Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
A fatal accident at work is defined as an accident which leads to the death of a victim within one year of the accident.
The variables collected on accidents at work include:
Economic activity of the employer and size of the enterprise
Employment status, occupation, age, sex and nationality of victim
Geographical location, date and time of the accident
Type of injury, body part injured and the severity of the accident (number of full calendar days during which the victim is unfit for work excluding the day of the accident, permanent incapacity or death within one year of the accident).
Variables on causes and circumstances of the accident: workstation, working environment, working process, specific physical activity, material agent of the specific physical activity, deviation and material agent of deviation, contact - mode of injury and material agent of contact - mode of injury.
The data is presented in form of numbers, percentages, incidence rates and standardised incidence rates of non-fatal and fatal accidents at work, either for EU aggregates, countries or certain breakdowns by dimensions such as age, sex etc.
Numbers correspond to a simple count of all non-fatal and fatal accidents for the entirety or certain breakdowns of the data;
Percentages represent shares of breakdowns;
The incidence rate of non-fatal or fatal accidents at work is the number of serious or fatal accidents per 100,000 persons in employment;
The standardised incidence rates of non-fatal or fatal accidents at work aim to eliminate differences in the structures of countries' economies (see section 20.6 Adjustment for more details).
The incidence rate indicates the relative importance of non-fatal or fatal accidents at work in the working population. For both types of accidents at work the numerator is the number of accidents that occurred during the year. The denominator is the reference population (i.e. the number of persons in employment) expressed in 100,000 persons.
The reference population (or number of persons in employment) related to the national ESAW reporting system is provided by the Member States, either from administrative sources related to accidents at work or from the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS) (Eurostat website | LFS overview).
3.2. Classification system
The following classifications are used in ESAW:
NACE Rev. 2: 2nd revision of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community managed by Eurostat. For ESAW data NACE Rev. 2 is used from reference year 2008 onwards; ISCO-08: International Standard Classification of Occupations managed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (revision of 2008). ISCO-08 should be used from reference year 2011 onwards (not all countries use it yet); NUTS 2016: Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics. The current NUTS 2016 classification is valid from 1 January 2018, though many datasets will still include other NUTS versions. ICSE-93: International Classification by Status in Employment (revision of 1993).
3.3. Coverage - sector
All economic sectors A - S according to NACE Rev. 2 should in principle be covered from reference year 2013 onwards. Before the reference year 2013, there was no obligation to cover sectors outside the so-called 'common branches' A and C – N. However, most Member States covered those non-common sectors C and O – S as well as T and U before on a voluntary basis.
The NACE sectors are (all branches, at one digit level):
A AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING
B MINING AND QUARRYING
C MANUFACTURING
D ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY
E WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES
F CONSTRUCTION
G WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES
H TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE
I ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICE ACTIVITIES
J INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
K FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES
L REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES
M PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
N ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES
O PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY
P EDUCATION
Q HUMAN HEALTH AND SOCIAL WORK ACTIVITIESR ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION
S OTHER SERVICE ACTIVITIES
T ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS; U0NDIFFERENTIATED GOODS- AND SERVICES-PRODUCING ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR OWN USE
U ACTIVITIES OF EXTRATERRITORIAL ORGANISATIONS AND BODIES
Data delivery for sectors T and U is voluntary.
Some sectors and professions are subject to confidentiality rules. According to the ESAW implementing Regulation 349/2011 (annex II), Member States deliver the following NACE Rev. 2 divisions of sector O on a voluntary basis only:
84.22 Defence activities
84.23 Justice and judicial activities
84.24 Public order and safety activities
84.25 Fire services activities
Section '3.6. Statistical population' below gives information about professions (occupations) subject to confidentiality exceptions.
In the section 'Details by economic activity (NACE Rev. 2, 2008 onwards) (hsw_n2) some data are presented at 1 and 2 digit level of NACE Rev.2 classification.
The ESAW implementing Regulation (see section 5.2 Quality assessment) requires that Member States send data on accidents of 'employees'. Data on accidents of self-employed, family workers and other employment types are voluntary.
