Historical picture: trends in work-related ill health and workplace injury in Great Britain

In recent decades there have been large reductions in both fatal and non-fatal workplace injuries. However, the picture for ill health is mixed.

Workplace injuries

Over the long-term, the number of fatal injuries to employees has substantially reduced. There has also been a large reduction in non-fatal injuries. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of self-reported non-fatal injury to workers showed a generally downward trend and the current rate is similar to the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level. Likewise, for RIDDOR reported injuries (covering generally more serious injuries), prior to the coronavirus pandemic the rate of non-fatal injury to employees reported by employers under RIDDOR showed a downward trend and the current rate is below the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level.

Work-related illness

The rate of total self-reported work-related ill health (including both new and long-standing cases) has declined from the level seen in the 1990s, but in the recent years prior to the coronavirus pandemic had been broadly flat. The rate of self-reported work-related musculoskeletal disorders has similarly reduced since the 1990s, though continued to show a generally downward trend in the recent years prior to the pandemic. In contrast, the rate of self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety had shown signs of increasing in the recent years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, having been broadly flat since around 1998/99.

The rate of total self-reported work-related illness was higher in 2023/24 than the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level, driven by a higher rate of self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety. For self-reported work-related musculoskeletal disorders, the rate in 2023/24 was similar to the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level.

Over the period 1974-2012 there was a sustained increase in the annual number of mesothelioma deaths (largely due to past exposures), though latest data suggests the annual number of mesothelioma deaths is starting to decline having been broadly level for much of the last decade. This is in line with earlier projections which showed annual numbers declining during the 2020s.