What's the cost of farming accidents

21 July 2021

The human and emotional cost of a farm accident can be incalculable, but the HSE does publish figures estimating the financial cost of workplace injury and ill health across the whole UK economy and by each industrial sector. This allows us to benchmark where we come, and it's a real cause for concern.

In agriculture the HSE estimate that the costs to industry were around £191m in 2019/2020 with:

  • 19% or £36m carried by employers
  • 21% or £40.11m carried by the government
  • 60% or £114.6m carried by individuals

Total costs include financial costs and human costs. Financial costs cover loss of output, healthcare costs and other payments made. Human costs are the monetary valuation given to pain, grief, suffering and loss of live.

More information on the cost of injury and ill health to Great Britain is available on the HSE website in their documents Health and safety at work: Summary statistics for Great Britain 2020 and Agriculture, forestry and fishing statistics in Great Britain, 2020.

Avoidable accidents

Many farming accidents are avoidable and measures to either remove hazards completely or to control risks of harm where hazards can not be removed are very often, easy to implement and cost effective.

Wearing helmets

Following safe stop, using seat belts, wearing high viz, and using a helmet every time a quad is used are easy to do and cost at most £45. Is £45 too much to spend to help improve safety on farms in the UK by up to 30%?

You can make a difference

Make a pledge and share any safety stories you have – just use #FarmSafetyWeek when you tell your story.

 

Further information

More from NFUonline

More from the net


Ask us a question about this page

Once you have submitted your query someone from NFU CallFirst will contact you. If needed, your query will then be passed to the appropriate NFU policy team.

You have 0 characters remaining.

By completing the form with your details on this page, you are agreeing to have this information sent to the NFU for the purposes of contacting you regarding your enquiry. Please take time to read the NFU’s Privacy Policy if you require further information.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.