This file contains, besides other information, a detailed overview about coverage of economic sectors and employment types.
3.3.2. Additional comments on coverage of Economic sectors (NACE Rev.2)
No additional comments.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
A fatal accident at work is defined as an accident which leads to the death of a victim within one year of the accident. In practice the notification of an accident as fatal ranges from national registration procedures where the accident is registered as fatal when the victim dies during the same day (Netherlands) or within 30 days after the accident (Germany) to cases where no time limits are laid down (Belgium, Greece, France except for deaths occurring after the recognition of a permanent disability, Italy, Luxemburg, Austria, Sweden and Norway). For the other Member States the time limit is one year, except for Spain where the limit is 1,5 years after the date of the accident.
In a typical fatal accident at work, the death occurs within a few days after the day of the accident and the limitation to the day of the accident would result already in a significant underestimation of such very severe accidents.
The ESAW methodology is in accordance with the ILO (International Labour Office) "Resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries (resulting from occupational accidents)" adopted by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians in October 1998.
The following 15 phase I and II variables have to be sent by Member States to Eurostat from reference year 2011 onwards on an annual basis:
1. Case number 2. Economic activity of the employer (NACE) 3. Occupation of Victim (ISCO) 4. Age of Victim 5. Sex of Victim 6. Type of Injury 7. Part of Body Injured 8. Geographical Location of the Accident 9. Date of the Accident 10. Time of the Accident (optional) 11. Size of the Enterprise (optional) 12. Nationality of the Victim (optional) 13. Employment Status of the Victim 14. Days Lost (severity) 15. Weight ESAW collection
In addition, three of the following nine phase III variables on 'causes and circumstances of the accident' have to be sent annually to Eurostat from reference year 2013 onwards:
16. - 18. Workstation, Working Environment, Working Process 19. - 20. Specific Physical Activity, Material Agent associated with the of Specific Physical Activity 21. - 22. Deviation, Material Agent associated with the Deviation 23. - 24. Contact - mode of injury, Material Agent associated with the Contact - Mode of injury.
Finally, the weight on Causes and Circumstances has to be sent if the Member State applies an additional sampling for the encoding of the ESAW Phase III variables on causes and circumstances. If not applicable the default value is 1.
The definition of the variables is stated in the Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 and further specified in the ESAW methodology.
3.4.1. Coverage of ESAW variables – annual update expected
Please check the Annex 1, table 3.4.1.
3.4.2. Coverage of ESAW variables - day lost- annual update expected
Please check the Annex 1, table 3.4.2.
3.4.3. Coverage of ESAW variables- weight - annual update expected
Please check the Annex 1, table 3.4.3.
3.4.4. Additional comments on coverage of ESAW variables
No additional comments.
3.5. Statistical unit
Data are collected for each accident.
If a person is a victim of more than one accident during the reference year, several cases are reported (one for each accident).
If there are several victims in the same event of accident, also several cases are reported (one for each victim).
3.6. Statistical population
In principle all accidents at work should be covered that fulfil the definition of '18.4. Statistical concepts and definitions'.
In terms of employment types covered, Member States are required to report on 'employees'. The other employment types (self-employed, family members, students and others) are voluntary.
In addition to NACE sector O (see section 18.3. Coverage – sector), some professions (occupations) are also subject to national confidentiality rules and delivered on a voluntary basis as mentioned in annex II of the ESAW implementing Regulation 349/2011:
For ISCO – 08:
0 Armed forces occupations
3351 Customs and border inspectors
3355 Police inspectors and detectives
541 Protective services workers
5411 Fire-fighters
5412 Police officers
5413 Prison guards
5414 Security guards
5419 Protective services workers not elsewhere classified
3.6.1. Coverage of Employment status - annual update expected
Please check the Annex 1, table 3.6.1.
3.6.2. Additional comments on coverage of professional status
No additional comments.
3.6.3. Coverage of Accidents outside premises - annual update expected
3.6.5. Additional comments on coverage of accidents outside premises
No additional comments.
