Construction
Key Data & Risks
- In 2024/25, the construction sector recorded 35 worker fatalities, the highest of any sector.
- From HSE’s Labour Force Survey data, construction also has one of the highest self-reported rates of non-fatal injury: 2,388 per 100,000 workers.
- In terms of illness, the construction sector’s rate of self-reported work-related ill health is 3,772 per 100,000 workers, which is below some other sectors but still substantial.
- The most common fatal accident type in construction is falls from height, which matches long-standing trend data.
Implications & Strategies
- Height safety: Given that falls remain a leading cause, ensure rigorous fall-prevention systems: guardrails, harnesses, scaffold inspections, and robust safe-work-at-height training.
- Incident culture: Encourage near-miss reporting and proactive inspections — in construction, small interventions can prevent major accidents.
- Manual handling/injury prevention: Construction workers face a high risk of non-fatal injury, so strong manual-handling training, task review, and use of lifting aids are essential.
- Health monitoring: Though self-reported ill health is moderate relative to some sectors, musculoskeletal disorders may be underreported. Regular health surveillance and ergonomic reviews (e.g., for repetitive tasks) will help.
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing
Key Data & Risks
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded 23 worker fatalities over 2024/25.
- This sector has the highest fatal injury rate per 100,000 workers among main industry sectors.
- A large proportion of fatalities in this sector involve self-employed workers. Over recent years, self-employed farm workers make up a much greater share of deaths compared to their proportion of the workforce.
- Non-fatal injuries: According to commentary on HSE data, agriculture has historically had very high non-fatal injury rates, though precise LFS data for 2021/22–2023/24 is less available.
Implications & Strategies
- Self-employed focus: Because many in this sector are self-employed, safety programmes must reach beyond “company culture” — tailor interventions, training, and guidance to farm owners and contractors.
- Machinery risk: Given the high rate of machinery-related incidents, ensure robust maintenance regimes, machine guarding, and operator training (especially on tractors, combines, ATVs).
- Fatigue management: Farming often involves long hours; fatigue contributes to risk. Introduce rest-break policies, rotation, and risk assessments for “after-hours” working.
- Fall prevention: While not as obvious as in construction, elevated tasks (e.g., silos, barns) must be properly managed with fall prevention measures.
- Engagement & safety culture: Promote peer-to-peer safety networks (e.g., farm-safety groups), encouraging reporting, safe practices, and shared learning across small farms.
Manufacturing
Key Data & Risks
- In 2024/25, 11 workers in manufacturing were fatally injured.
- From HSE’s LFS data, the self-reported non-fatal injury rate in manufacturing is 1,936 per 100,000 workers.
- For ill health, manufacturing’s self-reported rate is **3,400 per 100,000 ** — somewhat lower than in “high-ill-health” sectors like health and education, but still significant.
- Regarding the causes of fatal injuries, in manufacturing, there is a higher incidence of being struck by moving machinery or objects, reflecting typical industrial hazards.
Implications & Strategies
- Machine safeguarding: Ensure all machinery has proper guards, interlocks, and isolation procedures. Maintenance schedules and lock-out / tag-out processes must be strictly enforced.
- Hazardous manual tasks: Use risk assessments on handling, lifting, and moving parts. Introduce ergonomic improvements, mechanical aids, and training.
- Safety training & behaviour: Invest in strong safety induction and continuous training (especially for new staff) with a focus on behaviours around moving plant, visibility, and safe working zones.
- Near-miss systems: Encourage reporting of “close calls” around machinery. These insights can help prevent more serious incidents.
- Health surveillance: Depending on processes, monitor workers for noise exposure, vibration, or repetitive strain injury — especially in CNC / manufacturing operations.
Transportation & Storage / Admin / Support / Other High-Risk Sectors
Key Data & Risks
- Transportation & storage saw 15 fatalities in 2024/25.
- Admin and support services recorded 13 fatalities, and wholesale/retail & accommodation/food combined had 12.
- In the non-fatal injury statistics, transportation/storage and construction top the charts for self-reported injury rates.
- For non-fatal injuries overall (2023/24), the most common accident kinds are: slips, trips or falls (31%), handling/lifting (17%), struck by an object (10%), acts of violence (9%), and falls from height (8%).
Implications & Strategies
- Transport risk management: For logistics, warehouses, and storage, focus on vehicle safety, pedestrian-vehicle segregation, and robust traffic management plans.
- Manual handling: Given the high share of handling / lifting incidents, implement regular training, use mechanical lifting aids, and review load handling tasks.
- Slips, trips, falls: Implement housekeeping programs, good housekeeping routines, surface maintenance, and non-slip flooring — especially in admin/support facilities.
- Violence risk: In support services or customer-facing settings, assess risk of violence or aggression, train staff in de-escalation, and provide safe working measures.
- Near-miss & reporting culture: Create simple but effective reporting frameworks, so that non-fatal, “low-consequence” incidents feed into safety improvement programmes.
Why This Matters for Your Business, Outsource Safety (and Your Clients)
When working with clients in these sectors, Outsource Safety can offer tailored, sector-specific health & safety services that reflect the unique risk profiles shown in the HSE data:
- Use industry benchmarking: Compare a client’s safety performance (fatalities, injury rate, near-misses) to HSE-sector averages to prioritise interventions.
- Embed preventative systems: Not just “tick-box” compliance, but proactive risk management (e.g., fall prevention in construction, machine guarding in manufacturing).
- Provide behavioural safety training: Sector-focused programmes (e.g., for drivers, machine operators, farm owners) can target the most frequent incident types.
- Support health and well-being: For sectors with high ill-health risk (e.g., musculoskeletal, mental health), help clients develop health surveillance, fatigue management, and health promotion.
- Facilitate continuous improvement: Using HSE data as a benchmark, run regular reviews, safety audits, and strategy sessions to show progress in reducing injuries and ill health.
Final Thought
These sector-specific breakdowns underscore that health & safety is not one-size-fits-all. Different industries face very different risks — and a tailored, data-driven approach is essential. For us at Outsource Safety, aligning clients’ safety strategies with the latest HSE data not only helps to reduce risk but also demonstrates value: fewer accidents, lower absence, better compliance, and potentially lower costs.
Contact us for more info on how we support hundreds of clients in construction and industry across the UK, or request a call back, and one of our consultants will call you.
