Agriculture has poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK
24th July 2024
The Health and Safety Executive has recently published its work-related fatality figures for 2023/24, which revealed that agriculture has the poorest safety record of any occupation in the country.
The HSE report showed that 27 people lost their lives in the year to March 2024 in England, Wales and Scotland.
Of those, 23 were because of agriculture, while the remaining four happened as a result of forestry and fishing activities.
Agriculture continues to have the worst rate of fatal injuries across the main industrial sectors, some 21 times higher than the all-industries average, HSE warns.
The second most dangerous profession was construction, with a rate five times the average.
NFU deputy president and Farm Safety Partnership chair David Exwood commented on the report: “Every number is not just a statistic – it is a personal tragedy”.
Farm Safety Week
The release of the figures also marks the start of Farm Safety Week, a campaign launched and funded by the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies).
The 2024 campaign will focus on the importance of recognising and recording near-misses.
The week brings together over 400 organisations in five countries to help encourage a change in attitudes and behaviours around working safely in the industry.
Stephanie Berkeley, Farm Safety Foundation manager, said: “Attitudes and behaviours around farm safety are changing, but the pace of change is slow – too slow for the families of those we have lost in the industry and too slow for the thousands of farmers suffering every day with long-term ill-health or serious injuries as a result of their work.”
She added this week offers an opportunity for a “real reset” to how farm safety and risk-taking are approached.
Disheartening figures
Despite accounting for only 1% of the working population, agriculture accounts for 20% of all deaths in the workplace, according to HSE.
Nearly 40% of farm workers killed were over the age of 65. Four members of the public were also killed, two of whom were children.
NFU deputy president David Exwood added the report was “disheartening to see”.
“Our sector must work on improving the culture of farm safety. You are 21 times more likely to have a fatal accident working in agriculture than any other industry, and frustratingly, the risks and necessary precautions are well known and understood.
“This isn’t about time or money. Nothing costs more than a serious accident or death in a business, and the effect on what are often family members can be devastating.
“This is about putting safety first in simple, cost-effective ways that will mean everyone goes home at the end of the working day.”
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