TL;DR – the short answer
Falls from height were the most common cause of fatal injury to workers in Great Britain in 2025/26, accounting for 31 of 126 deaths, around a quarter, according to HSE. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 set a simple order of priorities: avoid work at height where you reasonably can, prevent falls where you can’t, and minimise the distance and consequences of any fall that could still happen. For cleaning, that usually means ground-based methods first and properly planned powered access second.
On 1 July 2026, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its annual figures on work-related deaths. The headline was positive: 126 workers were killed in 2025/26, which HSE describes as provisionally the lowest number on record outside the pandemic years [1]. But one finding hasn’t changed in years. Falls from height remain the single biggest killer.
Cleaning and facilities work involves a lot of height: windows and atriums, high-level ductwork, warehouse racking, signage, gutters and light fittings. This article looks at what the latest numbers say, what the law requires, and the practical ways to keep people safe when the job is above head height.
31
Workers killed by falls from height in 2025/26, around a quarter of all worker deaths
Source: HSE, 2026
8%
of employee non-fatal injuries reported under RIDDOR in 2024/25 were falls from height
Source: HSE, 2025
40
Worker deaths among those aged 60+ in 2025/26, despite being 12% of the workforce
Source: HSE, 2026
HSE’s 2025/26 fatal injury release reported [1]:
Non-fatal falls matter too. HSE’s 2024/25 summary statistics show 59,219 employee non-fatal injuries reported by employers under RIDDOR, with falls from a height accounting for 8% and slips, trips or falls on the same level for 30% [2]. Across all workers, an estimated 680,000 suffered a self-reported non-fatal injury at work in 2024/25 [2].
Plain-English definition: HSE defines work at height as work in any place where, if no precautions were taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. Examples include working on a ladder or flat roof, or anywhere you could fall through a fragile surface or into an opening [3].
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR) apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause injury. HSE’s brief guide, INDG401, says their purpose is to prevent death and injury from a fall, and sets out a clear hierarchy for duty holders [3]:
| Priority | What HSE says | Cleaning example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Avoid | Avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so | Clean upper-floor glazing with a water-fed pole from the ground; use extension tools for low-level high dusting |
| 2. Prevent | Where it can’t be avoided, prevent falls using an existing safe place of work or the right type of equipment | Use a MEWP or scissor lift with guard rails, or a tower scaffold with edge protection |
| 3. Minimise | Minimise the distance and consequences of a fall with the right type of equipment where the risk cannot be eliminated | Use fall-arrest or work-restraint systems and soft landing measures where appropriate |
INDG401 also lists practical expectations: do as much work as possible from the ground; make sure workers can get safely to and from where they work at height; make sure equipment is suitable, stable and strong enough for the job, and maintained and checked regularly; don’t overload or overreach; take precautions on or near fragile surfaces; protect people from falling objects; and plan emergency evacuation and rescue [3].
No. HSE explicitly says that ladders and stepladders being banned is a common misconception [3]. They can be the sensible choice for low-risk, short-duration tasks, as long as they are the right type, in good condition and used by someone trained to use them. What HSE expects is that the choice is justified by the risk assessment, not made out of habit.
For most commercial cleaning tasks above the first floor, however, there are now safer and often quicker alternatives.
Water-fed poles use purified water pumped through a telescopic carbon-fibre pole, so operatives can clean glazing several storeys up while staying on the ground. This is the clearest example of “avoid” in action, and the standard approach for routine external glazing maintenance on low- and mid-rise buildings.
Where people do need to be at height, for example to clean atrium glazing, high-level ductwork, warehouse racking tops or signage, a mobile elevating work platform with guard rails provides a stable, protected place to work. Operators should be trained and familiar with the specific machine, and the platform should be inspected and maintained in line with the relevant equipment regulations.
Telescopic high-reach vacuums and dusting tools let operatives clean light fittings, vents and ledges up to several metres from the floor without leaving the ground.
For tall or complex structures, rope access by certified technicians, or building maintenance units where fitted, may be the right answer. These need specialist planning and rescue arrangements.
Before anyone works at height: a quick pre-task check
HSE’s finding that workers aged 60 and over accounted for around a third of deaths while making up only 12% of the workforce [1] is a reminder to consider individual capability in risk assessments. Facilities and cleaning workforces often include experienced older operatives. Matching tasks to people, and preferring ground-based methods, protects everyone.
Responsibility is usually shared. The contractor controls how the work is done, but the client or building occupier has duties too: providing information about the premises (such as fragile roofs or anchor points), co-operating and co-ordinating with the contractor, and choosing a competent contractor in the first place. Asking for accreditations, training records and task-specific method statements before work starts is good practice. At Prime Facility Services, our teams hold IPAF and IOSH training and we work to ISO 9001 and Safecontractor-accredited systems.
Safe access is built into how we work. Prime Facility Services is an owner-managed company with over 20 years in commercial and industrial cleaning, based in Telford with a second office in Dudley. All our staff are insured, checked and audited under ISO, IPAF, Safecontractor and IOSH. We have held ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 since 2010 and Safecontractor since 2013.
The services that involve work at height are:
We use the reach-and-wash system, which feeds pure water up a lightweight pole, unless the windows cannot be reached that way. Then we use mobile elevated platforms or trained rope access staff. Our procedures, risk assessments and method statements are audited by SafeContractor and ISO 9001.
A risk assessment is completed before any high-level job begins. Operatives need IPAF and PASMA training to use scissor lifts, and our managing director does not permit the team to take shortcuts.
Roof, gutter and high-level inspections carried out by drone, with a digital video report, without the need for scaffolding or elevated work platforms.
Planned gutter clearance for industrial and commercial premises, to stop debris causing overflow and internal water damage.
What a safe-access plan can include
If high-level areas of your building have been left because access feels too difficult, a planned programme can bring them back into your routine.
Get a safe-access plan for your windows and high-level areas
Call 0800 566 8894 or send us details of your glazing, atriums or roof areas and we’ll propose the safest method.
Falls from height. HSE figures for 2025/26 show 31 of the 126 worker deaths in Great Britain were caused by falls from a height, around a quarter of the total.
Avoid work at height where reasonably practicable; where it can’t be avoided, prevent falls using a safe place of work or suitable equipment; and minimise the distance and consequences of a fall where the risk remains.
No. HSE says this is a common misconception. Ladders and stepladders can be used for low-risk, short-duration tasks when the risk assessment shows they are the right choice.
HSE defines it as work in any place where, without precautions, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. That includes working on ladders, roofs, platforms or near openings.
Water-fed pole systems let operatives clean glazing several storeys up from the ground, which avoids work at height for many low- and mid-rise buildings.
Falls from a height accounted for 8% of employee non-fatal injuries reported by employers under RIDDOR in 2024/25, according to HSE.
Yes. Before anyone works at height on your site, ask for a risk assessment and method statement showing the access equipment and training involved. Prime Facility Services’ window cleaning procedures, risk assessments and method statements are audited by SafeContractor and ISO 9001. Call 0800 566 8894 to discuss your building.
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