3.7. Reference area
Data are available for all EU-Member States, Iceland (from 2012), Norway and Switzerland.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data are available since reference year 1994 for all EU-15 Member States, from 1995 also for Norway.
In addition, Croatian data are included since 2010.
Data for Switzerland was added from 2004 and Icelandic data from 2012.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable
The following measurement units are used in ESAW data:
Numbers of accidents
Percentages of accidents (in relation to different totals and breakdowns)
Incidence rates of accidents: number of accidents per 100,000 workers
Standardised incidence rates: number of accidents per 100,000 workers adjusted for the relative sizes of economic sectors at EU level (see section 18.6 Adjustment for more details)
The calendar year during which the accidents were reported to have taken place (reference year).
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
The implementing Regulation under which Member States report ESAW data to Eurostat is Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 of 11 April 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work, as regards statistics on accidents at work (text with EEA relevance; see Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 on European statistics on accidents at work).
The afore mentioned Regulation 349/2011 implements the framework Regulation EC N° 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work (see Eur-Lex: Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 ).
Commission Decision 2011/231 of 11 April 2011 grants derogations to certain Member States with respect to the transmission of statistics pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 of 11 April 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work, as regards statistics on accidents at work (see Decision 2011/231/EU Derogations under Reg. 1338/2008).
The ESAW summary methodology (version of 2013), defines further details of the data to be transmitted (see ESAW methodology version of 2013).
The health and safety at work strategy of the EU from 2007 until 2012 was: Community strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work (see Community strategy 2007-2012).
The health and safety strategy of the EU from 2002 and 2006 was: Commission Communication COM (2002) 118 Final and Council resolution 2002/C 161/01 on a new Community strategy for safety and health at work 2002-2006 (Community strategy 2002-2006).
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in § 34 and § 35 of the Official Statistics Act.
All users have been granted an equal access to official statistics: this means that the dissemination dates of official statistics have to be announced in advance and no user category (incl. Eurostat, state authorities and mass media) can have access to the official statistics (results of official statistical surveys) before other users.
Statistical information is first published in the Statistical Database.
In case a news release is published based on the same data, the information provided in the relevant news release is simultaneously published in the Statistical Database. Official statistics are available on the website at 8.00 a.m. on the date announced in the release calender.
Annual
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Not published.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Data was used in a publication named „ Statistical Yearbook of Estonia”. Data is publishend in the Annual Report on Work Environment: Annual Report of Work Environment 2022
Table „Registered accidents at work by sex and age group“ TKA01: 2018 year - 320; 2019 year - 331; 2020 year - 307; 2021 year - 196; 2022 year - 236; 2023 year - 132; 2024 year - 129
Table „Registered accidents at work by economic activity (EMTAK 2008)“ TKA02 : 2018 year - 185; 2019 year - 222; 2020 year - 296; 2021 year - 291; 2022 year - 423; 2023 year - 343; 2024 year - 470
Table „Fatal accidents at work“ TKA03 : 2018 year - 128; 2019 year - 132; 2020 year - 139; 2021 year - 152; 2022 year - 122; 2023 year - 75; 2024 year - 66
Table „Accidents at work resulting in more than 3 days absence from work by sex“ TKA05 : 2018 year - 164; 2019 year - 149; 2020 year - 143; 2021 year - 211; 2022 year - 147; 2023 year - 95; 2024 year - 277
Table „Accidents at work resulting in more than 3 days absence from work by sector of economy“ TKA06: 2018 year - 93; 2019 year - 92; 2020 year - 72; 2021 year - 58; 2022 year - 22; 2023 year - 36; 2024 year - 44
The dissemination of data collected for the purpose of producing official statistics is guided by the requirements provided for in § 34, § 35, § 36, § 37, § 38 of the Official Statistics Act.
Access to micro-data and anonymisation of micro-data are regulated by Statistics Estonia’s „Procedure for dissemination of confidential data for scientific purposes”: use-confidential-data-scientific-purposes.
All countries provide metadata (see metadata annex).
10.7. Quality management - documentation
This file and similar files of (other) countries consitute the documentation available on data quality of ESAW.
