Almost £300,000 paid out in compensation to teachers and lecturers in last year

Almost £300,000 has been paid out in compensation to teachers and lecturers injured at work over the past year, according to figures from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS).

The payments, significantly up on the £230,000 paid out in 2018, were awarded for a wide range of workplace injuries, including those caused by accident, assault or poor working environment.

One payment, of £141,500, was awarded after an EIS member sustained a serious injury from slipping on their way out of a classroom, while another, for £55,000, came after an assault by a pupil.

Releasing the figures, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan warned that many of the workplace protections teachers rely on are rooted in EU legislation, and that 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”.

He said: "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. Whilst 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 work-related injuries.”

Flanagan said: "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.”