Table 1. Cross section of occupational safety and health (OSH) data systems, by selected nations and scope features
Scope features United States Canada Australia New Zealand United Kingdom Japan Germany Netherlands
Nonfatal Fatal Nonfatal, fatal Nonfatal, fatal Nonfatal, fatal Nonfatal, fatal Nonfatal, fatal Nonfatal, fatal Nonfatal, fatal

Key OSH organizations by role: (Reg) Regulator; (Enf) Enforcement; (Sta) Statistical; (Res) Research

(Reg/Enf) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); (Sta) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; (Res) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Reg/Sta) Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada; (Res) Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety; (Enf) varies by province or territory (All) Safe Work Australia (All) WorkSafe New Zealand; (Sta) Statistics New Zealand (All) Health and Safety Executive; (Sta) U.K. Statistics Authority (All) Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (Reg/Sta) DGUV (Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung); (Enf) Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; (Res) Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Reg/Enf) Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment; (Sta/Res) TNO; (Sta/Res) Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases

Data source(s), scheme(s)

Survey Census database Compensation Compensation, survey, census database Compensation, regulatory reporting Compensation, surveys, regulatory reporting Compensation, survey Compensation, survey Survey, census database

Scope overview

OSHA-defined recordable cases and all recordable injuries are counted. Detailed case-circumstance data require minimum of 1 day away from work. Data include traumatic injuries fulfilling a work-relationship criteria. Accepted time-loss injuries or disabilities for which the worker is compensated for lost time are included. Claims with no time loss are excluded. Each province or territory has its own workers’ compensation legislation, policy, and operating procedures. Scope limitations vary by data source and data type. Compensation data include only accepted serious claims resulting in 1 or more weeks away from work. Data include only serious/severe injuries. Definitions and scope vary by source. Worker injuries resulting from natural causes are excluded. Suicides and intentional self-harm are included. Maritime or aviation fatalities are excluded. Data include death of any person and specified injuries to workers, injuries to workers that result in worker incapacitation for more than 7 days, injuries to nonworkers that result in hospitalization for treatment, and specified injuries to nonworkers that occur on hospital premises. Data include injuries involving an absence of 4 or more days. Surveyed establishments, except those in construction, have a minimum of 10 employees. Data include injuries involving an absence of 4 or more days. Netherlands Working Conditions Survey: Accidents at work with only natural causes, such as a heart attack or a stroke, do not count.

Employment scope

Self-employed workers and workers on farms with fewer than 11 employees are excluded. Self-employed workers, volunteers, and military personnel are included. Self-employed workers opting for coverage are included. Volunteer coverage varies by province or territory. Industrial/occupational coverage varies by province or territory. Self-employed workers are excluded from workers' compensation. Unpaid and volunteer workers are excluded. Injuries on farms may not be counted. Self-employed workers not employing others are included in compensation data. Self-employed workers, except those subject to specific exemptions, are included. Self-employed workers are excluded from surveys, but may be included under workers' compensation. Self-employed workers are included. Employers Labour Survey: all Dutch enterprises of profit and nonprofit companies and institutions with at least two employees; Netherlands Working Conditions Survey: employees ages 15 to 64; Self-Employed Labour Survey: self-employed workers

Illnesses and diseases

Yes (limitations collecting illness and disease data given survey design and data source) No Yes Yes Yes Yes (coverage varies by occupational illness and disease) Yes Yes Yes

Commuting and travel

Injuries are not recordable until the work commute ends. Also not counted are injuries arising from motor vehicle accidents that occur on a company parking lot or access road while commuting to or from work. Fatal events or exposures that occurred during a person's commute to or from work are out of scope, unless the incident occurred on the employer's premises. Injuries are in scope if the travel was for work purposes (except recreational activities) or condition of employment. Workers’ compensation board determines if the worker’s injury was actually related to the job (usually defined in legislation as “in the course of employment”). All injuries experienced while travelling to or from work or while on a break away from the workplace are excluded. Injuries resulting from someone else's activity or experienced while commuting to or from work are excluded. The case should meet "reportable" criteria. Workers' compensation system grants compensation benefits for commuting accidents that are closely related to the job. Commuting accidents are included if incapacity lasted longer than 3 days. Netherlands Working Conditions Survey: Industrial accidents during commuting to or from work do not count.

Government

Federal government is excluded. State and local government exclusions vary by state law. Federal, state, and local governments are included. Yes Claims lodged by police in Western Australia and military personnel of the Australian Defense Forces are excluded. Workers of a New Zealand organization (e.g., defense forces and police) who are injured outside of New Zealand are excluded. Yes Yes Yes Yes