To refuse to work without pay...

[Untilsummer]

Morning, I've NCd as this is quite detailed and I don't want to be recognised.

So I'm a teacher, who lives in Wales but works in England. Wales is still in lockdown and schools haven't re-opened.

I'm due to return to work next week when my school re-opens. I'll be doing the childcare element with a TA as well as delivering online lessons to my class throughout the day.

Now due to my nursery being closed, I cannot come to work one day a week as I'll have no childcare. My HT has been aware of this for a few weeks. I can still do my virtual lessons from home, like I have been doing but I wont be physically able to come into school.

My HT has told me that I'll have to take these days as unpaid leave. AIBU to then turn around and say that I won't be doing any work on said day then? Including the virual lessons, giving feedback, answering parent/child queries, setting home tasks?

Surely I can't be expected to be work from home unpaid when this is what I've been doing for the past x weeks?

@Walkaround @RandomLondoner

MarieG10 - you have just proved poor staff relations has nothing to do with the school not being an academy!! Academising the school will not improve the lousy relationship between the new HT and their staff.

Well I'm not so sure. Improving staff relations isn't helped when there is a consistent cohort that have historically demanded and done what they wanted, including having shocking sickness records that have gone unotified and unchallenged despite the LA having sickness absence policies which frankly look like they have been. Having a group of staff like that is corrosive to good staff relations overall as others feel angry as they do more work. Ie during lockdown can you guess which of the staff never volunteered to,come in and teach key worker children?

I am CIPD qualifies and frankly I'm appalled at the poor quality of advice the school get, some which is blatantly wrong. One thing academies can do (and I have seen) is much better HR advice and more robust in managing staff with issues rather than letting them just drag on and winding up other high performers.

I would be interested @Walkaround which perspective you comment from?

For me I'm afraid no pay = no work. It's as simple as that. If your HT is asking you to take unpaid leave then s/he shouldn't be expecting you to work.

In term of expectations I either want A) Work from home paid e.g. virtual lessons, planning and feedback from home. B) Unpaid leave. I wont be working at all

I assume that, legally, you're required to work the days / hours in your contract. You're entitled to request flexible working, but employer isn't obliged to grant the request

I'm a teacher. I would never work for free. Definitely get clarification on that.

Solomummy I've got side tracked but according to the numbers you gave a teachers official working day is only 6.5 hours. That can't be right surely?

In your last post OP you state that you are unwilling to put your child in a short term child care situation, so there is a childcare option but you choose not to take it. If I was your HT then I would expect you to be available for work, you are choosing not to use available childcare. It would be an unpaid leave in the private sector and most likely a black mark on your record, due to intractable behaviour.

No, the 6.5 hours is directed time, when the Head can tell you what to do, where to do it and when. All the rest of the role falls under the " and any additional hours as required to fulfil the professional duties" So at the moment I have to write reports. That falls under my professional duties so has to be done. It doesn't fall under my directed hours so I can chose when and where I do them. If I want to write them in the bath at 3 o clock in the morning I can. But the work has to be done in addition to my directed hours.

Thanks spanieleyes. I think I get that. So if you did 1.5 hours in addition to the directed you'd be doing an average working day but the head only gets to say 'you have to be in the classroom' (or wherever they want you to be) for 6.5 hours a day.

Reading between the lines I think your HT is saying do the 4 days online at home as normal, but if you can’t come into work on the one day as requested, then you don’t need to work that day from home either and it’s classed as unpaid (which is reasonable - why should you be paid if you are not working). But they absolutely cannot expect you to do the on line lessons on that 5th day and not be paid for it.

@Untilsummer what happened OP? Did the HT confirm you aren't expected to WFH?

OP, I mean this in the kindest way. . . You have a job! Paid employment. While you are doing that job, you need childcare for your 3yo. If the usual childcare is shut, you Have to use an alternative.
My children are school aged so can do to school as kw kids when I start back at work next week. However, they will be picked up from school by a childminder who is a virtual stranger because their usual after school club is shut. It’s not ideal, but it’s necessary because I need to be in work. I was bloody lucky to have got two childminder places and if I hadn’t been lucky, I would have been exploring other options like the mad woman I am

In your op you say you can’t come to work because you have no childcare but then you later say you won’t use alternative childcare.

So you are not stuck for childcare, you are choosing not to go to work. I understand a new nursery place is not ideal but needs must