Construction records more worker deaths than any other sector in Great Britain. In 2024/25 there were 35 fatal injuries to construction workers, out of 124 across all industries — from a sector making up around 6% of the workforce. Falls from height accounted for over half of those deaths, as they have almost every year this century.
Those are the deaths you can count. The larger number is harder to see: around 79,000 construction workers report work-related ill health, and across all industries an estimated 11,000 people die each year from occupational lung disease linked to past exposures at work. Construction supplies a substantial share of that.
The industry has got considerably safer at not killing people quickly. Fatal injuries have fallen sharply over four decades. What has not improved at the same rate is the slow harm — dust, vibration, noise and the cumulative damage of the work itself.
A worker is far more likely to be disabled by their trade over twenty years than killed by it in an afternoon. Most site safety effort is still aimed at the afternoon.
Where construction sits against other industries
| Measure | Construction | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| Worker fatalities, 2024/25 | 35 — the highest of any sector | 124 |
| Self-reported non-fatal injury rate | 2.5% — around 1 in 40 workers over three years | 1.8% |
| Leading cause of death | Falls from height — over half of construction fatalities | Falls from height, struck by object, struck by vehicle |
| Work-related ill health | Around 79,000 workers; highest musculoskeletal rates of any industry | Around 1.7 million workers |
| Ill health breakdown | Musculoskeletal disorders 53%; around 5,000 with lung conditions; around 15,000 with mental health conditions | Stress, depression and anxiety are the largest single cause |
Figures from HSE’s construction statistics for Great Britain, published November 2025 covering the year to March 2025. HSE publishes updated figures each November.
Hazards by trade
Generic site risk assessments miss the point that risk is trade-specific. What harms a groundworker is not what harms a plasterer.
Stonemasons, bricklayers and concrete cutters
Cement dermatitis and burns from wet cement, which is highly alkaline. Back and shoulder damage from repeatedly handling blocks and slabs. Above all, respirable crystalline silica from cutting stone, concrete and brick — the cause of silicosis, COPD and lung cancer.
Training: silica dust awareness, COSHH, manual handling
Electricians and maintenance trades
Asbestos exposure when rewiring or working on any building constructed or refurbished before 2000 — drilling through an ACM releases fibres that stay in the lungs for life. Electrical injury, and awkward working postures in lofts and risers.
Training: asbestos awareness (a legal duty under CAR 2012 for anyone liable to disturb it)
Roofers, scaffolders and steel erectors
Falls from height — the single largest cause of construction deaths, over half the annual total. Fragile surfaces, roof lights and edges are the recurring circumstances. Weather and manual handling at height compound it.
Training: working at height, plus guidance on the Regulations
Groundworkers and civils crews
Striking buried services — electricity, gas, water — during excavation. Excavation collapse. Vehicle and plant movements, which account for a significant share of site deaths. Whole-body vibration from plant.
Training: CAT and Genny, NRSWA for highway work
Carpenters, joiners and floor layers
Wood dust, which is a COSHH substance and a recognised cause of nasal cancer with hardwoods. Hand-arm vibration from saws and routers. Chronic knee damage among floor and carpet layers from prolonged kneeling. Cuts and amputations from woodworking machinery.
Plant operators and drivers
Struck-by incidents involving moving vehicles, and overturns. Whole-body vibration and back disorders from long hours in the cab. Diesel engine exhaust emissions, particularly in enclosed or partially enclosed areas. Noise.
Training: CPCS plant operator, noise awareness
Plasterers, dry liners and painters
Silica and plaster dust from sanding and cutting board. Solvent and isocyanate exposure in paints and coatings, a leading cause of occupational asthma. Repetitive overhead work damaging shoulders and necks. Falls from small access equipment.
Training: COSHH, face fit testing
Welders and fabricators
Welding fume, now classified as a human carcinogen — HSE expects effective extraction for all indoor welding regardless of duration. Metal fume fever, eye damage, burns and fire risk.
Training: LEV management, COSHH
The four hazards that cut across every trade
Whatever the trade, four risks recur — and all four cause harm that appears years after the exposure that caused it.
- Dust. Silica, wood and general construction dust. The controls are the same everywhere: eliminate the cutting, then water suppression, then on-tool extraction, then RPE with face fit testing. A mask on its own is not a control strategy.
- Vibration. Breakers, grinders, saws and plant. Damage is cumulative and permanent, and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 require exposure monitoring and health surveillance above the action value.
- Noise. Routinely above the action levels on any active site. Hearing loss does not come back.
- Musculoskeletal strain. Construction has the highest rate of any industry, and it is over half of all construction ill health. Mechanical aids and better task design beat lifting technique every time.
Health surveillance is where most sites fall short. Where exposure could cause an identifiable disease and there is a valid way of detecting it, COSHH and the vibration and noise regulations require surveillance. For construction that usually means lung function testing, HAVS assessment and audiometry. It is a legal duty, not good practice — and it is the thing that catches damage while it is still reversible.
Training that addresses the risk
For those managing construction health and safety as a profession, the NEBOSH Construction Certificate is the recognised qualification. It covers construction law and CDM duties, site hazards, work equipment, electrical and fire risk, and — increasingly the important part — the health risks that show up decades later.
For those running or supervising sites rather than specialising, SMSTS and SSSTS are the CITB Site Safety Plus routes, with Health and Safety Awareness as the entry-level course for operatives.
Construction health and safety training
From site awareness through to NEBOSH, with dates and venues across the UK.
Common questions
Is construction getting safer?
On fatal injuries, considerably — the long-term trend is sharply downward from where it stood forty years ago. But the fatality rate has been broadly flat over the last decade, and work-related ill health has not improved at the same pace. The industry has become much better at preventing sudden death and only somewhat better at preventing slow disease.
What kills the most construction workers?
Falls from height, by a wide margin — over half of construction fatalities, and the leading cause of work-related death across all industries in nearly every year since 2001/02. But if you count deaths from occupational disease caused by past exposures rather than deaths from accidents, dust kills far more people than falls do. They simply do not appear in the annual fatality count.
Which training is a legal requirement on site?
No specific course is named in law. What applies is the duty to ensure competence, plus specific training duties under COSHH, the asbestos regulations, PUWER, and the work at height, noise and vibration regulations. CDM 2015 adds that duty holders must have the skills, knowledge and experience for their role. Card schemes such as CSCS are contractual site requirements rather than legal ones.
Do these risks apply to self-employed workers?
The health effects certainly do, and self-employment is common in construction — which is part of why occupational disease is under-recognised in the sector. Legal duties still apply where the work poses risk to others, and in practice principal contractors will ask for evidence of training and competence before anyone sets foot on site.
Where do these figures come from?
HSE’s annual construction statistics for Great Britain, published each November for the financial year ending the previous March. The figures here are from the November 2025 release covering the year to March 2025. Fatality figures are provisional on first publication and occasionally revised.
Related training
Site management and qualifications
Health risks
Site hazards