A science teacher has been awarded a massive £850,000 payout after being punched in the face and kicked by a student.
The NASUWT teaching union revealed that the teacher had received one of the largest ever payouts of its kind after he suffered a serious assault at the hands of a pupil.
The teacher was punched in the face and kicked by the pupil during a science lesson at the school where he worked, Lincolnshire Live reported.
The shocking incident happened in January 2017, and the pupil was not supposed to even be in the lesson at the time because of previous violent behaviour.
As a result of the brutal attack, the teacher suffered life-changing injuries, including physical and psychological injuries.
Alongside a head injury, bruising, back and ankle injuries, the teacher now suffers from tinnitus, hearing loss, PTSD and severe depression.
Since the attack, the teacher has said he is unable to return to work and medical experts said he would likely never return again due to his injuries.
The massive payout was a part of a whopping £14million in compensation paid to teachers with the NASUWT union last year.
Payouts related to unfair dismissal, bullying, personal injuries, discrimination and more.
NASUWT also secured almost £80,000 for a Welsh drama teacher who was dismissed from her job after she developed life-threatening asthma.
She developed the condition following a redecoration of her classroom, with which there was a number of problems including mould growing on the walls and a crack in the floor.
As the term went on, she noticed she suffered from headaches, coughing, wheezing and a runny nose.
She eventually suffered an asthma attack and was taken to hospital by ambulance and was diagnosed with late onset asthma with a consultant saying this was caused by the working conditions at her school.
This led to the teacher suffering repeated asthma attacks and acute respiratory and emergency services had to be called to the school on several occasions.
The NASUWT said that the asthma and an unrelated operation in late 2018 led to unavoidable absences from work.
In 2019, she was told she was being dismissed, despite the fact asthma had been brought under control through adjustments in her working conditions as a result of union work.
The union succeeded in bringing claims for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination
Dr Patrick Roach, Nasuwt general secretary, said: “While compensation is recognition of the personal, and in some cases, financial loss that members have suffered, it can never make up for the impact which unfair treatment, discrimination and physical injuries have on individuals.
“The money awarded cannot compensate for the emotional, physical and mental distress members have experienced and the fact that for some, their experiences have left them unable to continue working in teaching.
“Furthermore, these cases are only likely to represent the tip of the iceberg. There is no doubt that many other teachers will have been driven out of the profession without proper redress for poor, discriminatory or unfair treatment because they were too fearful to come forward or believed nothing could be done.
“Too many employers believe they can act with impunity as the Government fails to take any action to secure compliance with employment law or health and safety legislation, allowing poor employment practices to flourish.
"The NASUWT will continue to take all steps necessary to support our members in ensuring they are treated fairly at work and to underline to employers that they are not above the law.”
