Being forced to pay for someone to cover your work
Oct 1 2008
Hi
My Mum is a fulltime teacher and parttime student. Her course is directly relevant to her work (in IT), but she has some exams coming up for which she has to take time off work. Her boss says that if she can't organise cover within the department, she'll have to pay someone from outside to take the class. Is that legal?
Oct 1 2008
#2
I'm not sure...it seems like she's literally proposing she hires someone from another place.
Oct 1 2008
#3
She needs to read her contract. Generally teachers do not have a right to time off during term. I don't think it's legal to make her pay for supply cover but her not coming in could be grounds for dismissal. She needs to sit down and read her contract, and try to get her boss to put this in writing as well. Best bet is to email asking for clarification.
Oct 1 2008
#4
That can't be legal. In some jobs you have to ask for unpaid leave if you've got no annual leave left or something and it doesn't come under study leave, but they have to sort out their own fucking cover!
Oct 2 2008
#5
If she's an employee (as opposed to a sub-contractor) as most workers are, I would say that is seriously illegal. One of the definitions of being an employee is that it is that individual that has to do the job - any cover is the employers responsibility. However, I think jef is probably right about teachers not having a right to time off during term time.
Oct 2 2008
#6
Agree with Catch, Demogorgon et al. In all my years as a teacher, i've never heard of anything as outrageous as this!
Oct 2 2008
#7
She is an employee of the college. She's checked her contract and she has no right for time off to study, although her boss should really be understanding seeing as how her course is basically in order to improve her work. She's hunting for cover within the department (already found it for 2 of the 4 hours) and failing that, will make use of her newly purchased UCU membership (although even she - as a Tory voter - says they're "spineless", which to me gives her better praxis than the WSM). I'm just trying to make sure she doesn't hire her own cover...don't think she will.
Oct 2 2008
#8
Yeah her employer of course should be more understanding, as it's even in their interests to have better-qualified staff. But from my experience in schools and academic departments, unless the employer has explicitly supported the extra study (like some schools allow teachers to do master of education(MEd) degrees and may give them study leave, although even that is rare, most do them in the evenings on their own time) either by agreeing study leave or in some cases partial/whole assistance with fees they're not likely to be sympathetic to employees looks for leave during term-time.
Schools are pretty mental about this stuff - teachers work rediculous hours as it is, many work while very sick simply because the intensive nature of school terms means that taking time off, even when sick, and regardless of cover, means twice as much work when you get back.
Yeah it's a disgrace if she's expected to hire her own cover, but I'm not surprised they aren't supporting her in the request for study leave during term, it would be highly exceptional, unless agreed before embarking on said study.
Hope she sorts something out.
Oct 2 2008
#9
...just spoke to her and she managed to organise some cover in exchange for her taking more classes later in the week. So it's resolved, kinda.
WTF?
Is this being proposed as a pay deduction? Because for pay deductions to be legal they must be written into her contract.