Comparing HSE statistics with Weightmans data: What the numbers really tell us

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its 2024/2025 statistics based on a range of sources, including the Labour Force Survey and RIDDOR, while Weightmans data reflects claims experience seen in practice. When viewed side by side, these sources reveal both alignment and important divergence in how workplace risk is experienced, reported and litigated.

The data

HSE data estimates that there were 1.9 million cases of work related illness during the 2024/2025 period with 680,000 sustaining injuries at work. These figures are derived largely from the Labour Force Survey and statutory reporting, capturing prevalence rather than legal consequence.
By contrast, Weightmans data reflects a claims perspective. Rather than population estimates, it focuses on the types of incidents most likely to result in claims or legal action, such as slips and trips, manual handling injuries and violence at work. As a result, Weightmans figures are highly indicative of where litigation pressure is concentrated.

Work-related stress

HSE data shows that work-related stress, depression and anxiety (new or long standing) remain the single largest category of work-related ill health, accounting for 52% of cases, with 964,000 people affected and 409,000 new cases reported across 2024 and 2025. The long term trend identified in the HSE commentary highlights that stress-related conditions had been increasing even before the Covid pandemic, in contrast to other categories that were broadly flat or declining.

Weightmans data corroborates the increase in the number of stress claims being intimated compared to the position prior to the Covid pandemic. However, while stress is widespread, it continues to present challenges in terms of causation, evidence thresholds which may be limit the number of claims being brought, thereby distorting the actual number of individuals experiencing stress at work.

Musculoskeletal disorders and manual handling: a narrowing gap

HSE reports 511,000 cases of work-related musculoskeletal disorders during 2024/2025 (new or long standing), accounting for 27% of work-related ill health, and confirms a downturn from 543,000 cases in 2023/24. This continues the longer term downward trend seen since the 1990s, particularly for conditions linked to manual handling.

Weightmans data aligns more closely with this picture. While the number of injuries is lower, the proportional alignment suggests that where musculoskeletal injuries do occur, they remain a consistent source of claims, even as overall prevalence declines.

Slips, trips and falls: consistent risk, consistent claims

One of the strongest points of alignment between the datasets is slips, trips and falls on the same level. HSE reports that such incidents account for 30% of cases.

Weightmans data reinforces this risk profile. Slips and trips claims remain consistent. This consistency suggests that slips and trips are not only common but also highly actionable, frequently meeting the evidential and liability thresholds required for claims. Further, approximately two thirds of all claims for slips and trips were litigated during 2024/2025.

Violence at work: rising incidence, growing exposure

HSE reports 689,000 incidents of violence at work in 2024/25, an increase of approximately 47,000 incidents year on year, confirming a rising trend. This is one of the more notable increases within the HSE dataset.
Weightmans data supports the reported increase. The presence of issued actions indicates that employers are increasingly being held accountable where violence risks are foreseeable and inadequately managed.

Fatal injuries and high severity events

HSE data records 124 worker fatalities, with falls from height (35), struck by moving objects (18), trapped by something (17), struck by moving vehicles (14) and contact with moving machinery (13) as the leading causes. These events are relatively rare but carry the highest regulatory and reputational consequences.

Weightmans data shows corresponding categories, such as falls from height and struck by moving objects, reflecting the fact that fatal and catastrophic incidents are uncommon but disproportionately significant when they occur.

What this means for employers

Taken together, the comparison highlights three key insights:

• Prevalence does not equal claims risk: Stress dominates HSE statistics but generates relatively limited claims activity.
• Traditional safety risks still drive litigation: Slips, trips, manual handling and violence continue to dominate Weightmans data, mirroring long standing HSE injury patterns.
• Regulatory focus remains predictable: Where HSE data shows consistency or increase — particularly in slips, trips and violence — Weightmans experience suggests a corresponding likelihood of claims.

Conclusion

HSE and Weightmans data serve different purposes, but together they provide a more complete picture of workplace risk. HSE statistics highlight where harm is occurring, while Weightmans data shows where that harm translates into legal and financial exposure. For employers, the message is clear: while emerging risks such as stress should not be ignored, core physical safety risks remain the most reliable predictors of claims and enforcement action.