More than half of British employees say they would feel unprepared in a workplace emergency, despite the majority believing that being ready for crises is important.
New figures from health and safety software firm Evalu-8 reveal a wide gap between belief and reality regarding health and safety in the workplace. While 73 percent of people agree that preparing for unexpected events matters, 51 percent feel only slightly prepared — or not prepared at all — for emergencies at work.
The findings point not to apathy but to a failure of systems. Many workers care about safety but say they are not being equipped by their employers with the training or tools to respond effectively in a crisis.
“This report shows us what we’ve suspected for years: people care about safety but the system isn’t turning that care into capability,” said Josh McNicholas, a safety expert at Evalu-8. “From expired first aid knowledge to forgotten fire drills, we’re relying on outdated plans and luck to get us through crises.”
Anxious Without Trained First Aider
According to the data, 22 percent of UK workers have never received first aid training, and another 22 percent have not been trained in the past five years. Given the lack of preparedness, it is perhaps unsurprising that 34 percent of workers report feeling anxious when no trained first aider is present in their workplace.
Every year, over 600,000 workers are injured on the job, and the cost to the UK economy now exceeds £21 billion annually. That’s before accounting for the human toll in stress, lost confidence and avoidable harm.
“There’s a huge cost to inaction,” said McNicholas. “Financially, it’s in the billions. But the real cost is human anxiety, injury and loss of life.”
Construction and Older Workers at Highest Risk
Construction appears particularly exposed. Two-thirds of workers in the industry say they cannot locate their nearest fire assembly point. Just 6 percent reported taking part in a fire drill in the past year.
Fire preparedness is weak across sectors, but the danger is heightened on building sites, where conditions are less controlled and risks can escalate quickly.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing industries remain the most deadly, with a fatality rate of 8.01 deaths per 100,000 workers last year. Workers aged 60 and over are also significantly more at risk, accounting for 40 percent of all workplace fatalities.
In total, 124 workers lost their lives in 2024 while at work.
Beyond Compliance
Despite widespread legislation and official guidance, the research suggests many employers are still relying on a checklist approach to health and safety — ticking boxes to remain compliant rather than embedding preparedness into day-to-day operations.
“Ticking boxes isn’t enough. You need to empower people with the confidence and training to act,” McNicholas said. “This is not about writing longer risk assessments, it’s about making safety real and personal.”
While technology can help manage compliance and training, it is not a silver bullet. “Technology can support this transformation, but it’s not the solution by itself. You still need to build a culture where preparedness is baked in, not bolted on,” he added.
Refreshers, Not Reminders
The report argues that regular refreshers, not just one-off training, are essential to maintaining a safety-ready workforce. Many people forget what they learned, especially if they’ve not had to apply it in real-world situations. Over time, knowledge fades and confidence erodes.
Real resilience, McNicholas argues, comes through repetition. “We’re not short on guidance. We’re short on activation,” he said. “Most UK workers believe in preparedness but belief alone won’t save lives.”
The message to employers is clear: build capability, not complacency. Or, as McNicholas put it, “You’re one deleted cell away from a five-figure fine.”
Making Safety Personal
The report calls on organisations to move beyond minimal legal compliance and instead build cultures where safety is everyone’s business. This means equipping people with the knowledge, confidence and regular practice to act swiftly and effectively in a crisis.
McNicholas urged employers to act now rather than wait for disaster to expose their gaps. “This isn’t a ‘health and safety’ issue in the narrow sense. It’s a workplace resilience issue. And every employer has the power to close that gap.”