Teacher off sick on full pay for six years 'lied'

Primary school teacher Anna Yerrakalva said a teaching assistant had an epileptic seizure in a classroom and fell on top of her, trapping her on the floor for 15 minutes.

She claimed she was unable to push away the heavier assistant and suffered chest, neck and upper spine injuries. But her school denies the incident ever happened.

Stephen Poxton, headteacher of Dearne Carrfield Primary School in Bolton-on-Dearne, told an employment tribunal the alleged "fall" in November 2003 was made up.

He told a Sheffield hearing the assistant did have a seizure but an investigation concluded the teacher had lied. He said: "Her injuries were not sustained in the way she described."

The long-running case has so far cost her employers, Barnsley Council, about 280,000 in the teacher's wages and legal costs.

Mrs Yerrakalva, who had worked at the school since April 2002, went off sick after her alleged accident and briefly returned, only to be struck by a bus in June 2004. She has never worked since.

She was on full pay of about 30,000 a year until she was suspended last year and finally sacked in January 2010 for gross misconduct for telling "untruths" at an earlier tribunal hearing. The council is currently trying to claim back its 100,000 legal costs from Mrs Yerrakalva in a separate hearing.

Tribunal members were told she filled in Department of Work and

Pensions benefits forms in 2006 and 2007 saying she was severely disabled. Yet at the same time she was telling the council she was perfectly fit to return to work.

Her list of ailments detailed in her claim forms is lengthy, from finding it difficult to open the curtains to brushing her teeth.

She claimed she suffered from dizzy spells and a lack of concentration, had frequent blackouts, became confused and had fits of anger, often throwing things about.

Mrs Yerrakalva also said she had problems communicating, stumbled, needed help with feeding, clothing and going to the toilet, and was unable to cope with changes in routine.

To add to her list, she claimed to suffer from learning problems, panic attacks and a difficulty in filling in forms.

Her headteacher pointed out to the tribunal that these were hardly attributes for a teacher.

Yet in August 2006 Mrs Yerrakalva presented herself as fit to return to work, backed by a certificate signed by her GP.

Mr Poxton told the tribunal: "Teaching is a very high-demand activity. Somebody who presents with this raft of difficulties doesn't make them an effective classroom practitioner."

Mrs Yerrakalva, 57, from Sheffield, is now claiming victimisation and unfair dismissal saying she was prevented from returning to work.

She claims she was victimised after she made race, sex and disability discrimination claims against the school.

But Mr Poxton said she was sacked after lying to her employers and on oath at the tribunal about her health.

He said: "Her claims caused a considerable amount of time, money and aggravation for the school and an irreparable breakdown of confidence. I could not trust this teacher with children."

He said she also refused access to her medical records which the school needed to verify to justify her claims.

The head added: "I personally came to believe Mrs Yerrakalva had the capacity to tell lies because she made false allegations against myself.

"The whole matter has been upsetting to myself and the school and a large drain on finance and resources."

Mrs Yerrakalva will give her evidence when the tribunal resumes next year.