Costs and Benefits

Costs

• Every year over 200 people are killed at work in the UK.
• In 2006, 30 million working days were lost in the UK to occupational ill health and injury, imposing an annual cost to society of £30bn (more than 3% of Gross Domestic Product of the UK).
• Surveys show that about two million people suffer from an illness that they believe to be caused or made worse by work.
• Many thousands of deaths each year can be attributed to occupational illnesses, including some cancers and respiratory diseases.

Benefits

By implementing health protection policies and services, businesses can address the issues associated with employee health and safety, benefiting from:

• Reduced costs and risks of absence.
• Fewer accidents.
• Increased productivity.
• Reduced threat of legal action.
• Healthier, happier and better motivated employees.
• Lower employee absence.
• Reduced employee turnover rates.
• Better reputation for corporate responsibility among investors, customers and other stakeholders.

All statistics and figures taken from http://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/benefits.htm. Reproduced under the terms of the OPSI Click-use licence.