Workplace Fatalities: What the Numbers Reveal in 2024–25

Myra Abordo
Aug 4
2 min read

At Base Solutions, we are continually looking to improve the information we give to our clients, providing a better understanding of fatal injury statistics rather than just headline figures.

In 2024/25, 124 persons suffered a fatal injury at work.

The headline figure shows that Construction had the most fatalities, followed by Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing. But if you look at the rate per 100,000 employees, the data looks very different. The first graph below shows the headline figures:

A graph of number of fatal injuries by selected main industry group

This second graph shows the incidence per 100,000 employees:

A graph of rate of fatal injuries by selected main industry group

Whilst in the first graph, Waste and Recycling had an increase of one person over the previous year, the second graph puts the same category firmly in second place — 8 times as high as the average across all industries, ahead of the construction industry but a long way behind Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, which is 22 times as high as the average across all industries.

Why Age Matters

Another factor we have looked at is age. Data on age-specific fatalities from falls from height is not explicitly provided, however, the HSE data does indicate that workers aged 60 and over account for a disproportionate number of fatal injuries, despite representing a smaller portion of the workforce.

This suggests that older workers may be at a higher risk of fatal falls, though further analysis of age-related statistics is needed.

When we look at behavioural safety, and also at risk assessments and resource, there are two distinct areas to consider:

Older workers may be more complacent to risk; a typical response would be:“I’ve been doing it this way for 40 years without hurting myself — what’s changed?”
Younger workers have less life experience and may not be aware of certain hazards or their own limitations.

The issue here is that the older, potentially complacent personnel are teaching the younger generation, including the bad habits they’ve picked up over the years.