Reduce the number of work-related accidents in your company by monitoring the frequency rate.
Calculating and tracking the frequency rate enables companies to monitor and control occupational risk, and manage the absenteeism that may result.
Companies, particularly those in the industrial sector, have an obligation to ensure the health and safety of their employees at work, in particular by monitoring the frequency rate of workplace accidents, as well as their severity rate.
What exactly is the frequency rate? How do you calculate the accident frequency rate? Discover this HR indicator and other metrics for measuring occupational risk.
What is the frequency rate?
The frequency rate is an HR indicator that measures the degree to which employees are exposed to occupational risk, by calculating the number of workplace accidents resulting in at least one day's absence from work per million hours worked.
It enables companies to estimate the frequency of accidents in the workplace, in order to better prevent occupational accidents and help implement an effective risk prevention strategy.
Why use the frequency rate?
- to assess the degree of exposure to occupational risk,
- track changes in the indicator from year to year, to measure the effectiveness of actions taken,
- compare with similar companies and with the industry average,
- check that occupational health and safety targets are being met,
- guide the risk prevention strategy and action plan.
The limits of the frequency rate
Is the frequency rate really a sufficient indicator for measuring the performance of occupational health and safety measures?
It would appear that it does not provide a faithful representation of reality. Taking only this indicator into account can distort a company's view of safety management, as it :
- bases its analysis solely on past events,
- does not analyze accident causes,
- does not take accident severity into account,
- does not include minor accidents that would not be reported.
👉 It is therefore useful to supplement it with other indicators in order to offer a more refined analysis, and more effectively guide the action plan of measures to limit occupational accidents.
How to calculate the frequency rate of workplace accidents?
Calculating the frequency rate
The calculation takes into account three factors
- the number of workplace accidents resulting in at least 24 hours' absence from work. This figure excludes the day of the accident.
- the number of hours worked. This corresponds to the number of full-time employees multiplied by the number of hours worked per year.
- one million hours. Why multiply by such a high figure? Simply because it makes round numbers with few decimal places easier to remember and interpret. It is also estimated that one million corresponds to the number of full-time hours worked in a lifetime, multiplied by 10.
Formula for calculating the frequency rate (TF1)Number of lost-time accidents / Number of hours worked x 1,000,000
👉 Example of workplace accident frequency rate calculation
A company with 10 full-time employees working 35 hours a week.
- 1 accident resulted in lost time over the past year,
- number of hours worked: 10 employees x (35 h x 47 working weeks) = 16,450.
Calculation: (1 / 16,450) x 1,000,000 = 60.79
☝️ Note: the frequency rate can also be calculated on a monthly basis.
Other frequency rate calculation methods
While the most common formula for calculating the frequency rate only takes into account accidents at work resulting in lost time, you can also calculate it in two other ways:
- by counting all reported accidents, even those not resulting in lost time (TF2 frequency rate),
- by counting all reported accidents, including minor ones (TF3 frequency rate).
A minor accident is a workplace accident requiring neither medical treatment nor time off work.
Formula for calculating the frequency rate (TF2)Number of accidents reported / Number of hours worked x 1,000,000
Frequency rate calculation formula (TF3)Number of accidents reported + minor accidents / Number of hours worked x 1,000,000
Calculation of frequency index
This indicator calculates the average number of work stoppages caused by occupational accidents per 1,000 employees.
Calculating the frequency indexNumber of lost-time accidents / Average annual workforce (FTE) x 1,000
Calculating accident severity
What is the severity rate? The severity rate measures the seriousness of a work-related accident: the longer the period of time lost from work, the more serious the accident.
Two indicators complement the frequency rate:
- the severity rate,
- and the severity index.
The severity rate
To calculate the severity rate, we need to take into account the number of working days lost as a result of the stoppage, including potential relapses, and the number of days of stoppage over the year N.
Calculation of the severity rate (SR)Number of working days lost / Number of hours worked x 1,000
Severity index
If a work-related accident results in disability beyond the period of lost time, this indicator can be used to calculate the permanent disability rate.
