Falls from height remain a major workplace hazard on roofs, ladders, scaffolds, platforms and around unprotected openings. This guide uses HSE data for Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales, explaining the different reporting periods and the distinction between reported injuries and survey estimates.
Reviewed 15 October 2026. Fatal data covers Great Britain, 2025/26 provisional; RIDDOR employee injuries are 2024/25 provisional. LFS figures are annual averages for 2022/23–2024/25. Costs refer to 2023/24.
Key facts and figures
- 126 worker deaths from all work-related accidents in Great Britain in 2025/26, provisional; 128 in revised 2024/25 data.
- 31 fatal falls from height in 2025/26, about 25% of all worker accident deaths.
- 4,684 non-fatal employee falls from height reported under RIDDOR in 2024/25, provisional.
- 35,000 estimated self-reported fall injuries per year, averaged over 2022/23–2024/25.
- 249,000 estimated lost working days per year from height falls, averaged over 2022/23–2024/25.
- £6.5 billion societal cost of all workplace injuries in 2023/24; this is not a falls-only estimate.
The scale of the risk
HSE recorded 31 fatal falls in 2025/26, compared with an annual average of 37 over 2021/22–2025/26. Those figures include the provisional latest year and cover all industries.
For non-fatal harm, the LFS estimates 35,000 injuries and 249,000 lost days annually over 2022/23–2024/25. The corresponding confidence intervals are 26,000–44,000 injuries and 81,000–416,000 days. Their upper limits should not be presented as the central estimates or as single-year counts.
What counts as working at height?
Work at height includes work above or below ground where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury. There is no minimum height threshold, but the precautions must reflect the task and risk.
- Work on flat or pitched roofs
- Work from ladders, stepladders and mobile towers
- Work from scaffolding or other platforms
- Tasks using mobile elevating work platforms
- Maintenance on elevated structures
- Work around excavations with a fall risk
- Work near unguarded openings or fragile surfaces
- Construction or maintenance of stairways and landings
Ordinary use of a permanent staircase is not treated as work at height under these regulations. Relevant work occurs in many sectors; the HSE statistics here do not provide a headcount of everyone who regularly works at height.
The workforce most at risk
Across all fatal workplace accidents in 2025/26, 40 of the 126 people killed were self-employed, about 32%, compared with about 15% of the workforce. Of the 31 fatal falls specifically, 11 involved self-employed workers and 20 employees.
Workers aged 60 and over accounted for 40 deaths, about 32% of the all-accident total, compared with 12% of employment. These national figures do not identify why an individual accident happened.
Male workers accounted for 117 deaths, 93% of the latest total. Workforce composition and exposure matter when interpreting group differences; the counts alone do not establish behavioural causes.
Working at height by industry
Construction recorded 25 worker deaths from all accident types in 2025/26. Its fatal-injury rate was 1.23 per 100,000 workers, against 0.37 across all industries. Over 2021/22–2025/26, falls from height accounted for over half of construction fatalities, averaging 19 per year.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing had the highest fatal-injury rate in 2025/26, 8.09 per 100,000 workers, followed by waste and recycling at 5.47. Transportation and storage recorded 15 deaths from all accident types. These broader sector figures are not occupation-specific height-fall counts.
| Measure (Great Britain) | Figure |
|---|---|
| All worker accident deaths, 2025/26 provisional | 126 |
| Fatal falls from height, 2025/26 provisional | 31 (about 25%) |
| Annual average fatal falls, 2021/22–2025/26 | 37 |
| RIDDOR employee height-fall injuries, 2024/25 provisional | 4,684 |
| LFS height-fall injuries, annual average 2022/23–2024/25 | 35,000 |
| LFS days lost to height falls, annual average 2022/23–2024/25 | 249,000 |
| Construction worker deaths, all causes, 2025/26 provisional | 25 |
| Transportation and storage worker deaths, 2025/26 provisional | 15 |
| HSE completed criminal prosecutions, all offences, 2024/25 | 246 |
The cost of falls from height
The estimated 249,000 lost days are an annual survey average. RIDDOR separately recorded 4,684 employee height-fall injuries in 2024/25, about 8% of all reported non-fatal employee injuries. Survey and RIDDOR figures cover different populations and reporting thresholds.
HSE estimates the societal cost of all workplace injuries at £6.5 billion for 2023/24. It includes financial losses and the value assigned to harm to life and health. This total cannot be presented as a falls-from-height cost or an employer-only bill.
The hierarchy of control
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require a sequence of decisions:
- Avoid height work where reasonably practicable, for example by using suitable tools from ground level.
- Where height work is necessary, prevent falls using a safe place of work or suitable equipment. Prioritise collective protection, such as guardrails, over personal protection.
- Where a fall risk remains, minimise the distance and consequences. Collective systems such as safety nets may be appropriate; personal fall-arrest systems require suitable anchorage, clearance and rescue planning.
Safety nets generally limit the consequences of a fall; they should not be described as a substitute for preventing one. The selected measures must suit the task and protect people throughout access, work and departure.
Training requirements for working at height
People organising, supervising and carrying out height work need appropriate competence. Someone being trained must work under suitable supervision. The training and practical experience required depend on the task:
- Awareness of the hazards and the planned controls
- Instruction and practical training for the equipment and method used
- Competent planning and supervision
- Emergency and rescue preparation for the work
Training supports risk control but does not replace safe work design, suitable equipment or supervision. HSE completed 246 criminal prosecutions across health and safety offences in 2024/25; that is not a count of work-at-height prosecutions.
Make sure everyone who works at height is properly trained and competent.
Train your team to work safely at height →
Mark writes about working at height, workplace health and safety, compliance and accredited training for Working at Heights Course, part of Online CPD Academy.
Sources & references
- HSE: fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2025/26 provisional
- HSE: RIDFATAL fatal injury data tables, including revised earlier years
- HSE: historical RIDDOR injury statistics
- HSE: RIDKIND reported employee injuries by accident kind, 2024/25 provisional
- HSE: LFSINJKND survey injuries and days lost by accident kind
- HSE: costs of workplace injury and new ill health, 2023/24
- HSE: annual report and accounts 2024/25
- Work at Height Regulations 2005
- HSE: working at height, a brief guide