Insights

HR Compliance Checkpoints

Compliance is a performance strategy. Global safety and health estimates show nearly 3 million work-related deaths annually and 395 million non-fatal injuries, while the economic cost of occupational accidents and diseases is estimated at around 4% of global GDP. The checkpoints below are built around these risk indicators. [1][2]

Updated March 15, 2026 6 min read Risk and governance focus
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Executive summary

ILOSTAT estimates 2.93 million workers die each year from work-related causes and 395 million suffer non-fatal work injuries, while ILO economic estimates place the cost of occupational accidents and diseases at around 4% of global GDP. These numbers highlight why compliance needs a structured, auditable cadence. [1][2]

Compliance checkpoints that matter

Workplace safety and health

With 2.93 million annual deaths and 395 million non-fatal injuries, safety policies, incident reporting, and training calendars must be reviewed and enforced quarterly. [1]

Policy and legal alignment

A 4% GDP cost linked to occupational accidents and diseases signals that weak policy enforcement is expensive. Audit contracts, leave policies, and disciplinary codes every six months. [2]

Risk documentation and evidence

The scale of injuries and fatalities reinforces the need for documented training, signed acknowledgements, and incident logs to demonstrate compliance readiness. [1]

Action plan for HR leaders

  1. Run a safety and health audit each quarter to mitigate the scale of harm reflected in the 2.93 million annual deaths estimate. [1]
  2. Align contracts, leave policies, and disciplinary procedures with statutory rules to reduce the economic exposure estimated at 4% of global GDP. [2]
  3. Track incident reports and training attendance to evidence compliance and reduce exposure to the 395 million non-fatal injury benchmark. [1]
References

Sources

All statistics are sourced from the references below.

  1. ILOSTAT. Safety and health at the heart of the future of work. (Global estimates blog)
  2. ILO SafeWork. Estimating the Economic Costs of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (2014).