THE Health and Safety Executive (HSE) hailed another fall in work-related deaths today amid concerns of significant under-counting.

It said that Britain remained one of the safest places to work after its record showed the number of fatalities fell to 126 in the past year.

The latest figure is provisionally the lowest recorded in a single year, excluding the years affected by the coronavirus pandemic — comparing with 217 fatalities 20 years ago and 495 in 1981. 

The industries with the highest number of deaths continue to be construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing, with the most common cause still being falls from a height, representing around a quarter of worker deaths in 2025/26.

Workers aged 60 and over accounted for around a third of all fatalities during the year despite that age group accounting for just 12 per cent of the workforce, said the HSE.

Janet Newsham, of the Hazards campaign, warned that millions of people are made ill and more than 50,000 who die each year because of work.

Work-related suicides, road accidents due to work fatigue or dangerous road conditions, workers killed at sea, trains or in air crashes are not included in the HSE’s total, she said.

It also doesn’t “include the vast majority of work-related deaths due to exposure to toxic workplaces and hazardous substances and those who suffer from many different diseases and conditions which are life-shortening.”

Ruth Wilkinson, of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, said that “it is deeply concerning that the number of work-related fatalities have remained broadly unchanged for several years.

“This suggests a deeper systemic challenge, one that requires a renewed focus and collective action to drive further improvements, with prevention-first approaches needed at the very heart of this.”

A Unite spokesperson said: “The fact that workplace fatalities are falling is positive, however, one death is far too many. It is the fundamental role of unions to keep workers safe and to ensure employers and government do the same.

“The safety and wellbeing of workers is never optional and must always be the highest priority in the workplace. It is imperative the government fully funds the HSE and other enforcement bodies to ensure that employers can’t cut corners on safety.”