Leeds City Council addresses data revealing assaults and compensation payouts for waste collection staff, clarifying the figures and emphasizing the diverse nature of incidents within the waste environment.
Leeds Council have provided 'clarity', following data that revealed binmen in Leeds had been assaulted over 50 times in the last three financial years. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Accident Claims Advice suggest that Leeds City Council had forked out more than £104,168 in compensation to waste collection staff between April 2022 and March 2025.
The FOI concluded that as many as 52 assaults were logged across operations managed by the authority, where frontline workers face a range of daily hazards while delivering an essential public service. However, following the release of the data, a spokesperson for Leeds council explained that 'it would be incorrect to conclude that the compensation figure for Leeds refers solely to refuse workers'. The spokesperson said: 'The FOI referred to was not limited to refuse workers but to anyone working in the waste environment and for all incidents not just assault. The 3-year total quoted relates almost entirely to one specific incident that was not related in any way to refuse collections, nor was it the result of an assault; it was a site-based operational accident. There were zero settlements made in the latest full year, 2024/25.' While the majority of these incidents were classed as verbal abuse, the council confirmed that staff also suffered four physical attacks across the same timeframe. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers - including local authorities - have a duty to protect their staff and reduce risks to workplace safety. Patrick Mallon, Head of Department for Accidents at Work and Public Liability Claims at JF Law, said that regardless, the findings 'raise serious concerns' about the safety of refuse workers. “What these disclosures show is a pattern that can no longer be dismissed as isolated wrongdoing,” he said. “Refuse collectors perform an essential public service, often in challenging conditions. Yet the number of assaults they face highlights the risks frontline workers encounter every day.” He added that workers may sometimes stay silent about incidents because they believe reporting them will not lead to action: 'That silence should not be mistaken for absence of harm. It reflects fear and a system that too often normalises abuse as part of the job.” In response, a Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “The safety and well-being of all our staff is always a top priority, and the council is committed to ensuring they are able to do their jobs in a safe and supportive setting. 'The Council ensures that it has robust and fit-for-purpose risk assessment and safe working instructions and works closely with staff and Trade Unions to ensure these are reviewed and updated in a timely way. This includes meeting health and safety legislative/statutory requirements and ensuring staff have access to the necessary Personal and Protective Equipment to do their job safely. 'These measures include support, training and reporting mechanisms relating to any abuse or assault staff have been subjected to in doing their job. “Across all waste services operated by Leeds City Council, including bin collections, street cleansing and the eight household waste sites, in the three years between April 2022 and March 2025, there were 48 recorded incidents of verbal assault and four physical assaults. Thankfully, none of these incidents resulted in a recorded injury. “Nobody should be subjected to abuse or assaults while doing their job and, in the thankfully rare instances where this does take place, we will continue to do all we can to encourage and support staff to report any incidents and take any appropriate subsequent action.” Get all the latest and breaking Leeds news straight to your inbox by signing up to our daily newsletter here or Yorkshire wide news straight to your mobile via WhatsApp by clicking here .
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