11.1. Quality assurance
Quality considerations play a central role with regard to Eurostat corporate management as well in the day-to-day statistical operations.
The European Statistics Code of Practice (ESAW summary methodology version of 2013) sets the standard for developing, producing and disseminating European statistics. It builds upon a common European Statistical System (ESS).
The Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (ESS QAF) identifies possible activities, methods and tools that can provide guidance and evidence for the implementation of the Code of Practice when developing, producing and disseminating European statistics.
Eurostat organises about each year a Working Group on European Statistics on Accidents at Work, in which statistics and its metadata are presented. In particular, various quality issues such as data coverage and reporting levels are discussed and related improvements are discussed.
Data validation measures are desribed in concept 18.4. data validation.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Statistics Estonia performs all statistical activities according to an international model (Generic Statistical Business Process Model – GSBPM).
According to the GSBPM, the final phase of statistical activities is overall evaluation using information gathered in each phase or sub-process (this information includes, among other things, feedback from users, process metadata, system metrics and suggestions from employees).
This information is used to prepare the evaluation report which outlines all the quality problems related to the specific statistical activity and serves as input for improvement actions.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Users’ suggestions and information about taking them into account are available on the Statistics Estonia website.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Since 1996 Statistics Estonia conducts reputation surveys and user surveys.
12.3. Completeness
In compliance with the rules (regulations).
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
All of the I-III variables are 100% covered.
12.3.1.1. Global reporting level of Economic sectors (NACE Rev.2) - annual update expected
53%
12.3.1.2. Additional comments on global reporting level
12.3.1.4. Additional comments on reporting levels by Economic sector (NACE Rev.2)
No additional comments.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
As an administrative data collection, the data transmitted by Member States to Eurostat are thought to exactly reflect the number of accidents notified to the relevant national authorities. Therefore, ESAW data are considered to have a high level of accuracy in relation to the absolute number of accidents notified in Member States.
Significant issues for the accuracy of ESAW are, however, under-coverage and under-reporting of accidents in several countries (see other sections in this file for more information).
Under-coverage means that a known part of the economy or workforce of a country is not covered by the data, for example if an economic sector or a certain professional status (e.g. self-employed) is by definition not included in the notification system.
Under-reporting means that certain accidents that should have been reported were in fact not reported, e.g. if enterprises or workers are not aware of the obligation/possibility to notify or if they are afraid of the consequences of notification for the company such as investments in health and safety. In general, it is thought that most fatal and very severe accidents are reported. In addition, it is assumed that more non-fatal and less severe accidents are reported in insurance based systems offering significant financial compensation for victims more accidents.
The national ESAW data sources are the notifications of accidents at work, either to national insurance systems for accidents at work or to relevant national authorities such as labour inspectorates in the framework of a universal social security system (this is the case for EE).
Incidence rates and standardised incidence rates (number of accidents per 100,000 workers) vary often strongly between the two main types of notification systems, the insurance based and the universal social security based systems as listed before.
Non-fatal accidents (serious accidents) at work:
Incidence rates are often only comparable between Member States of the same notification system (insurance or universal social security). In some Member States, weights are added to adjust the number of accidents, e.g. using data from Labour Force Surveys (LFS).
Fatal accidents at work:
In general, fatal accidents at work are assumed to be of higher accuracy than non-fatal accidents at work as fatal accidents are usually investigated by relevant state authorities.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Eurostat and the NSIs try to reduce non-sampling errors through continuous methodological improvements and survey process improvements such as computer assisted price collection, which can help avoiding coding and typing errors.
13.3.1. Coverage error
The sectors covered where mentioned in the section 12.3.1.1.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not available.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not applicable.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not applicable
13.3.3. Non response error
Not applicable.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.4. Processing error
Not available
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
The legal requirement for Member States is to send Eurostat ESAW data until 30 June of year N+2, where N is the reference year in which the accidents took place.
As soon as one or several Member States have sent their data they are published on the Eurostat website. In some cases this may happen already some months before the legal deadline of June.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
Approximately 12 months after the end of the reference year (experience of previous years).
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Approximately 21 months after the end of the reference year (experience of previous years).
