Compensation for council staff injured in a violent assault at work

If you work for a council on Green Book terms and are permanently disabled, or die, as a result of a violent or criminal assault suffered in the course of your job, your employer must make a payment under Part 3, paragraph 7 of the agreement. For a death with dependants the minimum is five years’ gross pay or £35,000, whichever is greater. These are the sums in the May 2024 Green Book text, and some councils pay more.

When the provision applies

The wording covers death or permanent disablement “arising from a violent or criminal assault suffered by an employee in the course, or as a consequence, of their employment”. The second half means the attack does not have to happen on council premises or during working hours, as long as it arises from the job.

It applies to employees whose contract incorporates the national agreement. The Green Book also says an authority may pay more than the stated amounts, and may provide for circumstances other than assault if it can lawfully do so.

It does not cover minor injuries, verbal abuse or threats, and it is not a replacement for sick pay. Anyone in a job that brings face-to-face confrontation, such as civil enforcement officers, should know it exists. Whether you are covered depends on whether your contract incorporates the Green Book.

What is paid

For a death, where the employee dies within 12 months of the assault, and the authority considers that the death was caused by it, and the employee leaves one or more dependants, the sum is the equivalent of five years’ gross remuneration at the rate applying on the date of the assault, or £35,000 if that is greater. If there are no dependants the sum is £950.

For permanent total or partial disablement, the amount is a percentage of the same capital sum: five times gross remuneration at the date of the assault, or £35,000, whichever is greater. The percentage comes from a scale in the Green Book:

Injury	Share of the sum
Death, total loss of sight in one or both eyes, or loss or complete loss of use of one or both hands or feet (within 12 months of the assault)	100%
Permanent total disablement from any occupation	100%
Total loss of hearing in both ears	40%
Fracture of a leg or foot with established non-union	25%
Total loss of hearing in one ear	10%

The scale is longer than this. It lists, for example, 20 per cent for complete loss of use of a hip, knee or ankle, 30 per cent for removal of the lower jaw, 15 per cent for shortening a leg by at least 3 centimetres, and separate percentages for thumbs, fingers and toes that differ between the right and left hand and are reversed if you are left handed.

The offset against damages

For disablement, the Green Book says the payment may, at the authority’s discretion, be reduced by the amount of any damages or compensation you can recover for the same injuries. That could be a court award or compensation from the person who attacked you. The wording is “may”, so the offset is not automatic. Ask what your council does.

What to check

First, find out whether your council has a policy that mirrors or improves on Part 3 paragraph 7. Second, ask for it in writing, along with the process for notifying an incident. Third, record any assault promptly, tell your manager and make sure it goes through your council’s incident reporting system, since the employer has to decide whether the injury arose from an assault.

The council has wider duties too: employers must manage risks to their staff, and the lone working guide and health and safety rights guide explain how that applies in practice. If you are injured at work and off sick, your normal council sick pay rules apply while the payment is considered.

This is general information. A union, a solicitor or the Citizens Advice network can look at your case, and a personal injury claim against whoever attacked you is a separate matter from the Green Book payment.