In the last ten years, 1,267 UK employees have lost their lives in a workplace. Now, new research has collated a decade’s worth of data to reveal the six deadliest industries for workers in Britain.
Using the data on workplace deaths held by the Health and Safety executive, experts at legal firm First4Lawyers were able to break down which industries had proved most hazardous for employees, and which regions had seen the greatest number of fatalities.
According to the findings, the construction sector is the most dangerous in Britain for workers, with some 382 work-related deaths in the last ten years. The average age of death in the sector was 48 years old.
Elsewhere, even the services industry had proved risky, where 269 deaths have been registered since 2008.
However, in 2017, the agriculture sector has already registered 16 deaths, exceeding any other industry.
The six deadliest industries in Britain
| Ranking | Industry | No. deaths in last ten years |
| 1 | Construction | 382 |
| 2 | Service | 287 |
| 3 | Agriculture | 269 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | 214 |
| 5 | Waste/water management | 63 |
| 6 | Extractive/utilities | 52 |
Total: 1,267
In terms of the unluckiest region for accidents, Scotland registered the most with 176 instances. Over a third of those deaths occurred in the agriculture industry, with 61 people losing their lives in the last ten years.
The North East of England was found to be the luckiest part of the UK. Just 39 people have died at work in the region in the last decade due to a workplace accident.
Statistically, utilities workers in Wales could be the safest in their working environment.
Workplace deaths by region in Britain
| Ranking | Region | No. deaths in last ten years |
| 1 | Scotland | 176 |
| 2 | North West of England | 162 |
| 2 | Yorkshire and the Humber | 162 |
| 4 | South East of England | 131 |
| 5 | East Midlands | 117 |
| 6 | South West of England | 115 |
| 7 | East Anglia | 112 |
| 8 | West Midlands | 106 |
| 9 | London | 91 |
| 10 | Wales | 76 |
Finally, researchers wanted to find out just how much substance the notion of “Friday 13th” as the unlucky day held in reality. Seemingly, there could be a new day to watch out for.
Unluckiest days of the week
| Ranking | Day of the month | No. deaths in last ten years |
| 1 | Tuesday 9 | 20 |
| 2 | Sunday 12 | 18 |
| 3 | Monday 8 | 17 |
| 4 | Tuesday 27 | 16 |
| 5 | Wednesday 15 | 15 |
| 6 | Friday 13 | 6 |
Commenting on the findings, Andrew Cullick, a spokeperson for First4Lawyers, said the drop in workplace deaths experts had predicted in recent years had not materialised.
“It’s quite shocking to see that still to this day workplace accidents are turning into deaths, and construction remains the most dangerous industry, despite so many health and safety regulations being introduced,” Cullick said.
“With working practices constantly being improved, there is no excuse for companies not obeying the law and fulfilling their business obligations.”
Are men at greater risk of workplace injury than women?
Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest from Business Advice.
