Definition: Accidental injury at work

Category: Labour

The accidental injury at work concept follows the one used for the compilation of the ESAW (European Statistics on Accidents at Work) data ("an accident at work is a discrete occurrence in the course of work which leads to physical or mental harm"). The same inclusions of specific types of accidents [accidents in the course of work outside the premises of one's business, even if caused by a third party (on clients' premises, on another company's premises, in a public place or during transport, including road traffic accidents) and cases of acute poisoning] and the same exclusions [accidents on the way to or from work (commuting accidents), occurrences having only a medical origin (such as a heart attack at work) and non-accidental health problems] are adopted. The two main differences from the ESAW data are:

While accidents with less than 4 days' absence from work are included, fatal accidents at work are not included. The reference period of this ad hoc module covers accidents that occurred during the last 12 months before the interview, in comparison to accidents reported during a calendar year in ESAW http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/en/hsw_inj_pb_esms.htm