Despite ongoing campaigns to raise awareness and an ongoing tightening of regulations, falls from height remain one of the most persistent causes of workplace injury in the UK. 

As working practices evolve, with more maintenance, inspection and specialist work happening in non-traditional environments, new risks are emerging and familiar mistakes continue to resurface. Here’s a breakdown of the key risks and oversights that safety managers and business owners need to watch for:

1. Incomplete or Outdated Risk Assessments
One of the most common failings identified in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations is poorly conducted or out-of-date risk assessments. In dynamic environments such as construction sites or facilities management contracts, failing to update assessments in line with changing conditions or new equipment can leave workers exposed. In 2025, the use of digital, cloud-based risk assessment tools is helping some firms but there remains an inconsistent approach to adopting these methods.

2. Inadequate Edge Protection and Fall Prevention
A lack of proper guardrails, toe boards or edge protection is a recurring issue in fall prevention. In particular, temporary or short-term jobs (replacing signage, cleaning skylights or emergency repairs, etc) often involves cutting corners. Employers sometimes wrongly assume short-duration tasks carry less risk but statistically these account for a disproportionate number of incidents.

3. Misuse or Poor Maintenance of Access Equipment
Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), scaffolds and ladders continue to feature in working at height incidents. A rising concern in 2025 is the informal modification of access equipment (using makeshift stabilisers, or stacking materials to extend reach, etc). Additionally, inadequate inspection regimes for equipment, particularly among contractors and smaller operators, increases the likelihood of equipment failure.

4. Over-reliance on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
While equipment such as harnesses and lanyards remain vital, there's a worrying trend of PPE being treated as a first-line control rather than a last resort. HSE continues to stress the importance of collective protective measures, like fixed barriers and work platforms, taking priority. Furthermore, in 2025, smart PPE with integrated sensors and fall-detection is gaining ground but uptake remains limited outside of major infrastructure projects.

5. Lack of Worker Competency and Refresher Training
Competency remains a significant gap - particularly for occasional or seasonal workers. Employees are too often receiving one-off training with no follow-up, despite skills and awareness degrading over time. New risks from emerging equipment or methods require updated training content, which many businesses have yet to implement.

6. Poor Permit-to-Work and Oversight Processes
Breakdowns in permit-to-work systems continue to lead to unsafe working at height activities. This is especially problematic in multi-contractor environments like construction sites, commercial facilities and events spaces. Digital permit systems are increasingly available but remain under-used.

7. Ignoring Environmental and Weather Risks
High winds, wet surfaces and poor visibility remain key contributors to working at height incidents. In 2025, whilst weather monitoring apps and real-time site dashboards exist, many businesses still fail to suspend work when conditions deteriorate, either through commercial pressure or poor decision-making processes.