Injured teachers win £500,000

Compensation awards added up to more than £500,000

Scottish teachers received more than £500,000 in compensation this year for injuries sustained at work.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said that the vast majority of incidents could have been avoided.

But Scottish councils complained that the figures showed the country had gone "compensation mad".

Most accidents of this type could be avoided if local councils and schools observed straightforward health and safety requirements

Ronnie Smith
EIS general secretary

The biggest single pay-out secured by the EIS was £225,000 for a teacher who fell down stairs while dealing with an unruly pupil.

The teacher sustained a serious injury and was not able to work again.

One teacher was awarded £1,000 after falling into an orchestra pit, another secured £3,500 after being hit when a large window which fell into a classroom, and another was awarded £81,839 after being assaulted with a ruler by a pupil.

However, many of the other accidents involved slips and trips on wet, icy or poorly maintained surfaces.

EIS general secretary Ronnie Smith said: "Pursuing action on behalf of teachers and lecturers at work is a very important part of EIS day-to-day work.

Health and safety

"While the first responsibility lies with the employer to ensure a safe working environment and also to support teachers who are injured, the EIS on many occasions supports members in pursuing cases to the courts.

"The reality is that most accidents of this type could be avoided if local councils and schools observed straightforward health and safety requirements."

The EIS said it would rather see a safer working environment for teachers than such high compensation payouts.

Some of the claims highlight the need for people to take more responsibility

Helen Law
Cosla spokeswoman

Helen Law, the education spokeswoman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), said councils tried to ensure the safety of properties and the people in them.

But she said: "Even with the best intentions, there are likely to be some accidents at work which may be difficult to avoid."

Ms Law pointed to the case of the teacher who fell down stairs while dealing with an unruly pupil.

"It is extremely difficult to see how councils can take health and safety to a level which prevents this sort of accident which happens day in and day out in normal life", she said.

And she added: "Some of the claims highlight the need for people to take more responsibility.

"Like America, we seem to have gone compensation mad."