Page 11 | To refuse to stay at work late?

Onlyyours · 2023-03-04T10:36:13+00:00

I’m a teacher. Due to strikes a parents evening has been rearranged, but I had plans for that evening. Am I within my rights to refuse to do it, given the circumstances?

ilovesooty · 05/03/2023 18:14

LimeCheesecake · 05/03/2023 18:06

Another question - did the Head ask for preferences of rearranged date /ask if you had any prior commitments before rearranging?

If my contract stated I was expected to do evening or weekend work x number of times a year and those dates would be set in September, I would expect to be consulted as to my availability before it was rearranged, particularly given there was no requirement for it to be this specific date.

Since the OP said she only found out about the rearranged date from a letter that went out to parents it seems likely that there was no consultation at all.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 18:19

Since the OP said she only found out about the rearranged date from a letter that went out to parents it seems likely that there was no consultation at all.

I realise that OP didn't strike, and is thus caught in the crossfire; but did the unions consult with the schools/LEAs in advance as to when the best strike days might be, or did they just go ahead and inform them as a done deal?

MrsHamlet · 05/03/2023 18:20

did the unions consult with the schools/LEAs in advance as to when the best strike days might be, or did they just go ahead and inform them as a done deal?
Since all schools set their own calendars, even if they're in LEA control, that would be impossible.

ilovesooty · 05/03/2023 18:25

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 18:19

Since the OP said she only found out about the rearranged date from a letter that went out to parents it seems likely that there was no consultation at all.

I realise that OP didn't strike, and is thus caught in the crossfire; but did the unions consult with the schools/LEAs in advance as to when the best strike days might be, or did they just go ahead and inform them as a done deal?

Utterly ridiculous.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 18:30

Utterly ridiculous.

It was obviously a rhetorical question, with 'No' as the expected answer.

In general, if one side breaks an agreement, it doesn't tend to keep the other side eager to keep to their commitment.

noblegiraffe · 05/03/2023 18:38

The government are the other side of strike actions here, not school leadership.

LimeCheesecake · 05/03/2023 18:44

But the OP didn’t strike. She was in work on the strike days. She was available to honour her commitment to work the evening on that date.

the non-striking teachers at least should have been consulted. A doodle poll would have taken the head minutes. A message saying “we are going to move the parents evening, if there are any dates you definitely can’t do in March please let us know”.

All the OPs students’ parents could have a zoom meeting the day before/after. Go to the gig.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 05/03/2023 18:58

I would refuse to do it. You were available on the scheduled day, and booked your event around that. They can’t change it and just assume that everyone can then make the rearranged date. They MUST have an idea that some people will then not be able to make it.

The less intelligent on here trying to point out that other workers have to work late. Well yes, lots do, but they also get annual leave so they can choose to book a day off if they’ve booked tickets somewhere and want to be able to go to something. SOME jobs may have to work very late unavoidably at very short notice eg threat to life/danger of harm, or security of the country etc. or maybe in the legal profession. Sometimes with leave even cancelled (I have experience of this myself). But they go into those careers KNOWING this. And they will usually be paid VERY well for the inconvenience.

teachers don’t have annual leave. They plan to be free around directed time. Parents evenings are part of this directed time but if they swap it last minute like this then they MUST expect that some can’t make it.

OP, I’d personally just tell them you can’t make it but be prepared to figure an alternative way to see any parents that really want to see you. (Not all parents need or want to see every single teacher if there are no concerns or questions)

ilovesooty · 05/03/2023 19:02

noblegiraffe · 05/03/2023 18:38

The government are the other side of strike actions here, not school leadership.

Exactly. Some people obviously have more patience with some of the goady comments than I have.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 19:03

The government are the other side of strike actions here, not school leadership.

So there were no headteachers tearing their hair out, frantically wondering how to manage it? Do the government run all schools remotely and just pay somebody to look pretty and put their feet up behind a desk saying 'Headteacher'?

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 19:05

Exactly. Some people obviously have more patience with some of the goady comments than I have.

Just because somebody sees something from a different perspective from you, that doesn't make them goady.

