Press Release

Death and injury for British workers on the rise as millions miss out on training, says the British Safety Council

25 March 2008

British businesses are losing £250 a second in costs and payouts for needless accidents in the workplace.

Millions of British men and women are at risk at work today because of a lack of safety training, the biggest survey ever carried out by the British Safety Council (BSC) has revealed. BSC bosses were shocked to find that half of all employers (51%) had not even bothered to offer training, despite the fact that they could be saving billions of pounds in payouts and costs. One worker is still being killed every working day and one person is injured almost every minute .

The BSC’s survey, ‘Safe and Sound?’ found that 62% of workers (two in three) had received little or no health and safety training from their employers. Workers in the construction industry or small and medium sized companies are those most at risk. As one of the world’s largest health and safety charities, the BSC believes that simple basic training should be provided to all employees, and should be ongoing. The BSC works with businesses to help them to understand and follow health and safety regulations and to train staff.

Last year in Britain six million days were lost due to workplace injury - and 241 people were killed , the highest-recorded overall figure since 2001/2. That equates to one death at work every working day.

The annual bill for employers in payouts and costs for accidents and injuries at work is £7.8 billion  which is the equivalent of £250 a second. And with a cost to the overall economy of £31.8 billion , the health and safety risk is costing the nation £1000 every second, or £500 for every man, woman and child per year. That’s the equivalent of 10 brand new hospitals every year.

However, it is not entirely the bosses’ fault. Brian Nimick, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, said: ‘British bosses need to know whether they are doing the right thing. The problem is that businesses, particularly those of a small or medium size, are overwhelmed by the mountains of confusing red tape. Businesses need clear and simple guidelines so that measures such as training for health and safety are seen as an asset, not a burden. Health and safety in the workplace saves lives and families. Companies need to see this as a priority and also as an investment. We export British health and safety standards all over the world, but there is much to do still at home.’

Environmental Concern

The BSC’s survey also investigated attitudes towards environmental practices in the workplace.

It revealed that two out of three employees think the companies they work for should be doing more to tackle climate change. In addition, 75% of employers with businesses of more than 250 employees admit that their companies could do more to reduce their environmental impact.

When asked what would encourage greater action on climate change, more than half of employers said they needed better information and assistance from the Government, two out of five wanted training and one third would welcome an external environmental audit of the kind offered by the British Safety Council.

Brian Nimick said::  “Employers and their staff need to work together to ensure that, in 50 years’ time, we have a sustainable environment and we are healthy enough and safe enough to enjoy it.”

The comprehensive survey from the BSC questioned 1,000 employees and 250 business leaders on their attitudes and practices concerning the environment and safety in the workplace.

The full report is available to view online or download at www.britishsafetycouncil.org and includes quotes, regional statistics and a selection of case studies from BSC members. A high resolution version is available for use on graphics.

Full report pdf
Report summary (low res pdf)

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