AIBU to think the teacher sickie story is not newsworthy?

Yes, this is kinda what I was getting at. Of course you have to request leave if you want time off, but this is simply not a thing for teachers during term time, except in exceptional circumstances e.g. death of a child/ spouse/ parent.

I thought resus staff generally worked really long shifts, three or four days a week, keeping them to an average of around 37 hours? I suppose you win some, you lose some with this type of schedule. So although the previous poster says leave is not permitted over Christmas, for example, it is not always the case that they will be at work anyway. I do recognise that some resus and other staff will have no alternative but to work on some bank holidays and leave requests will only be honoured if cover can be arranged.

If I got shifted on for every Christmas, New Year, Easter and other bank holiday, and wasn’t allowed a 10 day annual holiday, I’d wonder what I was doing wrong! Not every single member of NHS emergency staff work all these days, every single year. In fact, many NHS friends enjoy the 3/4 on/off schedule for their work life balance, just as teachers enjoy the extra summer holidays.

Have any NHS staff on here often had their approved leave cancelled? I know employers are legally allowed to do this, but I wondered how frequent it is.

I know lots of people who work in the NHS, particularly in A+E, who have holidays longer than a week and can take time off at Christmas/Easter. Yes, you have to request it and they may have to work eg NY instead, but they absolutely can.

Yes, there are jobs that can mean you could be on shift over Christmas/ Easter/ bank holidays. We are all grateful for these essential roles.

I understand you would need to take annual leave like everyone else to attend events etc, so you don’t have any special privilege to compensate you for the fact you may have to work bank holidays.

Teachers are unable to take annual leave for a total of 39 weeks of the year, so perhaps a little more restrictive than NHS and most other professions. The offset, of course, is the extended summer leave. There are plenty of other jobs that restrict annual leave, often requiring workers to take their main leave at a time to suit the business. I do think teaching is a more extreme situation where one days leave l, even if requested with significant notice is still not permitted. I suppose it has to be seen as strict for the teachers as it is for the children.

it is not a question of whether cover can be arranged - it is flat out not permitted. Some headteachers might secretly bend the rules for their staff occasionally, but this will most certainly be an informal arrangement.

I wasn’t aware that you couldn’t take more than 1 weeks holiday with the NHS - no wonder the sickness rate is so high! Are you ever given the chance to swap shifts with colleagues?

This is not a news story at all. My ex wife is a teacher. She loved pulling a sickie . Going on holiday a day early to avoid expensive flights or pulling a sickie to go and see her favourite Welsh referee doing a meet and greet.
I think she got a bit of a kick from it . Thought she was the cool teacher.

I do think this is extreme, I’ve never worked at a school which wouldn’t give you time for an uncle or godfathers funeral. (20+ years in education here, several schools).

if I found myself I a school that draconian I would leave.

How would your daughter know why her teachers are off?

And yet, at my daughter’s school, she frequently talks about teachers being off for a variety of reasons. I don’t think “teaching” is the problem, I think some schools have stricter policies than others.

I disagree. If it was relevant, surely he would have approached the school on that basis. But he didn’t.

Reading SM comments, it looked like the vast majority were “go on, son” comments of support. I did wonder if this would have been the same support if he had been she.

No leave permitted over Christmas/new year, Easter or any other public holidays.

Annual leave the only option for any event, including events held at night or on weekends, and can only be taken a week at a time,

Annual leave can be cancelled or declined if it cannot be covered. It regularly cannot be covered.

Welcome to the world of resuscitating
people for a living.

A few people on here saying he was stupid to post a photo. From the article I read, he didn’t. His friend did.

I also think it shouldn’t be newsworthy. Who actually contacted the press and told them this story?

What are the restrictions in your profession against taking leave?

Exactly what I said to my husband when I saw the story! He was a bit naughty, but in what world is it newsworthy?!

I have worked in Corporate roles for over 20 years of all sizes and the education profession for 7 years.

So yes I am well aware of the differences.

I have said I think the restrictions in some/most? areas of teaching are over strict.

Good teachers would ask months in advance to attend life events like weddings, graduations, etc, for which they would know the dates of in advance.

And would still be refused the time off @grumpygrape
My colleague was refused a day off to go to her own brother's wedding.

