IOSH calls for renewed focus on reducing work-related deaths

The British Health and Safety Executive (HSE) this week revealed its latest annual work-related fatalities data. This showed that there were two fewer fatal injuries sustained at work in 2025-26 than in the previous year and, the HSE said, the lowest number recorded in a single year apart from years impacted by Covid-19 (2019-22).

However, IOSH remains concerned, highlighting the number of fatalities hasn’t changed significantly in recent years.

Ruth Wilkinson, IOSH’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “Every workplace death is a tragedy. These latest figures are a stark reminder that too many people are still failing to return home safely from work.”

Construction was the sector with the highest number of deaths with 25 – though this was a reduction on the five-year average of 37. There were 22 fatalities in agriculture, forestry and fishing, with its ratio of 8.09 deaths per 100,000 workers far higher than other sectors.

The leading cause of deaths was falls from height, claiming 31 lives, while 24 deaths were caused by someone being struck by a moving vehicle. Workers aged 60 and over accounted for around a third of all fatalities, despite this age group making up only 12 per cent of the workforce.

Ruth added: “This level of continued fatal harm requires prevention to be consistently embedded into how work is designed, managed, controlled and governed. This means moving beyond seeing health and safety as purely a compliance exercise. Focus must be on robust health and safety systems that plan for and design in safety, where hazards and risks are identified early and mitigated, and where we learn from failure. It also means ensuring that workers are engaged, empowered and able to raise concerns without fear.

“Employers, regulators, industry bodies, professionals and workers all have a role to play when it comes to preventing fatal injuries and ensuring that all work is safe and healthy. IOSH calls for greater investment in prevention-first approaches and stronger leadership on health and safety, as well as health and safety skills, awareness and education for all workers and managers.

“IOSH’s 10 principles of good occupational safety and health highlight how governments and regulators, businesses and workers can drive forward this prevention culture.”

Ruth added: “One death is one too many, and we must not become complacent about numbers that have remained stubbornly static for more than a decade.”