New analysis from PPE specialists at Start Safety reveals the true cost of poor PPE compliance across the UK:
- An estimated 33.7 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2024, an average of 15.5 days lost per worker
- The total estimated costs for workplace injury across the UK in 22/23 was £1,348,189,560, with businesses paying out an estimated £21,900 per injury
- Respiratory illness accounts for more than 7% of workplace illness in 2024, at a cost of more than £13m to employers
- The industries with the UK’s biggest workplace injury costs are Health and Social Work (£916m), Wholesale and Retail (£850m), Construction (£815m), Professional and Admin Services (£721m) and Manufacturing (£668m)
The HSE estimates 33.7 million days were lost to work-related injuries in 2023/24, or around 15 days lost per worker. As well as the obvious loss of productivity to teams, businesses also took significant financial hits paying out around £1,348,189,560 for expenses related to workplace injuries that could have easily been mitigated with the appropriate PPE.
Employer Costs for Workplace Injuries
Research analysed by PPE specialists at Start Safety shows that expenses for statutory sick pay, recruitment for temporary staff, health insurance and compensation claims, and in some cases even court-ordered fines and legal costs, means employers pay out £21,907 on average for each workplace injury sustained.
| Total Employer Cost Breakdown by Expense | Total Cost | Cost per Injury |
| Occupational / Statutory Sick Pay payments | £587,167,716 | £9,541 |
| Employers’ Liability Insurance premiums | £523,858,571 | £8,512 |
| National Insurance paid on OSP/SSP | £81,022,584 | £1,317 |
| Proportion of corporate private health insurance premiums attributable to work related illness/injury | £41,331,359 | £672 |
| Recruitment and induction costs for temporary/permanent replacement staff | £32,146,612 | £522 |
| Work reorganisation | £27,882,266 | £453 |
| HSE / Local Authority investigation / prosecution – internal costs + legal costs | £26,242,133 | £426 |
| Fines paid | £18,369,493 | £298 |
| Administration of SSP/OSP, insurance and compensation claims | £10,168,826 | £165 |
| TOTAL EMPLOYER EXPENSE | £1,348,189,560 | £21,907 |
Most Common Accidents and Costs
The analysis from Start Safety shows that while slips and trips, falls from height without appropriate fall protection equipment and injuries caused from the handling of heavy goods are amongst the most common workplace injuries recorded, exposure to dangerous and harmful substances without suitable respiratory protection is a consistent and often under-managed risk.
| Accident Type | Total No. of Injuries | Total Employer Cost |
| Slips, trips or falls on same level | 8,085 | £176,923,584 |
| Injured while handling, lifting or carrying | 5,992 | £131,122,587 |
| Falls from a height | 2,318 | £50,724,659 |
| Exposure to, or contact with, a harmful substance | 632 | £13,830,019 |
| Exposure to fire | 129 | £2,822,899 |
ONS data reveals that 7.3% of workplace illness in 2024 were due to respiratory conditions, while HSE reports more than 600 injuries related to exposure to dangerous workplace conditions, costing employers more than £13m in 2022/23.
Occupational Exposure and PPE
Research suggests that occupational exposure to certain hazardous substances in the workplace can also cause incurable COPD, with strong evidence showing that the respiratory disease can be made worse by dusts, fumes and irritating gases.
Data from HSE notes that in Great Britain:
- Around 15% of COPD may be caused or made worse by work
- 4000 COPD deaths every year may be related to work exposures
- 40% of COPD patients are below retirement age
- A quarter of those below retirement age are unable to work at all
James Crame, PPE expert at Start Safety says employers can mitigate the risk to staff by reducing exposure to irritating substances with a robust PPE policy.
“Ensuring staff are equipped with the right PPE is essential for employers, because it ensures protection physically and financially. The risks that staff face if unprotected range in severity from mild skin and eye irritation through to devastating, life-long respiratory disease, and even death in the most severe of cases.
“Research repeatedly links occupational asthma/COPD with reduced workforce participation and premature retirement, which means not only a huge loss of productivity for businesses in the short term, but a huge loss financially too.
“It’s not just the sick pay and the cost of hiring and training replacement or temporary teams, but some of the fines reported by HSE show a complete and utter lack of care for workers, which could easily have been avoided with the right PPE.
“The data is clear: respiratory risks are fuelling absence and enforcement, while investing in an airtight (pun intended) PPE programme that is adequately fit tested and up to regulation cuts employee downtime, employer legal exposure, and it pays for itself quickly.”
Costs by Industry
The industries with the biggest workplace injury costs are Health and Social Work (15% of total costs), Wholesale and Retail (14%), Construction (14%), Professional and Admin Services (12%) and Manufacturing (11%).
The best way for businesses to keep employees safe at work is through the implementation of high quality PPE and safety workwear items. With robust and well-fitted personal protective equipment staff can protect their lungs from dust, eyes from flying debris, and hearing from loud noises and much more.
| Industry | Total Cost | Employer Cost (19%) | % of Total |
| Health and social work | £916,000,000 | £174,040,000 | 15.34 |
| Wholesale and retail | £850,000,000 | £161,500,000 | 14.23 |
| Construction | £815,000,000 | £154,850,000 | 13.65 |
| Professional, financial and admin services | £721,000,000 | £136,990,000 | 12.07 |
| Manufacturing | £668,000,000 | £126,920,000 | 11.19 |
| Education | £526,000,000 | £99,940,000 | 8.81 |
| Transportation and storage | £519,000,000 | £98,610,000 | 8.69 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation and other services | £362,000,000 | £68,780,000 | 6.06 |
| Public administration / defence | £338,000,000 | £64,220,000 | 5.66 |
| Accommodation and food services | £257,000,000 | £48,830,000 | 4.30 |
For more information on the importance of PPE, please visit Start Safety: https://startsafety.uk/blogs/blog/the-true-cost-of-poor-ppe-compliance
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