The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently published its 2024/25 Annual Statistics for Great Britain, providing a comprehensive picture of workplace health and safety. These figures are a critical benchmark for employers, regulators, and legal practitioners, highlighting persistent challenges and emerging priorities.
Summary
The latest statistics reveal a mixed picture. While fatal injuries have decreased slightly, work-related ill health continues to rise, particularly in relation to mental health conditions:
- 9 million workers reported suffering from work-related ill health, which is an increase from last year:
- Stress, depression, and anxiety remain the leading causes of work-related ill health, with 964,000 cases this year, which is a significant increase from 776,000 last year.
- Musculoskeletal disorders show a slight improvement, falling from 543,000 cases in 2023/2024 to 511,000 in 2024/2025, although they still represent a substantial proportion of work-related ill health.
- Fatal injuries decreased from 138 deaths last year to 124 this year, continuing a long-term downward trend.
- According to the Labour Force Survey, there were 680,000 working people who sustained an injury at work this year.
- 59,219 injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR which shows a decrease from last year's figure of 61,663.
- 1 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury which is a 2% increase from last year.
- The economic cost of workplace injury and ill health has risen to £22.9 billion, up from £21.6 billion in 2023/24. Ill health accounts for 72% of this total, highlighting the significant financial and human burden associated with these conditions.
Overall, the data confirms that while Great Britain maintains one of the lowest fatal injury rates in Europe, managing work-related ill health, particularly mental health, continues to be a challenge. Employers must adapt their strategies to proactively address these risks.
Enforcement priorities
The HSE Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25 sets out the HSE’s enforcement activity in 2024/2025, which demonstrates a continued commitment to robust regulatory intervention, with a clear focus on high-risk sectors and serious breaches of health and safety law. Over the past year, HSE completed 246 criminal prosecutions, achieving a 96% conviction rate, and securing fines exceeding £33 million. While the number of criminal prosecutions is similar to last year's 248, the conviction rate has risen slightly this year by 4%. These prosecutions were reserved for the most serious cases, including fatalities, repeated breaches, and persistent poor compliance, reflecting HSE’s Enforcement Policy Statement and the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
In addition to prosecutions, HSE issued more than 4,400 enforcement notices, which is comparatively less than the approximate 7,000 notices issued last year. This year's 4,400 enforcement notices comprise of approximately 3,200 improvement notices and 1,200 prohibition notices, showing a significant decrease from last year's 5,200 improvement notices and 1,800 prohibition notices. These notices targeted activities that placed workers at risk of death or serious injury, underlining HSE’s zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable risk management.
Inspection activity remained extensive, with over 13,200 inspections completed, including more than 7,000 inspections focused specifically on work-related health risks. This marks a significant shift towards addressing ill health, particularly mental health and stress, alongside more traditional safety hazards. For the first time, HSE delivered a campaign targeting violence and aggression in the workplace, recognising its link to work-related stress and psychological harm.
Major hazard regulation also featured prominently, with 81% of safety case assessments completed within statutory timescales. Intelligence-led interventions accounted for more than 2,700 inspections, including responses to public concerns. Asbestos management remained a priority, with over 600 inspections under the duty to manage asbestos and 713 inspections of licensed asbestos removal contractors, ensuring compliance with stringent controls.
HSE’s enforcement priorities for the coming year will build on these foundations. Employers can expect continued scrutiny of mental health risk management, musculoskeletal disorder prevention, and asbestos control.
HSE focus for 2026
As set out in its report, the HSE's strategic direction for 2026 builds on its long-term strategy, Protecting People and Places 2022–2032, and reflects lessons learned from 2024/2025. The regulator’s priorities are shaped by persistent challenges in workplace health, emerging technological risks, and the need for operational resilience.
Reducing work-related ill health:
Work-related ill health remains the most significant challenge. HSE will continue to expand its evidence base through a major research programme on work-related stress, with findings due in 2026 to inform future interventions. The Working Minds campaign will be upscaled, promoting practical steps for employers to prevent stress and improve mental wellbeing. Inspections will increasingly assess psychological health alongside physical risks, with proactive interventions targeting sectors such as healthcare, education, and construction. Musculoskeletal disorders will remain a priority, with HSE aiming to influence employers to adopt engineering controls rather than relying solely on administrative measures like task rotation.
Strengthening building safety:
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will continue to deliver its statutory functions, including building assessment certification and oversight of mandatory occurrence reporting. In 2024/2025, HSE directed over 1,400 Principal Accountable Persons to submit safety cases and processed decisions on high-risk buildings. For 2026, the focus will be on consolidating these processes, improving industry competence, and maintaining strong engagement with residents. Although the government has announced plans to transfer BSR functions to a new agency, HSE’s immediate priority is to ensure continuity and uphold standards during the transition.
Enabling safe innovation and net zero:
HSE will play a pivotal role in supporting the UK’s transition to net zero by enabling industry to innovate safely. This involves regulatory oversight of carbon capture and storage projects, hydrogen production and distribution, and other emerging technologies. Research programmes such as ELVHYS and ZEST will inform policy development and legislative amendments, ensuring that safety standards keep pace with technological change.
Operational resilience and capability:
Internally, HSE will invest in workforce planning, digital transformation, and training to strengthen regulatory capability. The rollout of a new inspection and enforcement service will improve efficiency and consistency, while enhancements to IT infrastructure and cybersecurity will support resilience. Diversity and inclusion initiatives will continue to underpin recruitment and retention strategies, ensuring HSE attracts and retains exceptional talent.
Financial sustainability:
With operating expenditure exceeding £300 million and significant cost recovery challenges in areas such as COMAH and chemical regulation, HSE will focus on improving efficiency and aligning resources to strategic priorities. Medium-term financial planning and a revised fees strategy will be critical to sustaining regulatory performance within constrained budgets.
Implications for employers
HSE’s latest report signals a tougher regulatory environment and a clear expectation that employers take proactive steps to manage health and safety risks. Enforcement activity in 2024/2025 was substantial. With the addition of rising Fee For Intervention charges and significant fines, the financial and reputational stakes of employers are high. HSE has made it clear that businesses must move beyond reactive compliance, it expects demonstrable leadership, robust governance, and a culture of prevention.
Mental health and stress are central to HSE’s strategy. Inspections will increasingly assess psychological health alongside physical risks, and employers who neglect stress risk assessments or fail to implement effective wellbeing measures may face enforcement action. Musculoskeletal disorders and asbestos management remain priorities, with HSE urging engineering controls and robust compliance with licensing and duty-to-manage obligations.
How we can help …
Our national Regulatory Team advises organisations across a diverse range of sectors on compliance with their statutory health and safety, product safety and environmental obligations, and help them to manage their response to major incidents, and to protect their interests, particularly when faced with the threat of investigation or prosecution by the regulatory authorities. We also offer a wide range of training sessions and workshops. Please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss our services further.
