The self employed are 3 times more likely to be fatally injured at work according to a 2014 Safe Work Australia study released today. The study explored work-related traumatic injury fatalities in 2013. This kind of information is really important for people to take note of especially if you are self employed or work in one of the high risk categories. The study found that self employed workers tend to work past the average retirement age of employees and work in higher risk environments like farming, transport, and construction. Some further questions need to be considered for the self-employed including are the self-employed more likely to:
If you are self employed or employ the self employed these factors need to be considered and managed so all workers can have access to the same level of safety in their workplaces. Granted self employed workers generally with have access to minimal capital so some interventions / risk mitigations will be less fancy. As a self employed worker myself it would be great to see more/more available government education and intervention provided for these workers.
- Take more risks in general
- Take more risk under pressure / or be under more pressure
- Be less exposed to safe work practices (incl. team based safety approaches)
- Have less access to safe work practices and fit for purpose equipment
If you are self employed or employ the self employed these factors need to be considered and managed so all workers can have access to the same level of safety in their workplaces. Granted self employed workers generally with have access to minimal capital so some interventions / risk mitigations will be less fancy. As a self employed worker myself it would be great to see more/more available government education and intervention provided for these workers.
Custom Safety is passionate about helping small business improve workplace safety. If you own a business or are a self-employed worker check out our Custom Safety Store (click link) for some great safety templates at reasonable prices or copy http://www.customsafety.com.au/store/c1/Featured_Products.html into your browser.
For those interested in the general facts found in by the study (I have included a link to the report below so you can download a full copy). It also revealed that in 2013 there were 191 workers injured at work. That those fatally injured were:
Please let me know your thoughts on the study findings.
#workplacesafety #customsafetyau #workplacefatalities
For those interested in the general facts found in by the study (I have included a link to the report below so you can download a full copy). It also revealed that in 2013 there were 191 workers injured at work. That those fatally injured were:
- 10 times more likely to be male workers
- Self employed persons were 3 times more likely than employees
- Fatalities increased with age (self employed workers over the age of 65 were a large proportion of this)
- 2/3 of fatalities involved vehicles (over an 11 year study period) and 40% on public roads
- 49% occurred within the Transport, postal & warehousing or Agriculture, forestry & fishing industries.
- Live in New South Wales (28%), Queensland (26%) and with Victoria (16%)
Please let me know your thoughts on the study findings.
#workplacesafety #customsafetyau #workplacefatalities
| traumatic_fatalities_report_2013.pdf |
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