A growing number of employees across the UK are paying for their own health and safety training, as employers fall short on both funding and prioritisation.
New survey data shows that one in 10 workers have had to fund training themselves, prompting concern about inadequate workplace protections, particularly in high-risk sectors.
The findings, published in the Learner Report 2025 by training provider Astutis, are based on a survey of 920 employees. Nearly a third (31%) of respondents said their employer’s health and safety training budget was insufficient for the risks involved in their role. Half (50%) also admitted training was often skipped due to time constraints at work.
Safety Knowledge Still Treated as Optional
“When workers are reaching into their wallets for absolutely critical training, it’s a wake-up call,” said Astutis Managing Director Steve Terry. “We’re not just talking about professional development, but we’re talking about life-saving knowledge being treated as an option rather than an absolute necessity.”
He said that in “fast-paced sectors, safety generally gets squeezed and is considered something to just do when you’ve got the time on your hands. However, to businesses, the cost of an accident, injury or regulatory fine, as well as the sadness and psychological side effects, far outweighs the time it takes to train a team.
“Putting in an extra few hours of training with someone could potentially save their life at work.”
The report identified construction, logistics and manufacturing as some of the sectors where the funding gap is particularly pronounced, despite these being among the most hazardous industries to work in.
Fatality Figures Expose Industry Risks
The latest government figures, published last month, revealed that 124 people died in workplace incidents between March 2024 and March 2025. Falls from height were the most common cause of death, accounting for 35 fatalities.
The construction industry recorded the highest number of deaths (35), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (23).
In addition, a total of 33.7 million working days were lost to work-related illness and injury during the same period, placing a significant burden on businesses, employees and the wider economy.
Culture as Important as Compliance
The Learner Report also pointed to a deeper cultural issue. When asked what made a workplace safer, 51% of employees said it came down to colleague behaviour, not rules or lack of knowledge.
This suggests that while training is vital, it must be part of a wider cultural shift where safety is treated as a shared, everyday responsibility rather than a box-ticking exercise. Without a culture of accountability and behavioural consistency, experts say even well-trained teams may fall short in preventing avoidable incidents.
While financial constraints were cited as a major obstacle, many workers also reported that health and safety simply wasn’t prioritised in day-to-day operations. Time pressure and production demands often pushed training off the agenda.
This approach, experts warn, may save minutes on the clock but risks far greater losses in the event of an accident, from human injury to costly legal exposure.
The findings suggest that for training to be effective, employers must treat it as an essential part of operational planning, not an afterthought.
Steps Employers Can Take
There are several steps employers can take to close the training gap and build a more safety-conscious workforce:
- Allocate protected time for training. Safety instruction must not be conditional on downtime or available hours. Build training time into work schedules and monitor compliance.
- Review and ringfence training budgets. In sectors with higher risk, budgets should be scaled appropriately and audited to ensure funding reaches the front line.
- Adopt a culture-first approach. Encourage peer-to-peer accountability, reward safe behaviour and ensure that leadership sets the tone through their own actions.
- Track behavioural indicators. Beyond pass rates or attendance, measure how safety practices are applied on the ground. Anonymous feedback, observations and incident reviews can help identify cultural weak spots.
- Make training more accessible. Explore flexible formats such as microlearning, mobile-based modules or short in-person refreshers to reduce disruption while maintaining effectiveness.
By investing in a holistic and proactive safety strategy, employers can reduce harm, improve morale and strengthen compliance, while also avoiding reputational and legal risks.