And Health & Safety Is No Different

During my time working in policing, there was one thing that was always true:

Nobody expects to need the police.

People don’t expect serious incidents.
They don’t expect accidents.
They don’t expect investigations.

But when something does happen, it’s already too late.

And I see exactly the same mindset in health and safety.

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“We’ve Always Done It This Way”

Many businesses carry out their own risk assessments.
Many write their own policies.
Many develop their own working practices.

And to be fair, I’ve seen some excellent examples.

But I’ve also seen some that would not stand up to any scrutiny — particularly the scrutiny that follows an accident, injury, or investigation.

Because that’s when it matters.

Not when everything is going well.
Not when nothing has happened.
But when something goes wrong.

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The Reality: It Happens More Than People Think

According to the latest UK Health & Safety statistics:

• 124 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2024/25
• 680,000 workers sustained workplace injuries
• 1.9 million workers suffered work-related ill health
• 59,219 reportable injuries were formally recorded under RIDDOR
• 4.4 million working days were lost due to workplace injuries alone

These aren’t just numbers.
These are real people. Real businesses. Real consequences.

And behind many of these incidents is something simple:

People didn’t think it would happen to them.

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The Cost Is Bigger Than Most People Realise

The impact isn’t just human — it’s financial too.

• £22.9 billion annual cost of workplace injury and ill health
• £16.4 billion cost of work-related ill health
• £6.5 billion cost of workplace injuries

For SMEs, even a single serious incident can be devastating.

Beyond fines and enforcement, there’s:

• Lost contracts
• Increased insurance premiums
• Legal costs
• Reputation damage
• Operational disruption

And in some cases, businesses never recover.

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Nobody Plans for an Investigation

In policing, I regularly saw situations where people never imagined they’d be involved in a serious incident.

But when something happens, investigations follow.

And the same applies in health and safety.

Following a serious incident, organisations may face:

• HSE investigations
• Police involvement
• Interviews under caution
• Civil claims
• Regulatory scrutiny

At that point, documentation matters.
Risk assessments matter.
Policies matter.
Competence matters.

And it’s too late to fix them afterwards.

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This Isn’t About Paperwork

Good health and safety isn’t about paperwork for the sake of it.

It’s about:

• Protecting people
• Protecting businesses
• Being prepared
• Reducing risk
• Standing up to scrutiny if something goes wrong

Because nobody thinks they’ll need the police.
Nobody thinks someone will get injured.
Nobody thinks there will be an investigation.

Until there is.

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Final Thought

Health and safety isn’t about expecting something to go wrong.

It’s about being prepared if it does.

Because when something serious happens, it’s not the time to discover your systems don’t stand up.

It’s too late.

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Paul Cresswell
PJC Health & Safety Management Ltd
Practical, proportionate health, safety and compliance support for businesses