HSE Data Reveals Agriculture Remains UK’s Deadliest Sector as Farm Safety Week Launches
Published on 07/20/2026 at 20:18 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published provisional fatal injury statistics for 2025/26, showing that agriculture, forestry and fishing remains Britain’s most dangerous sector by a significant margin. The figures, released to coincide with the 14th annual Farm Safety Week beginning 20 July 2026, reveal that the fatal injury rate in agriculture is 21 times the all-industry average — seven times higher than construction. With 29 sector deaths recorded, including three children, safety campaigners are using the launch to call for an urgent cultural shift across British farming.
126 Worker Fatalities Nationally
Provisional data published in early July shows 126 workers lost their lives in workplace accidents across all sectors in 2025/26, a decrease of two compared with the previous year. A further 104 members of the public were killed in work-related incidents, an increase of eight.
Construction recorded the highest volume of fatalities with 25 deaths. Falls from height remained the single biggest cause of fatal accidents nationally, accounting for 31 deaths. The statistics also highlight a clear demographic pattern: 93% of those killed were male, and 32% were over the age of 60. The national fatal injury rate across all industries stands at 0.37 per 100,000 workers.
Agriculture: A Sector Under the Spotlight
While construction saw the highest raw death toll, agriculture’s risk profile is far worse when measured by rate. In 2025/26, 29 people died in the sector — 22 workers and seven members of the public, three of whom were children. Over the past five years, nine children have died in agriculture, representing 6% of total sector fatalities.
Older workers are disproportionately affected: those over 65 account for half of all worker deaths on farms. The main causes include incidents involving vehicles, falling objects, falls from height, livestock and machinery.
Beyond fatalities, approximately 9,000 agricultural workers suffer from work-related ill health, with 67% of cases attributed to musculoskeletal disorders. A survey of 408 farmers found that nearly half of those under 40 fear suffering a life-changing disability more than death — a sentiment shared by over 51% of workers aged over 65.
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Recent Fines Underscore Enforcement Action
The release of the statistics follows several significant HSE enforcement actions earlier this month.
On 17 July 2026, food manufacturer Puratos Limited, based in Buckingham, was ordered to pay a ÂŁ120,000 fine and ÂŁ6,270 in costs. An HSE inspection in late 2024 found workers exposed to hazardous dust concentrations exceeding legal limits and required to manually lift 25-kilogram sacks without adequate safety measures. The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
In a separate case on 14 July 2026, the Romero Catholic Academy Trust was fined ÂŁ32,000 plus ÂŁ6,360 in costs following a 2024 incident in Burnley. A worker sustained a brain haemorrhage and multiple fractures after falling from a school roof that lacked edge protection. The Trust pleaded guilty to safety violations.
Farm Safety Week: A Call for Cultural Change
Government officials and industry leaders in Great Britain and Ireland have used the launch of Farm Safety Week to urge a shift in safety culture. The campaign, led by the Farm Safety Foundation — also known as Yellow Wellies — is backed by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
Representatives from the HSE and the Farm Safety Foundation stressed that no task on a farm is worth the risk of life-changing injury or death. They urged workers to prioritise planning and awareness, particularly during periods of high risk such as heatwaves, which increase the likelihood of sun exposure and dehydration-related accidents. Recent data suggests agricultural workers receive five to ten times more sun exposure than the general population, contributing to the sector accounting for 23% of skin cancer deaths.
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