£650,000 compensation paid to teachers for work-related injuries in Scottish schools
Picture: Robert Perry
A TEACHER who received a six-figure payout for stress is among those who have won a record £650,000 in compensation for work-related injuries received in Scotland’s schools.
The teacher, who does not wish to be identified, received an out-of-court settlement thought to be in the region of £250,000 after her employer’s failure to deal with an excessive workload led to a “stress-related psychiatric injury”. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s biggest teaching union, said the payout was the largest amount of compensation one of its members had ever received for the effects of occupational stress.
The case was among £650,000 worth of compensation claims paid out to members of the union during the past year, including one where a teacher was kicked and punched in the side of the head while taking a class playing football and another where a pupil swung a door in a teacher’s face.
The union’s general secretary, Ronnie Smith, said the increasing number of cases involving stress had to be a “warning” to employers.
Mr Smith said: “Occupational stress is a major problem facing teachers and lecturers.
“The growth in the number of cases involving psychiatric injury and stress-related illness must be a warning to employers that they need to take account of their employees’ mental, as well as physical, wellbeing. The fact that this record compensation award arose from a workload-related case, which was compounded by a lack of management support, is no coincidence.
“This clearly illustrates just how serious such injuries can be, and the heavy price that employers will have to pay if they fail in their obligations to protect their staff.”
He said cash-strapped councils need to tackle the causes of stress by better managing workload or face further claims.
He added: “These settlements demonstrate the avoidable risks that many teaching professionals across Scotland face in the course of their work.
“Local authorities and other educational employers have the same duty of care to staff as any other employer.”
The figure of £650,000 is a significant rise from £181,000, the amount of compensation paid to EIS members in 2008, the last year for which figures are available. The union said both the annual total for 2011 and the single payout of around £250,000 were the largest on record.
Details of the claims comes at a time when cash-strapped councils are being forced to contend with cuts to their education budgets and a growing squeeze on teacher numbers. Increasing numbers of claims from over-worked teachers comes amid a series of cutbacks which include an 80 per cent fall in the number of foreign language assistants in Scotland’s schools and against a backdrop of a new pay deal for supply teachers, which has left many schools struggling to find cover.
Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, said nearly all teachers were working an extra five hours a week simply to “stay afloat” and another five hours on top of that developing material for classes.
She said: “Stressed colleagues describe lying awake thinking about marking or coursework at 3 or 4 am; of feeling tired and ill constantly and of family arguments because they’re always working.
“Many then go on to describe feelings of failure and worthlessness, of being too tired to undertake their duties properly and of a constant cycle of illness and exhaustion. Working during the weekend and holidays becomes normal practice and time to ‘switch off and recharge’ an unaffordable luxury.”
She added: “All this describes the normal working environment of many teachers. Once workplace bullying, serious indiscipline or major family problems are added to the mix, a stressful working environment becomes intolerable. In these cases serious damage can occur, at times so serious the teacher’s health never recovers.”
Last year, Scottish teachers took part in their first national strike since 1986 over changes to their pensions, which they claim will see them contribute more and work longer before retirement.
The EIS has threatened further industrial action if any of the recommendations of the controversial McCormac report into teaching arrangements are introduced against its will.
There is also said to be “considerable anxiety” amongst the profession due to the continued roll out of Curriculum for Excellence, the new school curriculum which was introduced in 2010.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Work-related stress can take many forms and effect individuals in different ways. The Scottish Government expects councils to take appropriate action at a local level to minimise the risk of stress or injury and any related claims through their own local health and safety procedures for staff and pupils.”
A spokesman for Cosla, the umbrella organisation which represents Scotland’s councils, said compensation claims were a matter for individual local authorities.
He said: “Councils take the health and wellbeing of all of their employees very seriously indeed and take steps to ensure that measures are in place to detect and act on serious cases. However, it remains a matter for individual councils to address individual cases”.
Last year there were calls to reduce teachers’ workloads amid increasing stress, mental health issues and absenteeism.
It followed a study which showed that allowing staff to fall ill with mental health problems cost the UK economy £32 billion a year in sick pay, medical costs and compensation.
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Comments
There are 32 comments to this article
Page 1 of 3
ETango
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 10:36 AMTeaching is a very difficult job and not everyone is cut out for it. Think of how many parents struggle in dealing with their own children, never mind a class of 33. Many of these young people are very challenging even for those of us who are enthusiastic and capable. I'm a supply teacher that's expected to perform all of the duties of a permanent teacher with none of the perks - marking (which can take up to 4 hours for one set of class essays and you usually have 5 or 6 classes a day), reporting, parents' nights and class prep. On top of that, no job security and a reduced salary for my first week of work in any placement. How many non-teachers would willingly work until 9pm every night and give up their Sundays for those kinds of working conditions? I make less than £15,000 because I get no holiday pay. They can drop you with no notice at all because they don't supply contracts. Holidays are spent worrying about where your next pay packet is coming from and then it is back to the stress. Can be rewarding at times but it is extremely stressful.
The Scot
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 06:48 AM#22 5894........I rest my case........where's the wife?......bubbling in the background?......she will be on mc on Monday claiming medical stress, no doubt but never mind......you can always pop down to the social to collect your pay.
