on managing the real risks which lead to serious workplace harm." The highest risk sectors were construction, agriculture and waste and recycling. The British Safety Council welcomed the announcement but urged against complacency. Chief executive Alex Botha said there were "encouraging signs of sustained improvement" but added: "These statistics should act as a constant reminder to all of us of the sad reality of thousands of employees being injured and made ill and those still dying needlessly as a result of preventable workplace injuries and work-related diseases." Botha also pointed to the reduction in enforcement notices served, saying "the British Safety Council notes with concern the significant reduction in the number of enforcement notices served by both HSE and local authorities in 2011/12 – a 21% reduction on the previous year. It is our view that enforcement continues to play an important part in helping to ensure that our health and safety laws are complied with and the good standards of health and safety management are maintained."