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Farming Tops List As Most Dangerous Job In UK

Farming tops list as most dangerous job in UK

By Elizabeth Schroeder | 31 August 2024 | 5:40 am

Farming is the most dangerous profession in the UK, according to figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 26 August to coincide with Farm Safety Week.

With 35 fatalities recorded on farms in 2023/24, the industry continues to have the poorest safety record of all occupations in that country, according to Sky News.

Four members of the public were among these fatalities and included two children, with one child being killed by a moving vehicle and the other by a wall that collapsed.

“While the total number of fatalities remained the same as the previous year, there was a slight increase in the number of farmworkers killed in the workplace: 23, up from the 21 in 2022/23. Nearly 40% of these workers were over the age of 65,” the report said.

Sky News reported that although agriculture only accounted for 1% of the UK’s working population, 20% of all workplace deaths occurred in this sector. “This means one-fifth of all workplace deaths occur on farms.”

The insurance company NFU Mutual also released data to coincide with Farm Safety Week, which outlined claims for 937 accidents on farms in 2023/24, a decline from 1 021 in 2022/23.

According to this data, claims amounting to over £68 million (about R1,6 billion) were received for incidents ranging from “falls from a height, trapped body parts, as well as falling objects”.

The release of the figures come in the wake of an announcement by the HSE that farm inspections would be stopped, and it would instead be focusing on occupational health issues, Sky News said.

Head of agriculture at the HSE, Sue Thompson, urged farmers to “put the health and safety of themselves and others at the heart of what they do”.

“All too often the industry fails to properly manage health and safety risk in the workplace, resulting in serious and fatal injuries that could, and should, have been prevented.”

Thompson added that the HSE would keep working with agricultural industry partners such as the Farm Safety Foundation/Yellow Wellies, but stressed that “the whole industry must take the lead in driving the cultural change that is so desperately needed”.

To Be Announced