Some workers risk their lives on the job every day.
For most of us, a day at work involves nothing more deadly than a rickety old chair or a leaking hot tap. But hundreds of thousands of workers in the UK face potentially lethal dangers every time they go to work.
From electricians, construction workers and bouncers to the truck drivers and sales reps who brave Britain's roads, all have way above the average rates of workplace death and serious injury.
There were 241 workplace deaths in the UK in 2006-07 financial year, 28,267 major injuries, and six million working days lost due to workplace injury.
Skilled tradesmen have the most dangerous jobs, with 94 fatalities. Of these, 31 were construction workers, 13 were farmers, nine were painters and decorators and eight were electricians and electrical fitters.
So-called elementary trades accounted for 56 deaths, including 15 construction-related labourers and 12 warehouse workers.
Protective services (security and bouncers) is the worst profession for serious injuries, followed by elementary trades, both of which have injury rates of about three per 100 workers each year.
Lee Neville, section manager at recruitment firm Hays Trades and Labour, says stories about scaffolding collapsing and forklift trucks dropping bricks do the rounds in the industry. However, the construction industry is much safer than it was 20 years ago.
Neville says 95 per cent of building sites in London require workers to hold a Construction Skills Certification Scheme card, which involves workers sitting a test with workplace health and safety questions. "[The test] gets you thinking about safety," Neville says. "It helps workers see things before they happen. If there's a hole on the site, do you report it, or just walk on? I think the industry is trying a lot harder these days."
The security industry has also become a lot safer than the wild days of steroid-junkies fighting the nearest unruly bloke.
Bouncers are legally required to have a licence from the Security Industry Authority. Getting one involves a criminal record check and a course in communication skills and conflict management. This means security personnel have a vested interest in not getting in a fight to ensure they don't lose their licence.
» The Health and Safety Executive is the UK watchdog for workplace health and safety issues. See www.hse.gov.uk
