More than 1,200 catering and hotel employees were seriously injured last year in the workplace, according to figures from the Health and Safety Executive.

The numbers show a 4% increase year-on-year from the 1,178 major injuries recorded in 2003/04 to 1,224 in 2004/05.

More than half of these major injuries (55%) were as a result of slips or trips.

It pushed the rate of major injury to employees in hotels and catering from 67.1 per 100,000 employees in 2002/03 to 69.4 in 2004/05. This continued the upward trend of the previous two years.

Three people working in the catering and hotel sector were killed at work last year.

Despite this, the two most dangerous industries to work in are construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing, which contribute between them about half of all deaths at work each year in the UK.

By Chris Druce

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