Assaults Against Cornwall Council Staff Have Tripled in Three Years

Assaults on Cornwall Council staff have more than tripled in the past three years, with shocking cases involving knives and even furniture being used as weapons.

Assaults on the Rise

According to workplace injury claim specialists Legal Expert, council staff faced 148 incidents of assault in the year ending March 2025. This marks a steep rise compared to just 48 three years earlier.

Between the 2022/23 and 2024/25 financial years, the council recorded 346 reports of assaults on employees and contractors. Verbal assaults made up 285 of these, accounting for 82% of incidents.

GMB National Officer Kevin Brandstatter told Legal Expert:

“The level of verbal and physical abuse suffered by GMB members employed at local authorities is horrifying.
These are front line workers, not well paid – but they’re left to deal with aggression from the public frustrated by decisions made by their council.
GMB members are left to deal with angry tenants needing repairs to council housing, motorists raging about a parking ticket and furious parents complaining about the treatment of their children at school.
Employers have a duty of care and must make sure their workers are safe.
GMB recognises how serious this issue is.”

Injuries Reported

In total, Cornwall Council recorded 488 injuries across the three-year period, with 163 of those in 2024/25 alone.

Among the most serious incidents:

• Two staff members from the Assets, Capital & Commercial Services team were injured by a knife or sharp object.

• Two members of the Children & Family Services department were injured when furniture was used as a weapon.

The Association for Public Service Excellence had already highlighted the risks in its report, revealing that four out of five councillors said staff or officers had experienced intimidation or harassment.

Wider Picture Across Local Authorities

Legal Expert approached more than 150 local authorities in England and found that all of the nearly 100 that responded had recorded cases of abuse against staff.

The scale of the issue has also been highlighted by GMB. In a survey published in June, the union revealed that more than half of care workers had experienced physical violence at work.

Duty of Care

Legal Expert solicitor Patrick Mallon stressed the legal obligations that employers hold:

“Every employer in this country owes their employees a legal duty of care. This means they must do everything that’s reasonably practicable to keep workers safe.
That includes reasonable protection against injuries through assault. If a local authority fails to take realistic measures to ensure employees are protected, they’ve failed to uphold their legal duty.
Not every incident can be predicted or prevented. However, every employee has the right to ask if more could have been done for them and to seek legal advice if they were let down.”

Legal Expert is a firm of solicitors with decades of combined experience helping people seek workplace injury compensation. They can be reached for free 24/7 advice through calling 0800 073 8804 or using their live chat support service

📷Credit: legalexpert.co.uk