It is determined in consultation with an Assurance Maladie doctor, if the accident has left any after-effects.
Calculation of the severity index (SI)Total permanent disability rate / Number of hours worked x 1,000,000
Easily calculate frequency rate with software
What if you were to abandon your multiple Excel files filled with complicated formulas, and automate the calculation of your accidentology indicators and their graphic representation?
There's nothing like HR software to help you manage occupational risk more easily, and be more efficient in implementing preventive and corrective measures.
Factorial, all-in-one HRIS software
Factorial is an all-in-one HRIS tool designed to digitalize HR processes for small and medium-sized businesses. Already adopted by over 60,000 companies, Factorial offers a fluid, modern interface for managing and optimizing all your company's HR processes. There's also a special health and safety section for your employees, which takes care of a panel of indicators for their well-being.
With Factorial :
- management of accidents at work and commuting accidents, with calculation of frequency rate, severity rate, rate and amount paid to social security for occupational injury contributions, etc,
- monitoring of employees' occupational illnesses,
- handling of the classification code for the material elements of accidents, for a breakdown of accidents by type,
- budgeting for prevention and safety, and details of health, safety and working conditions committees.
GrafiQ, a tool for managing HR and occupational risk
GrafiQ by QuickMS is a 100% digital social management solution, helping VSEs, SMEs and ETIs to manage and automate their human resources. The tool gives you access to over 800 indicators in just a few clicks, thanks to DSN files. In particular, it enables you to calculate and monitor occupational risks, by creating your own customized dashboards.
With GrafiQ you can :
- record the number of workplace accidents,
- categorize workplace accidents according to different criteria to facilitate analysis (by reason, period, gender, etc.),
- comment on your dashboards to provide context and additional information,
- easily access frequency and severity rates,
- track changes in indicators from one year to the next,
- perform analyses by facility, department or organizational unit.
Prévisoft, a specialized occupational health and safety management solution
Prévisoft is a software package specialized in occupational health and safety management. Available online, this solution helps small and large companies manage workplace accidents and occupational illnesses. It features specific modules to adapt to your sector: management of chemical risks, risks associated with equipment or waste, etc.
With Prévisoft :
- declaration of workplace accidents and transmission to Assurance Maladie,
- management of relapses, extended sick leave and monitoring of the duration of sick leave,
- supervision and organization of employee medical check-ups (scheduling, invitations, etc.),
- reporting minor accidents,
- calculating frequency and severity rates.
The average frequency rate in France
When we take a serious look at the subject of lost-time accidents in the workplace and the frequency rate, we naturally try to compare it with other companies, to see whether we're above or below the average.
The average frequency rate in France is 22.7
sinistralité 2016” de l’Assurance Maladie
This figure gives an idea of the national average, but it is of little relevance to make a comparison with your own company, as not all trades and sectors are subject to the same level of risk.
For example, the average frequency rate for metallurgy or road haulage will logically be higher than that of a bank.
Here are the average rates by sector in the same Assurance Maladie report:
| Sectors of activity | Frequency rate |
| Food | 29,2 |
| CONSTRUCTION | 38,9 |
| Wood, furniture, paper-cardboard, textiles | 27,4 |
| Chemicals, rubber, plastics | 16,6 |
| Non-food trade | 14,8 |
| Metallurgy | 19,5 |
| Services I (banking, insurance, etc.) | 7,8 |
| Services II (health) and temporary work | 32,2 |
| Transport, GSE, books, communications | 28,6 |
What's more, not all departments and professions within the same company are subject to the same level of occupational risk.
Towards a culture of risk prevention
Tracking changes in the frequency index and other indicators, such as the severity rate, provides an accurate picture of occupational risk control, and enables more precise action to be taken.
Above all, however, companies need to establish a genuine culture of prevention within their establishments. This means raising awareness of these risks among managers and other staff, so that they can be better spotted, neutralized or avoided.
Encouraging the reporting of minor accidents and other safety-related incidents enables better feedback and, consequently, better risk analysis, so that preventive rather than corrective action can be taken.