Redundancies

[Guest]

We have been told today that because the budget is so poor for next year, that it looks like we are going to have to loose 2/3 teachers from school.

The plans are to have a yr 1, a yr 1/2,a dn a yr 2, and then lose some teachers from elsewhere.

 

The head is hoping that the teachers will be lost naturally, e.g through teachers applying and getting other jobs, but if not, there will have to be some redundancies.

 

Does anybody know where I stand as a teacher in terms of redundancy????

 

Just wonder if anybody out there can help.

 

Thanks

[Rea]

Sorry, cant help, but MY understanding of redundancy is that the job is redundant, not the person. Dont some people use the 'last in' 'first out' method?

[Guest]

Contact your union fast. We had this problem last year and personnel came in to give us the 3 different options teachers could take. We then asked the local NUT rep in to explain things fully and what rights we had. Hope this helps.

[Guest]

Thanks for your help so far. i am in the NUT so plan on getting in touch with them anyway.

 

I dont actually fall into the 'last three' that started at school, so if that option is used, then i guess I will be safe.

[Steve]

Hi Emma -

If I remember correctly you used to be reception, but are now responsible for nursery aren't you?

 

How are YR and nursery going to be catered for if they do carry out these cutbacks, which are mainly aimed at Y1 and Y2?

[mundia]

Hi Emma.

It is a good idea to conatct the union and the school will have to follow LEA guidelines as to how they decide who to make redundant. (assuming you are LEA school?)

 

However, I am employed by my LEA, not by my school, as I would think are most of us in the state sector. Therfore it is the lEAs responsibility to re deploy you elsewhere, but they are only obliged to do so if you have a premanent contract. I have never herd of the last in first out rule in this sector. Perhaps others have?

 

My last school is now closing so there are 8 teachers losing their jobs, but all are being offered other positions elsewhere.

[Guest]

Thats the other thing Steve because obvioulsy the head needs to lose teachers from elsewhere, so she is going to have meetings with us to see where we see ourselves in a year, and basically decide where the losses are going to be.

 

However we did lose a NN in FS a couple of years ago, so we have had losses in the last couple of years. At the moment the setup is me, (the teacher) in Nursery with a NN and a N support assistant, the FS co-ordinator/ Reception teacher, (who is nearing retirement so is also slightly worried), and an unqualified teacher, and a NN in reception. The numbers are too high to lose another teacher in FS, so i actually think the positions in FS are relativley safe.

[michaelle]

I hope things work out for you. I think we may be faced with a similar scenario in the not too distant future as we falling numbers are affecting local schools.

I know that there are guidelines that have to be adhered to so keep your union informed of what is happening.

[Susan]

Hi Emma, cant offer you anything others havent said. DO contact your union without delay.

My last school was in this situation as I joined and I was retained as a part time teacher, but 2 full timers went although I think they were able to get some sort of early retirement package.

The situation as Mundai says is almost certainly that you are employed by your LEA, in an LEA school but responsible to your head and governing body so although they decide to terminate contracts you may have some employment protection and there should be some redunancy policy which you need to ensure is followed.

 

Good luck.

[Guest Tracey F]

This is an area I am rapidly becoming an expert in

We were told just over a week ago that there is a proposal to close our school I don't want to dwell on that - it is still very raw at the moment, and nothing is definite - there WILL be a fight!!!

Anyway we had someone from the union in to talk to us today. As I understand it where there is a need for redundancies, the school have to devise criteria for selecting for the redundancies. They have to look at the staff as a whole and then decide which teachers they need to keep and kind of whittle it down from there. So just because they need to lose a teacher from e.g. yr 5 doesn't mean it will be the yr5 teacher that goes - they have to apply the criteria to ALL the teachers and decide which they can most afford to lose. Where there is a redundancy situation, the LEA have to try to redeploy the person, and there may be some leeway for taking a post at a lower responsibility level whilst retaining your original salary, also possibility of help with transport if it is a position further from home. Also you may be considered as a priority applicant, which means that you may be guaranteed an interview for any job you do apply for. If you are offered reasonable alternative and turn it down then you are deemed to have made yourself redundant and lose all rights to redundancy pay! Redundancy pay is payed at the rate of 1 weeks salary for every year of service up to and including age 40 and 1.5 weeks for every year of service at 41+.

The maximum number of years service is capped at 20.

 

See I've been doing my homework!!

Ok getting off soapbox now!

[Susan]

Sorry to hear about that Tracey. Hope you get something satisfactory sorted.