Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland Annual Report and Accounts 2019-2020

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) has published its Annual Report and Accounts for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. The twenty-first Annual Report records a significant decrease in the number of fatalities and major injuries in the workplace.

Across all sectors there were 11 Deaths. This compared with 13 in the previous year which records a further death from an incident that occurred in the 2018/2019 year.

The number of major injuries, which are often life-changing, fell to 290, a reduction of 11%. The number of reportable injuries saw a decrease of 5% to 1,811.

To download and view the HSENI Annual Report and Accounts for 2019/2020, please see the following link:

• Download the report at the link below.

Derek Martin, Chairperson of HSENI said: “Everyone should feel safe at their place of work and I am very much encouraged by the reduction in the number of deaths and serious injury during the reporting year.

“I acknowledge the efforts of the HSENI team and our partners who have worked with dedication and determination to make the workplace safer.

“Our shared resolve remains firm to see further reductions.

“I am confident that working together with our partners and industry bodies we can help everyone to stay safe at work.

“I am extremely supportive of the work we have carried out in the field of occupational health and hygiene. We will continue to raise awareness of issues in the workplace which we know are associated with chronic ill-health.

“As the 2019-20 financial year drew to a close, the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and its incredible impact on the organisation and its activities became apparent. The versatility and expertise of HSENI’s staff was evident as the nature of the organisation’s inspectorate and advisory work was now focused primarily on COVID-19 related incidents and queries.”

During the reporting period, HSENI carried out 5,399 inspections which resulted in 247 enforcement notices being issued. The Major Investigations Team led 14 successful prosecutions which resulted in fines totalling £602,500.

HSENI Chief Executive, Robert Kidd said:  “HSENI remains focused on keeping everyone safe in the workplace by stopping unsafe working practices.

“Despite a demanding year that, in the closing weeks, saw the additional challenges of COVID-19, excellent progress has been made. An unprecedented number of complaints in relation to COVID-19 concerns were received during the final weeks of 2019-20. HSENI played an important role in supporting co-regulators and assisting industry implement Public Health guidance to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace.

“Our work with partners in the agricultural sector has seen fatalities reduce to one compared to seven in the previous year.

“However, we will never allow ourselves to become complacent. Sadly, the number of fatalities in the construction sector increased from three in 2018/19 to four during this reporting period.

“Our work to reduce occupational ill-health has developed as a result of partnership working with a number of external organisations. We have continued to develop our educational programme by delivering over 100 promotional events, seminars, lectures and workshops.

“We dealt with over 6,550 direct calls to our Helpline and almost 100,000 visitors used our website to download publications.

“HSENI is grateful to all those who share our ambition to make Northern Ireland’s workplaces as safe and healthy as possible, and who have contributed to the achievement of the outcomes set out in our Annual Report.”