HSE Reports 126 Worker Deaths in 2025/26 and Confirms GB Among Safest Places To Work

The Health and Safety Executive has published its annual statistics for work related fatalities for 2025/26 alongside a new international comparison covering 35 countries. The data show 126 worker deaths in Great Britain, reinforce the country s relatively low fatal injury rates internationally and highlight sector and demographic patterns relevant to workplace risk management.

The Health and Safety Executive published its annual work related fatality statistics for 2025/26 together with a new analysis comparing fatal injury levels and trends with 35 other countries around the world. The central finding for Great Britain is 126 workers killed in work related incidents in 2025/26, and the new cross country comparison is presented as further evidence that Great Britain remains one of the safer places to work internationally.

Excluding the years affected by the coronavirus pandemic from 2019 20 to 2021 22, the total for 2025/26 is provisionally the lowest single year count on record, compared with 217 fatalities in 2005 06 and 495 in 1981. The new analysis extends previous comparisons beyond Europe and provides context for interpreting current trends and benchmarking national performance against a wider group of advanced economies.

The statistics identify the sectors and causes most associated with fatal injuries. Construction recorded the largest number of deaths at 25 and agriculture forestry and fishing recorded 22. Agriculture forestry and fishing also had the highest fatal injury rate per 100 000 workers at 8.09, with waste and recycling next at 5.47, compared with an all industry average of 0.37 per 100 000. Falls from height remained the most common cause of fatal injury with 31 deaths, around a quarter of the total. Workers aged 60 and over accounted for about a third of fatalities despite representing roughly 12 percent of the workforce. A further 104 members of the public who were not at work died as a result of work related incidents. The figures cover work related accidents and do not include deaths from occupational disease.

HSE also published annual mesothelioma figures showing 2 146 deaths from the disease in Great Britain in 2024, a fall of 109 compared with 2023 and below the ten year average of 2 508 deaths per year for 2011 to 2020. Many current mesothelioma deaths reflect past asbestos exposure often occurring before the 1980s, and annual deaths are expected to continue declining over the next decade. HSE leadership emphasised that the human cost behind the statistics underlines the need for continued focus on prevention, sector specific controls and effective management of legacy occupational hazards.

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