More than £1.7 million was lost to the Jersey economy last year due to work-related accidents and ill health, experts say.
The figure – shared in the Health and Safety Inspectorate’s annual report – is based on days lost to sickness absence covered by Social Security’s Short-Term Incapacity Allowance (STIA).
It is based on 45,857 days of absence across 1,417 records – of which 1,379 claimants received benefits.
“This ignores the ‘human costs'”
The report stresses that this sum only captures the “state costs” and does not account for broader economic consequences or personal suffering.
“This ignores the ‘human costs’ (the impact on the individual’s quality of life and, for fatal injuries, loss of life) and the serious effects on these individuals and their families, as well as employers, government and wider society,” the report states.
The document acknowledged the limitation of the figures.
“Medical certificates are only issued for two or more days off work; not all claimants return their form (only 42% did in 2024); and injuries caused to members of the public are not captured,” it stated.
The construction sector was identified as the highest-risk industry. Although it only accounts for 10% of the island’s workforce, it was responsible for nearly one in five of all STIA claims related to work injuries or ill-health.
Across all industries, the Health and Safety Inspectorate recorded 1,379 STIA claims related to workplace accidents or ill health in 2024 – equivalent to 23.7 claims per 1,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees.
The Inspectorate carried out 51 investigations into serious workplace accidents and health conditions and responded to 140 complaints, of which 43 were deemed to involve serious risks.
Royal Court prosecutions and enforcement
Enforcement activity in 2024 included 36 legal notices served under the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law.
These included 12 prohibition notices – 11 of which related to unsafe work at height – and 24 improvement notices, covering issues from respiratory protection to safe storage of flammable liquids.
There were also three prosecutions in the Royal Court relating to Health and Safety Law last year.
Skinner Skips Ltd was fined £55,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs after being found guilty of failing to ensure employee safety in an incident in which a runaway truck crushed a man’s legs.
In another case, paramedics John Sutherland and Thomas Le Sauteur were convicted of failing to provide reasonable care to a patient who later died and given conditional discharges after a trial in June 2024.
Addressing risks
Last year, the Health and Safety Inspectorate aimed to address risks more proactively by carrying out 155 unannounced inspections and providing guidance across sectors.
Key initiatives included safety campaigns in warehousing, construction scaffolding, and hospitality – highlighting risks ranging from falls and untrained equipment use to electrical hazards.
“Our mission is the prevention of death, injury and ill-health to those at work and those directly affected by work activities,” the annual report concluded.