teachers employment?

[averyyoungkitten]

I know this might seem an odd question and make me seem "thick" but I have genuinely never thought until now .

Are teachers paid through the holidays or for the holidays? I am constantly hearing about allthose holidays we get as teachers, but are we paid for them?

I ask because a friend of mine ,who like me works part time ( different education sector) asked me the other day. It seems she is paid to teach so many hours and is given a salary for that but the money is divided into 12 and paid monthly even though she is not actually paid for any holidays, just for her work. Her holidays are unpaid.

I do not know if this is normal practice in teaching. I cant find it in my contract which just states my number of teaching periods a week and my subject. It does mention duties but not holidays.

I am asking bexause I have found myself being bombarded with work by students ( yes I know you would alll ike students this committed) who want their work marked in the holidays and returned, even on Christmas day! Additionally, some SLT seem to think that I can be called up at any hour, during trapped time , which I know I am not paid for, even on my days off (I work part time) or at night , or during the holidays if they have a question that they want answering or something they want doing (usually trivial or something I dont have the paperwork to hand for at home). Its almost as if I am 24/7/365

I was whinging to my friend, asone does when having a misery and a moan, about working part time but finding myself constantly oncall and she said "How are you paid; are you paid during the holidays or for the holidays?"

Any help on this would be gratefully received.

[FunkyBoldRibena]

Do you not have a contract that tells you?

[Snargaluff]

We get paid 30 days holiday I think and the rest is unpaid, we just get paid through them iyswim

[averyyoungkitten]

FunkyBoldRibina - I looked at my contract it only states the number of teaching periods a week and my salary. Nothing about holidays at all. One thing I did notice is that unlike my last post, it didnt even state a fraction. My last post was paid fractional to full time. In my current post
(and I have been here six years, so asking now is a bit late I know).

It looks as if I am just paid for the hours I teach but it does not state explicitly. Of course there has to be some leeway for marking unpaid, I accept.

This problem only started about 18 months ago when we got a new Director of Teaching and Learning.

I just do not know.

[noblegiraffe]

We are not paid for most of the holiday, but even if we were, it's not directed time and so you can't be directed to work during them, even though most teachers choose to. You could be on holiday!

With trapped time at school, if it is something that I would be expected to do at school anyway, like writing a report on an SEN student, or chasing up exam entries or whatever, then I don't really differentiate between trapped time and PPA. Anything I get done at school saves me work at home!
Any cover I do paid, at supply rates.
If I were asked to do something extra, unpaid, just because I happened to be free, I think I'd suddenly need to pop to the shops during my unpaid trapped time!
Are SLT emailing you, or phoning you during your holiday/unpaid time? If phone, just don't answer! If email, don't check regularly, and get back to them at your convenience.

[Lottiedoubtie]

You aren't paid for the holidays, it sounds like you are working on a part time X number of lessons basis. You should ask to be paid for a couple of extra periods per week as ppa time, but beyond that, as a part timer, no I don't think you are paid for holidays.

I'm sorry if I'm wrong, this is based on my experience of doing exactly this in the independent sector a few years ago.

[noblegiraffe]

If you are only paid for the lessons you teach and not the holidays, you should be paid at supply rates, which are higher than the hourly salary of a permanent teacher, to take into account the lack of holiday pay.

I'm a part-timer, I get paid the normal teacher rate on the pay scale, and get paid holidays (pro rata).
Any extra lessons I do I get paid at supply rate.