The 32 most dangerous jobs in the UK and how much they pay

07/05/2022

The most dangerous civilian jobs in the UK have been revealed in a new study. The ranking of 32 jobs includes paramedics and firefighters at the top and sewer flushers and painters at the bottom. The study was carried out by StandOut CV and is based on analysis and an index of mortality, injury and health risks of jobs in the UK and the US.

It found that paramedics have the most dangerous jobs in the UK, with the country’s 21,195 paramedics reporting an average of 2,993 attacks by patients each year Paramedics are the people responsible for rushing to all kinds of dangerous scenes to try and save lives every day. Seeing patients puts them at risk of various diseases, impairment to their immune systems and severe hormone secretion fluctuations due to the stressful nature of the job.

In addition to physical risks, paramedics scored highly for mental health risks. NHS data showed that paramedics taking time off for mental health conditions has rocketed 186% since 2011. Fortunately, the death rate of these key workers is very low, but they can expect to face a host of injuries, with an average of 2,993 attacks reported every year on ambulance staff by patients

When it comes to fatalities in the civilian sector, tanker and LGV drivers are most at risk. An average of 54 drivers die during their working activities each year, the study says. While civil engineers have the best pay to job danger ratio, earning an average of GBP50,000 each year and scoring a job danger score of 6.39

The analysis, by StandOut CV, analysed over 200 industry research papers and reports, ranking the most dangerous jobs in the UK and US by injury rates, fatalities, exposure to harmful chemicals, mental health risk, long-term injury risk and environmental conditions. The table below shows the top 32 dangerous jobs, the average annual salary, average weekly hours worked, and the job danger score (up to 35)

1	Paramedic	GBP32,341	37.5	19.31
2	Firefighter	GBP28,217	42	16.57
3	Oil Platform Worker	GBP40,000	54	15.06
4	Deckhand	GBP21,700	44	14.45
5	Nurse	GBP28,593	39.5	13.81
6	Prison Officer	GBP26,881	39	13.2
7	Roofer	GBP26,000	35	13.09
8	Taxi driver	GBP22,000	42	12.87
9	Farmer	GBP35,500	40	12.29
10	Door staff	GBP22,500	38	11.65
11	Police Officer	GBP30,147	38.5	11.42
12	Bin Worker	GBP21,000	39	11.23
13	Mental Health Carer	GBP35,746	42	11.17
14	Industrial Cleaner	GBP20,000	40	10.87
15	HGV Driver	GBP27,500	45	10.85
16	Surgeon	GBP64,570	42.5	10.7
17	Scaffolder	GBP29,500	44	10.23
18	Electrician	GBP30,000	35	9.31
19	Tree Surgeon	GBP29,000	42	8.73
20	Demolition Worker	GBP23,500	44	8.62
21	Quarry Worker	GBP23,000	42.5	8.58
22	Crane Operator	GBP28,500	41	7.87
23	Commercial Diver	GBP27,643	43	7.47
24	Chemical Plant Process Operator	GBP27,500	42	7.02
25	Mechanic	GBP26,500	41.5	6.83
26	Civil Engineer	GBP50,000	41	6.39
27	Forklift Driver	GBP23,500	45	6.26
28	Large Animal Vet	GBP40,000	42.5	6.1
29	Water Treatment Worker	GBP24,500	43	5.96
30	Welder	GBP27,000	45	5.74
31	Sewer Flusher	GBP45,000	45	5.69
32	Painter	GBP24,500	43	3.16

After paramedics, firefighters were found to have the second most dangerous job in the UK. Fortunately, firefighters have a very low death rate, with an average of two firefighters dying in England each year since 1986, and an average of 3.75 per year in Scotland.

Aside from the obvious risks of fire and collapsing buildings, they are at risk of hearing problems due to loud noises, studies also report the occupation has a higher risk of asthma, and one piece of research found that 60.2% of fire service staff had mental health problems, with ‘traumatic or distressing events’ being the second biggest contributing factor to this. Making up the top three most dangerous jobs in the UK, oil rig workers (referred to as Offshore drilling workers by the UK Government) scored 15.06 in our danger score index. According to the National Careers Service, these employees work an average of 54 hours a week, the highest average working week out of any job in this analysis, with a median average salary of GBP40,000.

Oil rig workers are naturally at risk of the dangers of the ocean being hundreds of miles off the coast, but they also had one of the highest injury rates (6.02%) in our analysis, with slips, trips, fractures and sprains being the most common problems. Some industry studies into oil rig workers have also found that hand trauma is extremely common. In terms of long-term illnesses, one 2021 UN study found that petrol/oil workers had an increased risk of skin, blood, prostate, urinary, and mesothelioma cancers, while various studies highlight the mental health risks of severe stress and isolation working on oil platforms.

In the US, the most dangerous job was a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat, followed by a sea diver, in second then scaffold contractor, quarrier, truck driver, logger, roofing contractor, farmer, paramedic and sewer flusher in tenth. In response to the findings, Andrew Fennell, former recruiter and current director at StandOut CV, said: “It’s not surprising to see key workers like paramedics and firefighters at the top of the list, especially over the last couple of years. These workers dedicate their lives to helping others in times of need, but it is sad to see statistics like the 3 in 5 firefighters suffering from mental health problems.”

“We hope this study encourages the public to appreciate the many people who put themselves in difficult situations to bring us vital services, and those who may go unsung like the sewer flushers and industrial cleaners of the world.”