EIS secures almost £300k in settlements for members injured or assaulted at work
The EIS secured almost £300K for members injured or assaulted at work over the past year.
All teachers and lecturers deserve a safe place in which to work. Employers have a duty of care to their employees, and must take all possible steps to ensure a safe working environment. The settlements secured by the EIS, in cases where the employer has failed in their duty of care, offer some compensation to our members who have been injured or assaulted at work.
While the EIS will always be diligent in pursuing appropriate compensation for our members, our clear preference would be for this area of work to be unnecessary. If workplaces are properly maintained and safe, the chances of any employee suffering injury are substantially reduced. All employers must treat the health and safety of their employees as a priority, so that injuries to employees – and costly financial settlements – can be avoided. It is in everyone’s best interests for our schools, colleges and universities to be safe places to work and to study.
The settlements that the EIS has secured for its members are to compensate them for the impact of their injury – including pain and suffering, loss of earning and future losses. Every case is calculated with the aim of restoring members to the position they were in before they were injured at work. No-one wants to be in a position where they are claiming compensation of this type but, where our members are injured through no fault of their own, it is right that appropriate settlements are pursued and achieved.
If workplaces are properly maintained and safe, the chances of any employee suffering injury are substantially reduced
While some of the most serious cases involve assaults on teaching staff, the compensation settlements reveal that the most frequent cause of injury continues to be accidents caused by slips and trips. Such accidents are completely avoidable if employers implement basic, inexpensive safety requirements.
An anonymised list of recent settlements achieved by the EIS on behalf of its members is outlined opposite.
| Claim | Nature of Claim | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Assault Claim | Member was assaulted by a pupil. The member was struck on the head by a stone deliberately thrown by pupil. Member suffered a head injury causing a brain bleed, impaired vision and headaches. Member was then absent from work for nine months. | £130,000 |
| Accident Claim | As a result of bad weather member left the premises early. A gate/barrier in carpark fell through the car’s windscreen and struck members’ head causing a fracture of the jaw and had to have stitches in a head wound. | £45,000 |
| Accident Claim | Member was walking back to classroom when foot slid and member fell landing heavily which resulted in a broken coccyx. | £40,000 |
| Accident Claim | Member fell and sustained injuries to knee, shoulder and neck. Member was left with mobility issues. | £25,000 |
| Accident Claim | Member slipped on black ice breaking ankle in 2 places. | £15,000 |
| Accident Claim | Member slipped on wet vinyl floor after heavy rain suffer-ing a double closed fracture of the tibia and fibula. | £13,500 |
| Assault Claim | Member called upon by a colleague to help assist with a pupil. The pupil attacked our member causing injuries to head and knee. | £10,597 |
| Accident Claim | Member tripped over a large bolder later to discover it was cemented into the ground. Member suffered a fractured left elbow (Rodar Head) and Sprain to right hand. | £8,000 |
| Accident Claim | Member was walking slipped in school car park which had not been gritted. Member sustained injuries to head. | £3,000 |
| TOTAL AWARDS | £295,597 |
The most frequent cause of injury continues to be accidents caused by slips and trips. Such accidents are completely avoidable if employers implement basic, inexpensive safety requirements