Statistics: Drownings at work in Great Britain
Jul 01, 2023Trends in UK workplace drowning incidents and fatalities
- There have been 23 fatal drownings and 69 non-fatal drownings in workplaces between 2015-2022.
- Fatal and non-fatal drowning incidents at work are very low, at fewer than 1 in every 1,000,000 employees.
- Drowning fatalities make up 3% (2022) of UK work-based fatalities.
- You are less likely to drown at work than when not at work.
- You are more likely to survive a water incident at work than when not at work.
- You are more likely to drown at work if you are employed than self-employed.
- The injury rate amongst water incidents at work has seen a substantially greater reduction than water incidents in non-work settings.
Table 1: Non-fatal drowning incidents in Great Britain
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Non-fatal drownings at work | 15 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 4 |
| Non-fatal drowning incidents as a percentage of total non-fatal incidents | 1.98% | 0.97% | 0.29% | 1.14% | 2.02% | 2.14% | 0.98% | 0.65% |
| Non-fatal drowning incidents at work per 1,000,000 employees | 0.48 | 0.22 | 0.06 | 0.25 | 0.43 | 0.44 | 0.15 | 0.12 |
| Population in employment | 31,539,690 | 31,845,114 | 32,153,619 | 32,597,306 | 32,933,598 | 32,159,468 | 32,567,384 | 32,950,245 |
Table 2: Drowning fatalities in Great Britain
| Year | 2014* | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Fatalities at work | 338 | 321 | 285 | 255 | 263 | 223 | 254 | 258 | 219 |
| Drowning fatalities at work | 11 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Drowning fatalities as a percentage of total fatalities at work | 8.09% | 4.93% | 2.04% | 1.48% | 3.55% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 1.38% | 3.25% |
| Drowning fatalities at work per 1,000,000 employees | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Population in employment | 30,944,019 | 31,539,690 | 31,845,114 | 32,153,619 | 32,597,306 | 32,933,598 | 32,159,468 | 32,567,384 | 32,950,245 |
*Introduction of the new RIDDOR reporting requirements.
References
HSE. 2023. Non-fatal injuries at work in Great Britain. Available at https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/index.htm accessed 18 July 2023.
HSE. 2023. Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain. Available at https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm accessed 18 July 2023.
UK Water Safety Forum. 2009-20. Annual reports and data. Available at: https://www.nationalwatersafety.org.uk/waid/annual-reports-and-data accessed 18 July 2023.
Citation. Jacklin, D. 2024. Statistics: Drownings at work in Great Britain. Water Incident Research Hub, 18 July 2023; updated 24 October.