14.2. Punctuality
Not applicable.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Not applicable.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
International statistics on accidents at work are based on the common ESAW (European Statistics on Accidents at Work) methodology.
However, differences in unemployment insurance systems should be taken into account in cross-country comparisons.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable
15.2. Comparability - over time
In general, comparability over time is good.
Still, upon interpretation of the data, it should be remembered that the reporting of accidents at work has improved over time.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
The last major break for ESAW data was between 2007 and 2008 including a change from NACE Rev.1 to NACE Rev. 2 and concerning the addition of the 13 new Member States which joined the EU in 2004, 2007 and 2013 respectively.
Therefore, the length of comparable ESAW time series is for example 16 years for reference years 2008 - 2023.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
When comparing data from different sources methodological differences need to be kept in mind.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not applicable
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable
15.4. Coherence - internal
The outputs of the statistical activity are coherent.
There is currently no cost/burden analysis available for ESAW data at EU level.
The published data may be revised if the methodology is modified, if errors are discovered, if new or better data become available.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not available.
18.1. Source data
Eurostat receives ESAW data from the relevant national authority or insurance system (administrative data sources).
The original national data is gathered by the Labour Inspectorate. Either the employees notify the employers and the data is then sent to the Labour Inspectorate or the employee notifies the doctor who then notifies the Labour Inspectorate about the accident at work.
The number of employed persons (reference populations) and the estimates are provided based on the national Labour Force Survey.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual.
18.3. Data collection
ESAW data are extracted from relevant national administrative databases according to ESAW concepts, definitions, variables and classifications (see also section '18.1. Source data' above).
18.4. Data validation
Various automatic and manual checks are performed on ESAW data transmitted from Member States to Eurostat in order to identify possible errors and inconsistencies with the ESAW methodology.
Countries are asked to check all inconsistencies and corrections and re-send data if necessary.
Validation activities at EU level include:
completeness of data files transmitted (variable fields)
correctness of codes for each variable
comparing aggregated data at EU level with aggregates at national level
coverage of variables, sectors, employment types and other breakdowns
checking for differences in reporting levels (under-reporting)
comparing ESAW reference populations with EU Labour Force Survey (LFS) populations
consistency of totals and various breakdowns
use of use of variable weights to correct for sampling and/or under-reporting
checking for outliers
18.5. Data compilation
11 out of 31 countries provide weights for non-fatal accidents. Eurostat uses these weights to calculate the number of accidents and all derived indicators.
EU aggregates are calculated on the basis of available data from countries.
Standardised and non-standardised incidence rates are calculated using number of accidents and reference populations (see relevant annex to this file).
Standardised incidence rates are calculated in addition to normal incidence rates in order to eliminate the effect that some countries have larger high-risk sectors than others. The standarisation method consists in multiplying incidence rates with weights corresponding to the shares of sectoral workforces in the total EU workforce. High-risk sectors are those in which the number of work accidents per 100,000 workers is typically higher. Examples are the sectors transport, construction, manufacturing and agriculture (in particular concerning some occupations within these sectors).
For more details, please refer to the ESAW summary methodology and to the annex of this file.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not applicable.
18.6. Adjustment
In general, there are no adjustments done for ESAW data.
ESAW standardised and non-standardised incidence rates are checked to some degree for outliers.
In case of unreasonable high or low values of these incidence rates, in particular for certain more detailed breakdowns of data, Eurostat may remove related incidence rates from dissemination and replace the values by appropriate codes.
As ESAW is an annual administrative data collection, there are no seasonal adjustments nor other time series adjustments done.
A fatal accident at work is defined as an accident which leads to the death of a victim within one year of the accident.
The variables collected on accidents at work include:
Economic activity of the employer and size of the enterprise
Employment status, occupation, age, sex and nationality of victim
Geographical location, date and time of the accident
Type of injury, body part injured and the severity of the accident (number of full calendar days during which the victim is unfit for work excluding the day of the accident, permanent incapacity or death within one year of the accident).
Variables on causes and circumstances of the accident: workstation, working environment, working process, specific physical activity, material agent of the specific physical activity, deviation and material agent of deviation, contact - mode of injury and material agent of contact - mode of injury.
