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(20/11/2006) Professional services industry most at risk from assault

AXA Insurance research¹ with 67 employees who have been injured whilst working in the professional services sector over the past five years has revealed that eleven of them (16%) had received their injuries as a result of physical assault. This is much higher than the 8% average across all industries covered in the study.

The most common cause of accidents in the industry was from falling or tripping over which was cited by nearly half (46%) of people injured. Seven people (10%) were injured from lifting heavy objects.

In terms of the injuries suffered, over half (52%) suffered from strains and sprains, compared to an average of 34% across all industries. 19% of respondents got cuts. 25 people (37%) had to take time off work as a result of their injuries, with 13 (20%) needing to take more than a week off, with three of those (4%) needing more than a year to recuperate.

Across all sectors, as many as one in ten people interviewed claim to have been injured in the workplace in the past five years. The AXA study also found that employees aged over 50 are most likely to have a fall whilst doing their job (47%) compared to 28 per cent of 18-29 year olds.

Doug Barnett, risk strategy manager for AXA commented: "We are surprised by these results which show employees in the professional industry facing particular problems with physical assault in the workplace. We hope that our findings will encourage employers to sit up and take note of the dangers their staff face. Employees should also be fully briefed on health and safety procedures. Good health and safety procedures are vital to the running of a successful business. Not only is there a legal requirement to meet minimum standards but these injuries can mean employees have to take time off work to recover and lead to compensation pay outs. In light of this, we are advising all employers, to assess the potential risks and dangers that the working environment may pose to their staff and take necessary action".

Most common accidents and resulting injuries sustained in the professional services industry:

How accident / injury happened	Number of people who have suffered this in the past five years
Fall, slip or trip	46
Lifting	10
Inappropriate working environment	7
Vehicular accident	6

Most common injuries sustained	Percentage of people who have suffered this in the past five years
Musculoskeletal disorder (back pain, strains and sprained muscles	52
Cut(s)	19
Burn(s)	15
Broken bone(s)	9
Loss of mobility	4
Headaches	4

Health and safety trained sectors:

Industry	Percentage of sample in each industry who have received health and safety training
Transportation and storage	63%
Manufacturing	60%
Retail and wholesale	58%
Professional services	57%
Leisure and hospitality	50%
Technology, media, telecoms	49%

For more information about business continuity and health and safety in the workplace please go to www.axa4business.co.uk.

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About AXA

AXA UK is part of AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Western Europe , North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA had € 1,091 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2006 , and reported total revenues of € 41 billion and underlying earnings of € 2,090 million for the first half of 2006.

AXA ordinary shares are listed on the Paris Stock Exchange; AXA American Depositary Shares (ADSs) are listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol AXA.

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