Slips, trips and falls from height

February and March 2008 will see the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) running a new campaign, slips trips and falls at work shatters lives. Statistics show slipping and tripping to be the single most common cause of major injury in the UK workplace, with an estimated cost to employers of £500m per year. That’s more than 1,000 workers a month suffering a serious injury as the result of a slip, trip or fall.

Falls from height is still the major cause of fatality in the workplace, with ladders being of particular concern. The HSE are primarily aiming their campaign at those most at risk of slips trips or falls and also those most capable of reducing the number of injuries resulting from such accidents, including construction workers, trades people, catering managers and staff, and store managers. The risk of slips, trips and falls is applicable to everybody, in all professions, and so the HSE urge everybody no matter what their occupation to get involved in the campaign.