Making outrageous statements like 'teachers just don't want to work, do they' is goady; caring about your child's schooling as a parent, whilst understanding and acknowledging that the teachers' concerns, is most certainly not.

noblegiraffe · 05/03/2023 19:05

So there were no headteachers tearing their hair out, frantically wondering how to manage it?

Headteachers are also pretty pissed off at the government

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 19:06

*acknowledging that the teachers' concerns

random 'that' got in there.

mewkins · 05/03/2023 19:06

PeekAtYou · 04/03/2023 11:04

My experience as a parent is that there's always one or two teachers who can't make it. They will call any parents who want an appointment at a different time.

Same at my kids' school.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 19:07

Headteachers are also pretty pissed off at the government

I'm certain that they are. But it still falls to them to deal with the results of the strikes, doesn't it? If the government cared and had to take the flak, there would never have been any strikes in the first place.

noblegiraffe · 05/03/2023 19:26

You’re trying to pit teachers against headteachers. Headteachers also balloted for strike action btw and will be perfectly aware why teachers are striking. They were tearing their hair out wondering which bit of the school budget they have to cut to fund the teacher pay rise from last September. I assume they’re quite supportive of the idea that it should be fully funded.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/03/2023 19:27

You’re trying to pit teachers against headteachers. Headteachers also balloted for strike action btw and will be perfectly aware why teachers are striking. They were tearing their hair out wondering which bit of the school budget they have to cut to fund the teacher pay rise from last September. I assume they’re quite supportive of the idea that it should be fully funded.

Not at all. Fair enough - thanks for clarifying that.

lieselotte · 06/03/2023 11:24

Jeanetmarre · 04/03/2023 17:09

Solicitors being notoriously badly paid of course and frequently forced to strike to improve their client's conditions....

Show quote history

You missed the criminal barristers' strike then?

City lawyers earn ££££££££. Many other lawyers, not so much.

Anyway it's not relevant.

lieselotte · 06/03/2023 11:26

Quite a lot of the job could be dumped in my opinion. But you're surely not suggesting that the job of of a teacher is not important

Oh lots of parents think it's not important. Don't you remember all the nonsense during covid when schools were closed and the sanctimonious idiotic MNers making stupid comments about parents not wanting to teach their own kids?

Who knew we didn't need teachers? I am surprised the government didn't sell off all the schools

lieselotte · 06/03/2023 11:28

Onlyyours · 04/03/2023 17:42

@ReadersD1gest - there is a saying along the lines that nothing should come as a surprise at parents evening. In other words, if there are problems, the parents will know about it beforehand.

Contact with parents is important, but this doesn’t have to be done at a parents evening. But we are straying away here. I do parents evenings, but the world won’t end if I miss one. Comparing it to a missed operation - even for a relatively minor op - really isn’t the same.

That is true. However, it is nice to go to a parent's evening and be told nice things about your child. Teachers don't usually call a parent to say a child is doing well, they usually only call to say they've misbehaved. So there is a real benefit to a parent's evening.

However, if people are keen to have a chat with a teacher, they can ask for a phone call.

Have you actually told your HT yet you have plans that evening and can't make it?

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 06/03/2023 12:53

That is true. However, it is nice to go to a parent's evening and be told nice things about your child. Teachers don't usually call a parent to say a child is doing well, they usually only call to say they've misbehaved. So there is a real benefit to a parent's evening.

However, if people are keen to have a chat with a teacher, they can ask for a phone call.

I agree with this. Surely nobody is suggesting that it's not a good thing for parents to get updates as to how their children are doing? Most people who do acknowledge the workload that teachers are under will be reticent to contact the teacher just for a non-specific chat, as it seems frivolous in the scheme of things and, if every child's parents did that, the teacher would be constantly interrupted and unable to concentrate on their work. Hence we have one or two specific days set aside for this very purpose, when the teachers clear their schedules for a few hours and parents are invited to comply with this scheduled time.

Whatwasthatshow · 03/02/2024 15:27

I’d love to
know if you made your concert last year @Onlyyours 🤣