Introduction

Employers today want to improve health and safety performance at a strategic, tactical and operational level as a means of enhancing their service offering and not just to ensure legal compliance.  Better health and safety risk management has been shown to:

• avoid accidents and ill health
• improve staff morale and performance
• lead to more efficient work practices
• reduce operating costs, including insurance premiums

The Costs

According to the Health & Safety Executive, accidents and work-related ill health cost UK business up to £18 billion a year. More than 1 million people are injured at work annually causing both disruption and loss of production.

The average uninsured cost to a company of an accident leading to absence from work is around £2000, whilst the cost of a major injury accident averages around £19,000.

Health and Safety Service Data Sheet