I retired earlier than planned, simply because I'd missed out on so many events due to the hard line taken on time off.

As PPs have said…there is virtually NO flexibility in teaching. I’ve been at my school for 9 years, rarely had a day off for any reason. My 97 year old Uncle died recently…he was the last of my aunts/uncles and also my godfather. His funeral was in Preston…a 5 hour journey for me (and that’s being conservative…it was at 10am on a Friday morning, so it’s anyone’s guess how long it would actually take to get there!)

I asked for the Friday off to attend…and was refused…told ‘immediate family only’ and only a half day would be given then!

On the same day that my request was refused, I was asked if I would be an additional teacher to go on the Year 6 5-day residential. I refused…petty probably, but goodwill has to work both ways!

Canada also have much smaller class sizes than the U.K and an understanding of staff safety.

Perhaps I should have made clear, it’s newsworthy because the sensation seeking media and public enjoy the Stag Do element in particular. I actually find the damage to the Passport, by a person in a position of trust with children, more interesting. I hope teachers don't lie and destroy government documents all the time. We all find different things less or more interesting and the media is in the business of click bait whether we approve of that or not.

His later diagnosis and current medical issues are a completely different issue but will stir public interest even more. I’m not sure if subsequent illness should ameliorate the original wrongdoing.

Having worked with someone who sat on GMC tribunals I am aware of where to find and have read some of their findings.

It is fraud as he was being paid.
But.. he is daft from posting it on Facebook and there is more to it as it was a mate who dobbed on him

Seen this many times with my work....

It's a regulated profession so as with all regulated or public office professions it is considered by journalists to be in the public interest. He was lucky because dishonesty is considered a character flaw that cannot be remediated and so often is a sackable offence in regulated professions unlike mistakes and misjudgments that can be learned from and put right. I am guessing that the newsworthy bit was that he didn't get sacked. Do you really want someone dishonest looking after your children?

👏👏👏

I've been a teacher for 26 years. I have been allowed days off for moving, afternoons off for sports days and school plays and my last school was really flexible about things like this, especially if my colleagues and I did cover favours for each other in our free periods so school didn't incur costs.

Unfortunately, I have had to miss out on friends weddings abroad, visiting unwell relatives, and family holidays but I've accepted that is the pay off for the long summers. It actually pisses me off when other teachers do things like this because when slt find out it makes them less likely to be flexible to the rest of us. Budget cuts and staff abusing the teachers generous sick leave entitlements have made my current school impose a horrible staff attendance policy where you are hauled into meetings and given warnings and targets for very small amout of absence which is resulting in sick staff coming to work and spreading their germs.

It's not newsworthy but he is a dick for doing it. I would welcome the ability to have a day or two we could use flexibly each year though but the government will never fund that, they aren't even funding the pay rises they begrudgingly gave out so it is adding to further cuts and pressure.

Lack of flexibility for school staff is an absolute nightmare but tbf it does depend on the school.

My current school has been happy to sanction days off for me to attend my daughter's first year uni prizegiving and two days for her graduation due to distance.

My previous school made me jump through hoops when my elderly dad broke his back, then threatened me with absence procedures when he was on end of life the following year and I was signed off with stress. I was forced into taking an unpaid sabbatical rather than being allowed to take the sick leave I was entitled to.

Unfortunately you don't tend to know the difference before you start working with them.

When teachers are leaving in droves - so they say - I can well understand why they wouldn’t fire hm. Such a thing shouldn’t be media-newsworthy, though - there’s more than enough real news to fill the pages.

As a teacher myself, I can see why this person felt the need to lie. The holiday request would have been denied anyway and he would have missed a key life event for one of his friends.

I was denied going to my own brothers wedding as he was getting married abroad and I couldn’t be granted the time. I’ve been denied going to funerals because the person who has passed is not ‘immediate family’ - The holidays are great, but not when you’re unable to go to personal and extremely important events throughout the year.

I once had a class whose parents started a WhatsApp group about me and started a false rumour that I was getting time off work to take my child on holiday. It turned into a massive deal in which I was questioned about. Nothing was ever done or said about the blatant lies.

I must add that I am actually fortunate to be in a school with a supportive headteacher. It is not their decision and they have strict rules to stick to too. I am glad this story is bringing attention to this issue that has been going on for years.