Our Research Into Council Workplace Accident Claims
Slips, trips and falls, as well as manual handling injuries, are just some of the reasons why employees have submitted accident claims against the council over the past three years.
Employees who have been injured in a workplace accident may be able to make a claim for compensation if their employer was at fault, meaning they failed to provide a safe working environment.
Council workers, like many other occupations, could be at risk of suffering an accident at work, which can be a distressing and overwhelming experience.
To gain a true understanding of the number of workplace accident claims made against UK councils, JF Law set out to investigate.
How JF Law Can Help You
JF Law provides expert claim and legal advice services for accidents at work and employers’ liability claims. If you’ve suffered an injury at work while working for the council, we can help.
We operate a 24-hour helpline and an online claim form, which can be accessed on this website.
How We Conducted Our Research Into Accident Claims
We sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to a number of UK councils, asking how many accident claims had been made against them by council workers in the last three years. (Broken down by years 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25)
We also asked about the causes of these claims and how much compensation was paid out each financial year. (Broken down by years 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25)
Statistics On Workplace Accidents
Workplace injuries and illnesses in Britain cost around £21.6 billion annually, impacting over a million workers.
The rate of self-reported non-fatal injuries in Great Britain is currently around 1,890 per 100,000 workers, similar to the pre-coronavirus level of 2018/19.
Over the past year, 138 workers were killed in work-related accidents across the country.
Councils are responsible for work activities across some of the industry sectors reporting the highest rates of injuries.
Metropolitan District Councils
Bradford
No. of claims
2022/23 | 23
2023/24 | 16
2024/25 | 11
Total | 50
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £37,725
2023/24 | £659,509.87
2024/25 | £349,765.49
Total | £1,047,000.36
Kirklees
No. of claims
2022/23 | 11
2023/24 | 17
2024/25 | 17
Total | 45
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £74,539
2023/24 | £8,000
2024/25 | £0
Total | £82,539
Wakefield
No. of claims
2022/23 | 5
2023/24 | 7
2024/25 | 3
Total | 15
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £17,062
2023/24 | £25,185
2024/25 | £29,325
Total | £71,572
Wigan
No. of claims
2022/23 | 10
2023/24 | 17
2024/25 | 6
Total | 33
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £62,118.13
2023/24 | £34,326.24
2024/25 | £0
Total | £96,444.37
Unitary Authorities
Brighton and Hove
No. of claims
2022/23 | 13
2023/24 | 14
2024/25 | 3
Total | 30
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £181,247.46
2023/24 | £187,089
2024/25 | £276,533.44
Total | £644,869.90
Redcar and Cleveland
No. of claims
2022/23 | 4
2023/24 | 6
2024/25 | 6
Total | 16
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £54,044.66
2023/24 | £19,702
2024/25 | £59,521.23
Total | £133,267.89
Hull
No. of claims
2022/23 | 14
2023/24 | 21
2024/25 | 11
Total | 46
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £18,839.19
2023/24 | £211,719.19
2024/25 | £135,169.11
Total | £365,727.49
Nottingham
No. of claims
2022/23 | 10
2023/24 | 14
2024/25 | 11
Total | 35
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £120,462.66
2023/24 | £132,379
2024/25 | £0
Total | £252,841.66
Westmorland and Furness
No. of claims
2022/23 | 12
2023/24 | 12
2024/25 | 7
Total | 31
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £84,619
2023/24 | £56,320
2024/25 | £5,031
Total | £145,970
London Councils
Camden
No. of claims
2022/23 | 7
2023/24 | 9
2024/25 | 7
Total | 23
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £282.50
2023/24 | £0
2024/25 | £75,460
Total | £75,742.50
Ealing
No. of claims
2022/23 | 6
2023/24 | 7
2024/25 | 6
Total | 19
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £0
2023/24 | £575
2024/25 | £52,045
Total | £52,620
Hackney
No. of claims
2022/23 | 8
2023/24 | 13
2024/25 | 10
Total | 31
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £7,077
2023/24 | £88,203
2024/25 | £259,442
Total | £354,722
Lambeth
No. of claims
2022/23 | 28
2023/24 | 8
2024/25 | 26
Total | 62
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £16,500
2023/24 | £0
2024/25 | £23,050
Total | £39,550
Southwark
No. of claims
2022/23 | 4
2023/24 | 10
2024/25 | 9
Total | 23
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £185,424.97
2023/24 | £1,667,410.06
2024/25 | £20,747
Total | £1,873,582.03
Welsh Councils
Neath Port Talbot
No. of claims
2022/23 | 12
2023/24 | 6
2024/25 | 9
Total | 27
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £4,500
2023/24 | £122,690
2024/25 | £9,550
Total | £136,740
Swansea
No. of claims
2022/23 | 18
2023/24 | 24
2024/25 | 16
Total | 58
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £70,727.03
2023/24 | £131,364.58
2024/25 | £78,363.60
Total | £280,455.21
Scottish Councils
Aberdeen
No. of claims
2022/23 | 7
2023/24 | 21
2024/25 | 11
Total | 39
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £27,793.90
2023/24 | £42,419.20
2024/25 | £237
Total | £280,455.21
East Ayrshire
No. of claims
2022/23 | 19
2023/24 | 21
2024/25 | 12
Total | 52
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £49,750
2023/24 | £405,178.95
2024/25 | £130,802.75
Total | £585,731.70
East Lothian
No. of claims
2022/23 | 22
2023/24 | 24
2024/25 | 8
Total | 54
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £62,283.40
2023/24 | £40,069
2024/25 | £17,806.80
Total | £120,158.75
Falkirk
No. of claims
2022/23 | 13
2023/24 | 14
2024/25 | 12
Total | 39
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £90,074
2023/24 | £19,149
2024/25 | £2,625
Total | £111,848
Glasgow
No. of claims
2022/23 | 78
2023/24 | 71
2024/25 | 64
Total | 213
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £447,487
2023/24 | £181,804.30
2024/25 | £0
Total | £629,291.30
Scottish Borders
No. of claims
2022/23 | 4
2023/24 | 2
2024/25 | 3
Total | 9
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £399,736
2023/24 | £300,257
2024/25 | £101,061
Total | £801,054
Midlothian
No. of claims
2022/23 | 16
2023/24 | 12
2024/25 | 7
Total | 35
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £127,159.09
2023/24 | £26,538.40
2024/25 | £0
Total | £153,697.49
Stirling
No. of claims
2022/23 | 11
2023/24 | 11
2024/25 | 13
Total | 35
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £36,275.20
2023/24 | £37,237.80
2024/25 | £3,825
Total | £153,697.49
Dumfries and Galloway
No. of claims
2022/23 | 7
2023/24 | 8
2024/25 | 8
Total | 23
Total paid out in compensation (£)
2022/23 | £62,000
2023/24 | £81,000
2024/25 | £0
Total | £143,000
