Working at height in construction: Facts and figures

Just how prevalent are falls from height in UK construction? Safe Working At Height Week examines the data.

On average, someone dies from a fall from height in construction every 17 days (based on HSE’s 2020/21 revised figures).
In 2020/21, there were 3,464 reported non-fatal injuries to employees in construction. Of those, 681 involved a fall from height. (Source: HSE)
Provisional figures for 2021/22 show that of 30 fatal accidents involving construction workers, 13 were falls from height. (Source: HSE)
Two members of the public died in falls from height on construction sites in 2021/22 (Source: provisional HSE figures).
Of the latest 117 incidents to be reported through IPAF’s Accident Reporting Portal, falls from the platform resulted in 120 people being injured and 93 killed (Source: IPAF)
From 2012 to 2022, there were 239 reports of falls from the platform in 20 countries, resulting in 132 deaths. (Source: IPAF)
Four out of five commercially available telescopic ladders tested by the East of England Trading Standards Association (EESTA) and Suffolk Trading Standards Imports Team failed to meet the minimum safety requirements (Source: Ladder Association)
The fatal incidence rate among NASC-registered operatives in the scaffolding industry was 0 in 2021 (Source: NASC)