HSE pinpoints Wales as most dangerous place to work in the UK
Officials from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have identified Wales as the most dangerous place to work in the UK, with the country having more workplace accidents than anywhere else.
According to the HSE, Wales has the highest rate of major or fatal injuries per 100,000 people. Compare to England’s 97.2 and Scotland’s 114, figures for Wales show that there were 121.3 workplace injuries per 100,000 workers in 2010/11.
Overall, the number of injuries taking place in Welsh workplaces in 2010/11 was 6064. Of these injured people, 4,709 had to take four or more days off work to recover.
Commenting on these figures was Leighton Jenkins, who is the assistant director of policy for the business lobbying body CBI Wales. He urged businesses to take steps to improve workplace safety, which includes placing a greater importance on health and safety training for staff. He said:
“It is of serious concern that Wales has the most injuries per worker than anywhere in the UK.
“A single injury is one injury too many and businesses are committed to continually improving their processes to prevent any harm to staff.”