Statistics show that British workplaces are among the safest in the world. Figures are at an all time low as we mark the 40th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The number of people who have lost their lives at work has significantly dropped by 85% over the past 40 years. The figures in 1974 totalled at 650 deaths however it is only 133 today.
The number of injuries in the workplace has also considerably reduced by 77% over the same 40 year period going from 336,701 to 78,222. These statistics show what an impact of an act that created a flexible and proportionate regulatory system. The 1974 Act lead the way for the birth of the Health and Safety Commission and the establishment of the Health and Safety Executive that we know today. This regulates health and safety law working with industry to help them manage their health and safety risks effectively and gets justice for those who have been affected by irresponsible employers.
Minister of State for Health and Safety Mark Harper believes that Britain has come a long way in protecting its workforce over the past four decades. The workplace safety record is now envied by the rest of the world with businesses and governments eager to learn our strategies.
Any death at work is undeniable tragic but it is undisputable that the reduction in fatalities and injuries over recent years is a significant improvement. Britain is now officially one of the safest places to work in Europe and the world over. Many Brits are quick to criticise the sometimes extreme and strict health and safety guidelines but few fail to appreciate the fact that they can go out and do a days work without having to worry whether or not their safety is being taken seriously.
Chair of the HSE, Judith Hackitt says: “Our health and safety law places responsibility on those who create risk to manage that risk in a proportionate practical way. It sets standards in terms of outcomes to be achieved, not by straitjacketing dutyholders and business into doing things in a particular way according to prescriptive rules.” Meaning that it is universally applicable regardless of whether the job is farming, fracking for shale gas or working in a laboratory.