The annual statistics for fatalities at work were published on the 7th July, as we shared at the time. A total of 142 workers were killed at work in Great Britain in 2020/21, an increase of 29 from the previous year, though the number of deaths in 2019/20 (113) was low compared to other recent years.
Despite the huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK’s workforce, the report states that, “Fatal injury statistics presented in this report exclude deaths from occupational diseases and diseases arising from certain occupational exposures (including COVID-19)”.
It has been reported elsewhere that by January 2021, tragically 883 front-line workers had died from work-related COVID-19 in the health and social care sector, which do not feature in the HSE’s statistical analysis.
There have been widespread criticisms of the handling of PPE quality and supply to the health and social care sectors in the media during the pandemic, as well as the reduction in HSE funding in recent years.
With the imminent lifting of restrictions on “Freedom Day” on the 19th July, workers across all sectors will be in need of robust health and safety protections, addressing COVID-19 risk management, legislative compliance and support for the mental health impact of the return to the workplace.