The data is presented in form of numbers, percentages, incidence rates and standardised incidence rates of non-fatal and fatal accidents at work, either for EU aggregates, countries or certain breakdowns by dimensions such as age, sex etc.
Numbers correspond to a simple count of all non-fatal and fatal accidents for the entirety or certain breakdowns of the data;
Percentages represent shares of breakdowns;
The incidence rate of non-fatal or fatal accidents at work is the number of serious or fatal accidents per 100,000 persons in employment;
The standardised incidence rates of non-fatal or fatal accidents at work aim to eliminate differences in the structures of countries' economies (see section 20.6 Adjustment for more details).
The incidence rate indicates the relative importance of non-fatal or fatal accidents at work in the working population. For both types of accidents at work the numerator is the number of accidents that occurred during the year. The denominator is the reference population (i.e. the number of persons in employment) expressed in 100,000 persons.
The reference population (or number of persons in employment) related to the national ESAW reporting system is provided by the Member States, either from administrative sources related to accidents at work or from the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS) (Eurostat website | LFS overview).
24 September 2025
A fatal accident at work is defined as an accident which leads to the death of a victim within one year of the accident. In practice the notification of an accident as fatal ranges from national registration procedures where the accident is registered as fatal when the victim dies during the same day (Netherlands) or within 30 days after the accident (Germany) to cases where no time limits are laid down (Belgium, Greece, France except for deaths occurring after the recognition of a permanent disability, Italy, Luxemburg, Austria, Sweden and Norway). For the other Member States the time limit is one year, except for Spain where the limit is 1,5 years after the date of the accident.
In a typical fatal accident at work, the death occurs within a few days after the day of the accident and the limitation to the day of the accident would result already in a significant underestimation of such very severe accidents.
The ESAW methodology is in accordance with the ILO (International Labour Office) "Resolution concerning statistics of occupational injuries (resulting from occupational accidents)" adopted by the Sixteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians in October 1998.
The following 15 phase I and II variables have to be sent by Member States to Eurostat from reference year 2011 onwards on an annual basis:
1. Case number 2. Economic activity of the employer (NACE) 3. Occupation of Victim (ISCO) 4. Age of Victim 5. Sex of Victim 6. Type of Injury 7. Part of Body Injured 8. Geographical Location of the Accident 9. Date of the Accident 10. Time of the Accident (optional) 11. Size of the Enterprise (optional) 12. Nationality of the Victim (optional) 13. Employment Status of the Victim 14. Days Lost (severity) 15. Weight ESAW collection
In addition, three of the following nine phase III variables on 'causes and circumstances of the accident' have to be sent annually to Eurostat from reference year 2013 onwards:
16. - 18. Workstation, Working Environment, Working Process 19. - 20. Specific Physical Activity, Material Agent associated with the of Specific Physical Activity 21. - 22. Deviation, Material Agent associated with the Deviation 23. - 24. Contact - mode of injury, Material Agent associated with the Contact - Mode of injury.
Finally, the weight on Causes and Circumstances has to be sent if the Member State applies an additional sampling for the encoding of the ESAW Phase III variables on causes and circumstances. If not applicable the default value is 1.
The definition of the variables is stated in the Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 and further specified in the ESAW methodology.
Data are collected for each accident.
If a person is a victim of more than one accident during the reference year, several cases are reported (one for each accident).
If there are several victims in the same event of accident, also several cases are reported (one for each victim).
In principle all accidents at work should be covered that fulfil the definition of '18.4. Statistical concepts and definitions'.
In terms of employment types covered, Member States are required to report on 'employees'. The other employment types (self-employed, family members, students and others) are voluntary.
In addition to NACE sector O (see section 18.3. Coverage – sector), some professions (occupations) are also subject to national confidentiality rules and delivered on a voluntary basis as mentioned in annex II of the ESAW implementing Regulation 349/2011:
For ISCO – 08:
0 Armed forces occupations
3351 Customs and border inspectors
3355 Police inspectors and detectives
541 Protective services workers
5411 Fire-fighters
5412 Police officers
5413 Prison guards
5414 Security guards
5419 Protective services workers not elsewhere classified
Data are available for all EU-Member States, Iceland (from 2012), Norway and Switzerland.
