Public sector jobs in Truro and Cornwall

Truro is Cornwall’s administrative centre, so the county’s biggest public employers are based in or near the city: Cornwall Council at New County Hall and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, known locally as Treliske. Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, schools, Devon and Cornwall Police and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service employ thousands more across the county. Distances are long and public transport thin outside the main towns, so weigh where a job is based as carefully as what it pays.

Cornwall Council

Cornwall Council became a unitary authority in 2009, replacing the old county council and six district councils. It is one of the largest councils in England by area and runs every local service in Cornwall, including adult social care, children’s services, education, housing, planning, waste, highways, libraries and the fire and rescue service. The Isles of Scilly have their own separate council.

Council jobs start from the NJC spine, with SCP 3 at £25,614 from 1 April 2026, about £13.28 an hour, and SCP 43 at £56,293. Staff can join the Local Government Pension Scheme. Many roles are based at New County Hall in Truro or at offices in Bodmin, Camborne and other towns, while social workers, occupational therapists and highways staff spend much of their time on the road.

For anyone using their own car for work, the mileage rate paid by the employer and the tax-free approved amount are not always the same, and the difference can be claimed back from HMRC. Mileage allowance and tax explains how that claim works.

The Royal Cornwall Hospital and community health

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust runs the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, on the western edge of Truro, which has Cornwall’s main emergency department, maternity unit and most specialist services. The trust also runs West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance and St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle. Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, community health and learning disability services across the county, including community hospitals and district nursing. South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust covers 999 calls.

Agenda for Change rates for England apply from 1 April 2026. Band 2 is £25,272, band 3 runs from £25,760 to £27,476, band 5 from £32,073 to £39,043 and band 6 from £39,959 to £48,117. Hospital jobs at Treliske run around the clock, and many ward roles involve long days and nights; NHS shift patterns covers how rotas and unsocial hours payments work.

People living in east Cornwall often look across the Tamar, where University Hospitals Plymouth runs Derriford Hospital. Public sector jobs in Plymouth covers it, along with the city’s council and the naval base.

Devon and Cornwall Police and the fire service

Devon and Cornwall Police covers both counties and the Isles of Scilly. New constables start on £32,255 from 1 September 2026, rising to £52,015 at PP7, and officers may be posted anywhere in the force area. The force recruits PCSOs, call handlers and other police staff as well.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is part of Cornwall Council. Firefighters receive national rates of £31,539 in development and £40,358 once competent, from 1 July 2026. Most of its stations are crewed by on-call firefighters, who need to live or work within a short distance of the station.

Schools across the county

Cornwall has many small rural primary schools and secondary schools serving large catchments, many of them academies in multi-academy trusts. Teachers are paid on the rest of England ranges: M1 is £34,069 and M6 is £46,940 from 1 September 2026, under the 3.5 per cent award the government accepted. Support staff are usually on the NJC spine and paid term-time only, so the annual figure is lower than the full-time salary shown on the spine.

Low pay, seasonal work and the Living Wage

Tourism and hospitality jobs in Cornwall are often seasonal and low paid, so the year-round hours, sick pay and pension that come with most public sector posts carry extra weight here. The legal minimum for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026. The voluntary real Living Wage, announced on 15 October 2026, is £14.10 an hour outside London. Accredited employers are expected to bring it in within six months of the announcement, and some councils and NHS trusts are accredited. The real Living Wage explains how it differs from the legal minimum and how to check whether an employer pays it.