Pupil headbutt among £105k in payouts for school assaults
● Union fears over potential changes to safety legislation in wake of Brexit
Compensation worth more than £100,000 has been paid out this year to three Scottish teachers attacked by pupils, a teaching union has revealed.
The three teachers received a combined £105,000 in damages after assaults by pupils, including one who was headbutted by a student, EIS said.
One teacher was awarded £55,000 after a pupil hurled obscenities and proceeded to violently assault them.
Another was grabbed by the hair by a student and repeatedly headbutted, forcing them out of work while they recovered from concussion. The teacher received £20,000.
No details were given for the third case.
The EIS said that 11 members were awarded compensation for injuries suffered at work in the past year, totalling £290,700.
The payments were awarded for a wide range of workplace injuries, including those caused by accident, assault or poor working environment.
The highest single compensation was £141,500, given to one teacher who suffered “long-term damage” to their arms and legs, with “lasting implications for their future career” when they slipped and fell leaving a classroom.
Commenting on the awards, which has risen from the 2018 figure of nearly £230,000, EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “While the sums involved represent success for the EIS in pursuing appropriate compensation for injuries suffered at work, our desire is to eventually report a zero figure for compensation in the future owing to the elimination of these types of workrelated injuries.
“The most common cause of injuries remains slips, trips and falls.
“These types of incidents are entirely avoidable, with correct adherence to appropriate health and safety procedures in the workplace.
“Schools, colleges and universities will never be entirely risk-free, but it is essential that all facilities are as safe as possible for learners and staff alike.”
Mr Flanagan also expressed concern about potential changes to health and safety legislation in the wake of Brexit.
He said: “Many valuable workplace protections that we enjoy today are the result of EU legislation. The Westminster government has already indicated that, post-brexit, they will be looking to roll back on some of the protections afforded to employees in the UK.
“This is a matter of huge concern and we must do all that we can to resist financial concerns being put before the health and wellbeing of people at work.”
The EIS said the compensation it secured in 2019 was significantly higher than the 2018 figure of just under £230,000.
Mr Flanagan added: “It is cold comfort reporting on the amounts of injury compensation that the EIS has secured for its members over the course of the year.”