The HSE has released the 2025 annual UK Health and Safety Statistics (November 2025), revealing another year where workplace ill health, stress and musculoskeletal disorders continue to dominate the burden on British businesses. Fatalities have dropped, but non-fatal injuries, stress-related cases, and economic costs have all risen.
To make it easier for safety managers, HR teams and business leaders to digest the new data, we’ve created a clean, visual and shareable 2025 Health & Safety Infographic built using the official HSE figures.
Below is a full breakdown of the latest statistics, how they compare to last year, and what they mean for organisations planning their health and safety strategy for 2026.
This continues the long-term trend:
Ill health, particularly stress and musculoskeletal disorders, is now consistently the largest driver of lost time and economic cost in the UK.
The UK saw 124 worker fatalities, a notable decrease on last year’s 138 deaths
Industry breakdown:
Construction and agriculture together still account for around 50% of all fatal injuries, keeping them the highest-risk industries overall.
Top fatal accident types in 2025:
2025 recorded 680,000 non-fatal injuries, up 76,000 on 2024’s figure of 604,000
Employer-reported RIDDOR injuries remain stable at 59,219 incidents, but self-reported injuries continue to increase, showing a widening gap between reported and experienced harm.
Top injury types in 2025 include:
The biggest shift in 2025 is the sharp rise in mental-health-related ill health:
These conditions now account for the majority of all days lost due to ill health in the UK.
Industries with higher-than-average stress levels:
MSDs account for:
While slightly lower than previous years, MSDs remain one of the most costly and persistent types of ill health across physically demanding roles.
2025 saw a steep rise in economic burden:
Rising mental health absences are the core driver behind this increased cost.
The UK is losing more working days to ill health than at any point since the mid-2000s.
According to ILO data:
The UK remains one of the safer countries in Europe, but stress-related illness is rising faster than in other EU nations.
The data paints a clear picture:
Businesses prioritising early detection, real-time monitoring, and employee-led safety reporting will be best positioned to reduce incidents in 2026.
If you're interested in viewing previous health & safety statistics infographics, check our previous editions:
Health & Safety Stats 2024
Health & Safety Stats 2023
Health & Safety Stats 2022
