Health and Safety

Written by Rashna Vaswani

Key developments in 2024 

Asbestos – Your Duty

As the single greatest cause of work-related deaths due to past exposure (according to HSE's Annual health and safety statistics 2024, there were 2,257 Mesothelioma deaths in 2022, with a similar number of lung cancer deaths linked to past exposures to asbestos), asbestos safety has been and remains a key focus for the regulator. In January this year, the HSE launched a new campaign labelled 'Asbestos – Your Duty' to highlight the risk of asbestos in buildings and raise awareness of the legal duty to manage those risks.

In a bid to emphasise the legal duties on anyone with responsibilities for buildings to manage asbestos (i.e. the 'dutyholder'), the HSE launched update information, new templates (which include an asbestos management plan) and explanatory videos on its website. Dutyholders could be the building owners, landlords, or a person or organisation with clear responsibility for maintenance and repair.

The regulator has also been keeping a closer eye on how asbestos is managed requiring dutyholders to ensure they have the right arrangements in place, as no doubt demonstrated by the enforcement action and prosecutions (10 in total) this year.

Annual Health and Safety Statistics – a mixed bag

On 24 November 2024, the HSE released its annual summary statistics for 2023/24, which showed a positive trend in reducing work-related ill health across Great Britain reduced to 1.7 million from 1.8 million the previous year. As a testament to their objective to reduce work-related ill health, with a specific focus on mental health, cases for Stress, anxiety, and depression dropped from 875,000 to 776,000, with new cases declining from 338,000 to 300,000.

However, workplace non-fatal injuries reported by the Labour Force Survey showed an increased 561,000 to 604,000 (albeit the current rate is below the 2018/19 pre-coronavirus level), which the HSE has declared as cause for concern given the greater awareness and preventative efforts, which should be driving numbers down.

HSE’s statistics also reveal the impact work-related ill health and workplace injuries are having on costs to employers, individuals and the government. In 2022/23, the estimated annual costs of workplace injury and new cases of work-related ill health reached £21.6 billion, which is up from £20.7 billion from the previous year.

What to look out for in 2025 

The role of wearable technology in Occupational Safety 

The integration of technology in health and safety management is set to accelerate. Wearable internet of things (WIoT), a category that encompasses devices and other wearable technology such as smart clothing or exoskeletons, can be used to monitor body posture and identify movements in real time to provide feedback on ergonomics. Smart helmets and vests can detect fatigue, sending alerts to management to prompt breaks or alternative adjustments. In the construction industry, WIoT can identify of workers' specific locations, their body temperature, heart rate, stress level, and breathing rate, all of which can all be used to ensure that workers are in safe environments and good health conditions. This proactive approach helps prevent accidents before they occur, enhancing overall workplace safety.

However, the use of WIoT for health and safety monitoring also presents issues with privacy and security which need to be explored. As emerging technologies like IoT and AI become more integrated into workplace operations, workplaces must adapt their strategies to keep pace.

The continuing focus on Mental Health

In our 2024 Annual Insurance Review we highlighted the HSE's increased focus on mental health matters, underpinned by it being a key strategic objective in its 10-year strategy (2022-2032).  This is an ongoing concern, given annual summary statistics for 2023/24 indicating that there were an estimated 776,000 workers suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This represents 2,290 per 100,000 workers and resulted in an estimated 16.4 million working days lost. The average employee suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety took an average of 19.6 days off work.

In its 2024 to 2025 Business Plan, published on 4 November 2024, the HSE again outlined that this was a key area of work, and set out 6 actions related to mental health to deliver its objectives. Of note is the aim to deliver 14,000 inspections specifically targeted at sectors where there is evidence of high levels of incidence and risk. Industries with higher-than-average rates of work-related stress, depression or anxiety are public administration/defence and human health/social work.   

Explore Annual Insurance Review 2025