The Scot
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 06:42 AMOne thing I do agree with is that teacher's pay should be performance based but the performance should be determined by an independent body comprising parents and business leaders......not ex teachers and Government lackies......if that were the case, teachers today would earn less than they do now and only a minority would receive enhanced pay and bonuses. I reiterate.....the teaching profession is a complete joke full of substandard individuals who have no passion for the job......!!! The solution for a teacher who struggles to perform in the classroom......promote them to head master or an administrative post within the profession......see what I mean.....a complete joke!!! In an ideal world, you would fire them all and start from scratch.
The Scot
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 06:34 AM#17 Hootsfandango.....you are clearly a fat and lazy teacher......I rest my case.......go to the gym and start working for a living!!!
The Scot
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 06:31 AMComment removed by moderator
AuldLochinvar
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 07:32 PMNothing can be more stupid than to bring up your future voters in an atmosphere of too many pupils per teacher. If there is one disruptive child per class, almost any teacher can deal with the problem. Usually not more than one in ten students will be such a problem. But a class of thirty or forty can easily become unmanageable. The same criticism also applies to the comparison of two or three smaller schools, as against one big school with the same number of pupils. The big one is a bad economy.
Phil C
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 06:29 PMAfter yesterday's story about folk wanting huge sums for breaking their chairs and being psychological basket cases thereafter or hurting their finger on a bus, this comes as light relief!
Taigh na Croiche
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 02:11 PMThe new curriculum is good however headteachers, inspectors and authorities are slow to catch up on it and are demanding more assessment, paperwork and standardised tests than ever before. Teachers in some schools now spend whole afternoons, every week, sitting with kids and ticking boxes to 'prove' that the kids are achieving. -- The workload as a result has increased. Its time for ALL unions to instruct a work to rule. This alone would save many sick days and compensation payouts.
John Loftus
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 01:21 PMHow do I go about claiming compensation for the psychological damage inflicted on me,from some of the sadists & nutjobs that I had to endure at school??I had a spinster teacher,Miss Stevenson,Boglestone Primary,who gave me the belt on my second day,only for talking to the person next to me.For christsakes,I was only 5 & was asking him if he had a pencil sharpener!!!The list goes on.I was a very dilligent student who loved to learn.
Beelzebub's amanuensis
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 12:28 PMAgreed, there are some bad teachers, who are hard to dismiss. But it's not a job I, or most of the non-teaching posters here could do. The sheer volume of noise in the average school would send most folk screaming round the bend, and that's before you have to deal with the physical abuse and cyber-bullying. If teachers had the sanction they had in my day, they might be able to control classes of 40+. (And I DO mean the belt, detention, lines, exclusion from 'fun' activities, etc.) And compensation might be easier on the public purse if parents had to contribute when their children were shown to have either physically attacked staff, or posted lies and insults on the net.
5894
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 12:27 PM#8 & #9 The Scot Could you do the job? Follow your big gob and get yourself back into teacher training. I bet you'd make a BRILLIANT teacher! You'd have all these teaching assistants to make your job even easier for you. And the short hours and long holidays... well just fab, eh! You are a MUPPET, The Scot. In reality, teachers work much longer than their contracted hours. In my wife's case, she has to work longer to get through the stuff that she should have been doing but couldn't, because she spends a lot her time trying to sort out social problems that should be dealt with in the childrens homes! Don't know the meaning of stress??? I'll say it again, The Scot, you are a Muppet!
Sally Longlegs
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 10:55 AMThe teacher did not want to be identified ! No wonder she will be thought of as a pariah if their identity is known. Teachers need to get real. There was 42 in my primary class and the teachers managed. And all without the so called in service days. Holidays ha a joke and a short working week and even shorter teaching hours. If you cant manage,get out and give the young and keen a chance. It's also about time the rubbish were weeded out. Too many rubbish ineffectual teachers these days. Good pensions too !! Gies a job !
Aussie Aussie Aussie
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 09:57 AM#16 I agree #17 I agree. #18 I agree with also. Forget the teachers who can't teach as there is the same proportion of deadwood in every occupation - probably some of the poster here. Not that I would mention any names Phil. Who by fire.....you are quite correct everything is rosy in Oz :O) Heaps of money, lots of sun, let's not forget the sex you mentioned yesterday and all the other good stuff that goes on here. As for others who have yet to meet a good teacher - here's one :O)
The one that got away
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 09:52 AM16 hootsfandango. The truth always hurts, moron.
albanman
Friday, January 6, 2012 at 09:46 AM@15 samcoldstream: What exactly is your point as it has nothing to do with the article? Anyone who believes that teaching is easy has never been in a classroom. I have taught for 25 years in the independent sector and 8 years in state schools and each has its challenges. Still, I count myself blessed that I still very much enjoy my work - most days. However, I am wondering what a 'pyschiatric injury' might be, especially one which merits such a hefty payment. I also wonder why this injury was not noticed earlier by colleagues and senior management. People who are unable to handle the demands of a classroom should not be allowed to qualify and there should (in my opinion) be a probationary period of 3-4 years during which support is available. Whilst it is easy to dismiss unsuitable teachers in the independent sector, it is much more difficult to do so in state schools.
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