A teacher who slipped on a grape was awarded ã200,000 as school staff earned at least ã22 million in compensation claims last year.
Another teacher was handed ã35,000 after being dismissed on capability grounds having admitted to the school they planned to undergo a sex change.
Hundreds of teachers were awarded damages last year for injuries, accidents, assaults and unfair dismissal, some earning more than ã500,000.
The total amount awarded in 2010 is likely to be higher than ã22 million because details of only a limited number of cases have been made public.
The teacher who slipped on a grape, which had been left on a stairwell, won the compensation because it aggravated an existing hernia problem, leaving him unable to work due to chronic pain.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT), which represented the teacher, said: Evidence showed that the school were aware of littering problems around the school but had not taken action to prevent or minimise it.
Another NUT member who slipped on a grape in a corridor and fractured her hip was given ã20,000 because the school did not have a system in place ensuring the corridors were cleaned after lunch breaks.
The largest reported payout was ã459,000 to a female teacher in London who was left wheelchair-bound and unable to work after suffering an injury while attempting to restrain a nine-year-old pupil.
Other substantial compensation awards included ã426,000 to a teacher sprayed in the face with an aerosol and ã407,000 to a primary head who developed psychiatric problems after suffering at the hands of abusive and aggressive governors.
In total NASUWT teachers were handed more than ã10.5 million for compensation cases completed in 2010, while NUT members earned about ã2.5 million for cases about which it has published details, the Times Educational Supplement reported.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said it had won its members ã5 million in compromise agreements and injuries claims, while Association of School and College Leaders members were awarded up to ã4 million.
Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, said: The level of compensation is no cause for celebration.
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...r-awarded-300000-after-slipping-on-grape.html
Another teacher was handed ã35,000 after being dismissed on capability grounds having admitted to the school they planned to undergo a sex change.
Hundreds of teachers were awarded damages last year for injuries, accidents, assaults and unfair dismissal, some earning more than ã500,000.
The total amount awarded in 2010 is likely to be higher than ã22 million because details of only a limited number of cases have been made public.
The teacher who slipped on a grape, which had been left on a stairwell, won the compensation because it aggravated an existing hernia problem, leaving him unable to work due to chronic pain.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT), which represented the teacher, said: Evidence showed that the school were aware of littering problems around the school but had not taken action to prevent or minimise it.
Another NUT member who slipped on a grape in a corridor and fractured her hip was given ã20,000 because the school did not have a system in place ensuring the corridors were cleaned after lunch breaks.
The largest reported payout was ã459,000 to a female teacher in London who was left wheelchair-bound and unable to work after suffering an injury while attempting to restrain a nine-year-old pupil.
Other substantial compensation awards included ã426,000 to a teacher sprayed in the face with an aerosol and ã407,000 to a primary head who developed psychiatric problems after suffering at the hands of abusive and aggressive governors.
In total NASUWT teachers were handed more than ã10.5 million for compensation cases completed in 2010, while NUT members earned about ã2.5 million for cases about which it has published details, the Times Educational Supplement reported.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said it had won its members ã5 million in compromise agreements and injuries claims, while Association of School and College Leaders members were awarded up to ã4 million.
Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, said: The level of compensation is no cause for celebration.
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...r-awarded-300000-after-slipping-on-grape.html
