£10m injury pay-outs to public sector staff

Millions of pounds are being paid out every year to public sector workers to settle compensation claims made for injuries picked up in the course of their jobs.

Figures obtained by The Scotsman show councils and health boards have paid staff almost 10 million in claims stretching back over the past five years. Hundreds of individual claims are made every year.

The news comes just a week after funding cuts forced councils to announce widespread job losses and service reductions.

Political leaders have hit out at compensation cheats who try to "con the system".

Since 2005, Edinburgh council has paid out 883,995, the highest in Scotland, according to the figures obtained through Freedom of Information. South Lanarkshire was next on 793,000, followed by Falkirk on 714,694 and Glasgow on 661,000.

Of the six NHS boards that replied, the total paid out was 3 million - an average of almost 500,000 each.

Scottish Tory deputy leader Murdo Fraser said: "We're talking about millions of pounds a year being spent at a time when there's severe pressure on the public finances.

"Taxpayers have a right to expect that their money is being spent as efficiently as possible. The public will be surprised to see the high level of pay-outs.

"If we were taking about private sector companies paying out sums like this, then I'm sure they would have taken swift, early action to try to employ safer working practices."

The Scotsman received information from 22 of Scotland's 32 councils which indicate about 6.5m has been paid out to staff over the past five years. Of the area health boards that responded, NHS Grampian was the highest on 566,000 over the five years, followed by NHS Tayside which paid out 542,000. Many councils have insurance to cover such pay-outs.

Last week, councils paved the way for thousands of job cuts and the axeing of services as they set draconian budgets for the next financial year.

Liberal Democrat finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis said: "It's very important that we make sure people are compensated properly if they're genuinely injured at work.

"But those people who are genuinely injured are let down by a minority of people who think it's OK to con the system."

The figures show there were 223 claims in Edinburgh and 150 in Glasgow.Among the smaller councils, there were 66 in Fife and 70 in North Ayrshire.

They range from an analyst in Stirling awarded 1,200 for repetitive strain injury brought on by a computer mouse, to a care assistant who received 10,000 for an ankle strain after falling on an uneven surface in Glasgow.

A teacher in Glasgow got 3,200 after suffering a bruised knee after falling on poor surfacing.

A spokesman for Edinburgh council said the health and safety of its staff was taken "very seriously".

But he added: "As a large local authority, claims are brought against us from time to time."

A spokesman for South Lanarkshire said: "We have robust health and safety arrangements in place to reduce the numbers of injuries at work. Our most recent monitoring figures demonstrate a continuing year-on-year reduction in accidents."

Of the health boards, NHS Grampian had 52 claims, including 19 where staff were injured by needles. There were two for exposure to asbestos, and ten for slips, trips and falls.

A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: "We take the health of our staff very seriously and thoroughly investigate each and every incident to see what lessons can be learned."