In Germany, employees in building construction professions such as carpenters, bricklayers or joiners have the highest risk of an accident at work. This emerges from statistics from the German Statutory Accident Insurance (DGUV), which are available to the German Press Agency in Berlin. According to this, 124 reportable work accidents per 1,000 employees were registered in this professional group last year.
According to the information, employees in waste disposal also have an increased risk of accidents, with 95 reportable work accidents per 1,000 employees. Child and learning care professions are also at the top of the scale with 87 accidents per 1,000 employees. Accident insurance attributes this to tripping, slipping and falling accidents as well as injuries to furnishings, furniture, sports equipment and toys when working with children.
19 accidents per 1000 employees on average
On average across all occupations, the accident rate was just under 19 work accidents per 1,000 employees. When it comes to accident rates, the accident insurance records accidents that lead to incapacity to work for at least four days and compares these to the number of employees and the average working hours by occupational group.
The list of occupations with increased risk is followed by construction specialists (77), such as roofers and tilers. Then jobs in food processing (68) such as bakers or butchers. Train drivers (63) also have a high risk. The main reason here is downtime due to work-related psychological stress. In contrast, office and secretarial workers have a relatively low risk of accidents with a rate of less than 2 reportable accidents per 1000 people.
Prevention required
DGUV general manager Stefan Hussy said: “In order to minimize the risk of accidents, it is definitely important to involve employees.” A “culture of prevention” could help to give safety and health a high priority in everyday work.
The frequency with which accidents at work or commuting occur in Germany varies from region to region. For example, there are high rates of work accidents in some districts in the Eifel, Emsland or the Swabian Alb. However, there was a low risk in districts such as Landshut and Karlsruhe. The exact causes are unclear, but in general the manufacturing industry and crafts have higher accident rates.
