Scottish employers are being urged to look beyond physical accidents when assessing workplace risks, as figures show stress, depression and anxiety account for half of all work-related ill health cases in the country.
The latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics for Scotland estimate that 122,000 workers suffer from work-related ill health each year.
Of those cases, 50% involve stress, depression or anxiety, making mental health problems the largest category of work-related ill health recorded in the figures.
The data has prompted workplace safety experts to warn that health and safety should not be viewed solely in terms of preventing physical accidents.
John McGuire, Director at Velappity, a health and safety software provider that helps organisations digitise risk assessments, inspections and compliance processes, said businesses need to consider the full range of risks affecting their workforce.
“Traditionally, when people think about health and safety at work, the first things that come to mind are physical hazards such as machinery, working at height, slips and trips or manual handling.
“Those risks remain extremely important, but these figures show why employers also need to think more broadly about workplace health.
“Stress, depression and anxiety account for half of work-related ill health in Scotland. Employers should be looking at how work is organised, the demands being placed on employees and whether potential problems are being identified early enough.”
Millions of working days lost in Scotland
The impact of work-related ill health is also being felt through workplace absence.
According to the HSE's Scotland statistics, an average of 3.3 million working days are lost to work-related ill health in Scotland each year.
Around 2.3 million of those days are attributed to stress, depression and anxiety. That means the category is responsible for approximately seven in every ten working days lost to work-related ill health.
Musculoskeletal disorders remain another significant problem, accounting for around 31% of work-related ill health cases in Scotland.
Overall, Scotland has an estimated 4,510 cases of work-related ill health for every 100,000 workers.
That is statistically significantly below the equivalent Great Britain rate of 5,210 cases per 100,000 workers. However, the HSE says Scotland's overall prevalence rate has not changed significantly compared with the previous three-year period.
The latest estimates are based on annual averages covering 2022/23 to 2024/25.
Employers urged to identify risks earlier
Employers have a legal responsibility to protect workers from health and safety risks, including work-related stress.
According to HSE guidance on work-related stress, employers have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work by carrying out a risk assessment and acting on it.
McGuire said businesses should avoid viewing risk assessments simply as paperwork that can be completed and then forgotten.
He said: “Effective risk management has to reflect what is actually happening within an organisation.
“Workplaces change, teams change and workloads change. New hazards can emerge over time, including issues that may not result in an obvious physical incident.
“Businesses need processes that allow risks and concerns to be identified, recorded and reviewed rather than waiting until somebody is injured or becomes unwell.
“Giving employees straightforward ways to report concerns, near misses and observations can also help organisations build a clearer picture of what is happening across different teams and locations.”
Workplace injuries and ill health cost Scotland £1.6bn
The wider financial impact of poor workplace health and safety is substantial.
The HSE's latest cost estimates for workplace injury and ill health put the cost to Scotland at approximately £1.63 billion in 2023/24.
Around £1.16 billion of that figure was associated with work-related ill health, while approximately £474 million was attributed to workplace injuries.
The estimates include financial consequences such as lost production and healthcare costs as well as the human costs associated with workplace injury and illness.
The HSE cautions that regional cost figures should primarily be used to demonstrate the scale of the issue rather than compare the relative safety of different parts of Britain. Employment levels and the mix of industries can vary considerably between regions.
Physical workplace injuries also remain a significant concern alongside work-related ill health.
The latest HSE figures for Scotland estimate that around 40,000 workers suffer a non-fatal workplace injury annually.
In 2024/25, 26 workers in Scotland suffered fatal injuries at work. Across the five-year period from 2020/21 to 2024/25, Scotland recorded an average of 20 fatal workplace injuries each year.
‘Health and safety is much wider than preventing accidents’
McGuire believes the figures demonstrate why employers should take a wider view of workplace risk rather than concentrating only on hazards capable of causing an immediate physical injury.
He added: “Health and safety is much wider than preventing accidents.
“A business can have procedures in place for obvious physical hazards, but that doesn't mean other risks aren't developing within the organisation.
“The latest Scottish figures demonstrate the scale of work-related ill health and particularly the impact of stress, depression and anxiety.
“For employers, the focus should be on having consistent processes that make it easier to identify risks, record concerns and take appropriate action.
“Digital systems can help organisations keep risk assessments, inspections, incidents and other safety information in one place, but technology is only part of the answer. Businesses still need a culture where people feel able to raise concerns and where those concerns are taken seriously.
“Ultimately, good health and safety management is about understanding the risks facing your people and making sure they aren't simply overlooked.”
Velappity provides health and safety software designed to help organisations move away from fragmented paper-based processes and manage safety information digitally. Its platform supports areas including risk assessments, inspections, incident and near-miss reporting, RAMS and compliance management.