The calendar year during which the accidents were reported to have taken place (reference year).
As an administrative data collection, the data transmitted by Member States to Eurostat are thought to exactly reflect the number of accidents notified to the relevant national authorities. Therefore, ESAW data are considered to have a high level of accuracy in relation to the absolute number of accidents notified in Member States.
Significant issues for the accuracy of ESAW are, however, under-coverage and under-reporting of accidents in several countries (see other sections in this file for more information).
Under-coverage means that a known part of the economy or workforce of a country is not covered by the data, for example if an economic sector or a certain professional status (e.g. self-employed) is by definition not included in the notification system.
Under-reporting means that certain accidents that should have been reported were in fact not reported, e.g. if enterprises or workers are not aware of the obligation/possibility to notify or if they are afraid of the consequences of notification for the company such as investments in health and safety. In general, it is thought that most fatal and very severe accidents are reported. In addition, it is assumed that more non-fatal and less severe accidents are reported in insurance based systems offering significant financial compensation for victims more accidents.
The national ESAW data sources are the notifications of accidents at work, either to national insurance systems for accidents at work or to relevant national authorities such as labour inspectorates in the framework of a universal social security system (this is the case for EE).
Incidence rates and standardised incidence rates (number of accidents per 100,000 workers) vary often strongly between the two main types of notification systems, the insurance based and the universal social security based systems as listed before.
Non-fatal accidents (serious accidents) at work:
Incidence rates are often only comparable between Member States of the same notification system (insurance or universal social security). In some Member States, weights are added to adjust the number of accidents, e.g. using data from Labour Force Surveys (LFS).
Fatal accidents at work:
In general, fatal accidents at work are assumed to be of higher accuracy than non-fatal accidents at work as fatal accidents are usually investigated by relevant state authorities.
The following measurement units are used in ESAW data:
Numbers of accidents
Percentages of accidents (in relation to different totals and breakdowns)
Incidence rates of accidents: number of accidents per 100,000 workers
Standardised incidence rates: number of accidents per 100,000 workers adjusted for the relative sizes of economic sectors at EU level (see section 18.6 Adjustment for more details)
11 out of 31 countries provide weights for non-fatal accidents. Eurostat uses these weights to calculate the number of accidents and all derived indicators.
EU aggregates are calculated on the basis of available data from countries.
Standardised and non-standardised incidence rates are calculated using number of accidents and reference populations (see relevant annex to this file).
Standardised incidence rates are calculated in addition to normal incidence rates in order to eliminate the effect that some countries have larger high-risk sectors than others. The standarisation method consists in multiplying incidence rates with weights corresponding to the shares of sectoral workforces in the total EU workforce. High-risk sectors are those in which the number of work accidents per 100,000 workers is typically higher. Examples are the sectors transport, construction, manufacturing and agriculture (in particular concerning some occupations within these sectors).
For more details, please refer to the ESAW summary methodology and to the annex of this file.
Eurostat receives ESAW data from the relevant national authority or insurance system (administrative data sources).
The original national data is gathered by the Labour Inspectorate. Either the employees notify the employers and the data is then sent to the Labour Inspectorate or the employee notifies the doctor who then notifies the Labour Inspectorate about the accident at work.
The number of employed persons (reference populations) and the estimates are provided based on the national Labour Force Survey.
Annual
The legal requirement for Member States is to send Eurostat ESAW data until 30 June of year N+2, where N is the reference year in which the accidents took place.
As soon as one or several Member States have sent their data they are published on the Eurostat website. In some cases this may happen already some months before the legal deadline of June.
International statistics on accidents at work are based on the common ESAW (European Statistics on Accidents at Work) methodology.
However, differences in unemployment insurance systems should be taken into account in cross-country comparisons.
In general, comparability over time is good.
Still, upon interpretation of the data, it should be remembered that the reporting of accidents at work has improved over time.
