What is the Health and Safety Executive?

Our mission, quite simply, is to protect people and reduce risks in the workplace. The facts below will tell you what a vital mission that is.

• Every year 29.3 million days are lost to British industry as a result of accidents and ill health caused by work activities.
• Every year more than 27,594 people suffer a major injury caused by work activities.
• Every year more than 1.2 million people suffer from work related ill health.
• Every year 180 workers will lose his or her life.

How we do it

There are many ways that we promote health and safety: by providing information, guidance and advice for example, as well as promoting training and commissioning research. On the legal side of things, we've developed a goal setting system of regulation - and of course, we also enforce the law.

As workplaces change, so do health and safety needs. It's a dynamic and evolving arena that's constantly presenting fresh challenges. So we are always looking at new, innovative and imaginative ways to build an effective health and safety culture in the UK: one that will protect people and save more lives.