The UK is a world leader in workplace safety. A proactive approach to safety education, enforcement and engineering has given us an enviable track record in preventing deaths and life changing injuries in the workplace.
However, RoSPA reports a rise in the number of deaths and serious injuries being caused by accidents in other environments – namely, in the home and during leisure time. Unfortunately, there’s very little data behind these accidents making it difficult to establish root causes and plan interventions. In England, from 2013 to 2016, there was a 15% increase in accidental deaths (averaging 12,435 each year) with falls topping the list of causes of accidental death.
RoSPA went on to recommend that employers should take an active interest in accident prevention beyond the workplace as there are very obvious consequences to businesses should a serious accident befall an employee at any time, not least in lost productivity or revenue. As part of the strategy, they are encouraging employers to be actively interested and involved in the safety of their staff, contractors, supply chain and wider community through developing “carry-over” safety programs.
Of course, employers expressing an interest in people's habits and activities outside the workplace could be a hard sell at best and viewed as intrusive at worst; as we approach another Bank Holiday it's certainly food for thought. The long weekend is traditionally a heady mix of DIY, BBQs and school holidays so it's no wonder there’s a spike in A&E departments around the country. So perhaps a little cautionary safety advice for employees to take home with them might keep more people safe . . . and that can’t be a bad thing.