International Workers' Memorial Day 2026

Workplace injuries can change lives overnight. Financial pressures, long-term health problems and emotional strain often follow, which is why effective workplace protection remains essential.

This International Workers' Memorial Day we want to highlight the ongoing reality that many workers still face serious risks and that safety cannot be taken for granted. 

It also offers an opportunity to consider existing protections and how we, as a society, can strengthen them while campaigning for better health and safety.

This is why we can’t lose sight of the fact that behind each reported case - whether a fatality, accident or incidence of ill-health - a person or family is battling through trauma.

What the latest workplace safety data shows

This year’s theme focuses on mental health and psychosocial risks, highlighting the effects of work pressure and insecure work on worker mental health.

Recent workplace health and safety statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) highlight a concerning trend:

• 24% increase in workplace stress
• 26% rise in new cases of work-related ill health
• 35% increase in working days lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety

Statistics can sometimes feel distant, but these figures represent hardships facing real people and demonstrate that workplace harm is not decreasing - it is evolving and, in many areas, becoming more severe. 

Times of economic uncertainty often increase these risks as more employers may cut corners, fail to pay insurance premiums or take unnecessary risks with workers’ lives. At the same time, reduced resources for regulatory bodies such as the HSE can make enforcement more difficult.

Why the UK needs an Employers' Liability Insurers' Bureau

As highlighted in our blog on the state of UK health and safety after 50 years of the HSE, several key measures remain necessary:

• Establishment of an Employers' Liability Insurers' Bureau. The template is there with the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB)
• Repeal of section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013
• Active enforcement of Compulsory Liability Insurance provisions
• Increase resource to the HSE to allow effective inspection and enforcement

However, one proposal stands out as both practical and urgently needed.

The responsibility for compliance lies with employers, not workers. The legal requirement for employers’ liability insurance has existed for more than 50 years, and it is employers who must ensure they meet that obligation. Unfortunately, not all employers do.

An Employers’ Liability Insurers' Bureau (ELIB) would provide a vital safety net for workers injured on the job who later discover their employer had no insurance in place. In such cases, recovering damages can be extremely difficult, leaving injured workers facing financial hardship when they most need support.

An ELIB would offer a clear route to compensation, helping injured workers access treatment, maintain financial stability and support their families while they recover and return to work.

Such a scheme would operate as a last resort. Employers, like motorists, are legally obliged to have insurance in place before undertaking activities that expose others to risk.

There is also a wider safety concern. Employers who avoid paying insurance premiums are unlikely to prioritise investment in proper health and safety measures, increasing the risk of workplace accidents. 

Any review of workplace protections should give serious consideration to creating such a body.

Why workplace safety must remain a priority

When people go to work, they should expect to return home safely. There are proactive measures that can reduce workplace injuries and fatalities, and these should be implemented wherever possible.

The statistics show why recognising occupational health and safety as a fundamental right at work is more important than ever. Digby Brown is committed to supporting injured workers through legal representation while continuing to highlight these issues so that workplaces become safer for all.

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Gordon Dalyell, Partner