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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Teacher colleague absent all the time

35 replies

laughingcowismine · 26/03/2023 15:02

I'm getting to the end of my tether with my closest (professionally) colleague.

She has had 9 and a half days off work in the last 25 school days. Some of them are for her, some for her children. Every term so far this year, she has been off work for at least 5 days.

Getting cover teachers last minute seems to be impossible at the moment and I end up having to prepare, resource and organise everything that she's not doing, on top of my own class. We're both in Year 3 together, two different classes, so it's similar planning but each class needs different alterations.

I expect our SMT are on it with absence policies etc, but AIBU to be pissed off about it? I don't even know what, if anything, can be done about it.

OP posts:

Enfys1982 · 26/03/2023 15:09

YANBU. I’ve worked in a few schools and this kind of behaviour is rife. So much piss taking goes on and it is always the same people, usually for relatively minor stuff as well. They absolutely wouldn’t last five minutes in the private sector. I’m not sure what there is you can do as their Unions will always support them and so SLT won’t even go there.

Fully aware I’ll be slaughtered for this but it’s the absolute fucking truth in my experience.

PumpkinPie2016 · 26/03/2023 15:09

Although her absences are genuine, it is hard when colleagues are off. The cover/trying to support the person covering etc make a lot of work.

I am a HoD in a secondary and last year, my team were hit really badly by absences. Mixture of longer term and sporadic (but regular) short term. I was as supportive as possible to everyone but it did add to the load for me and others in the department. Sometimes, we couldn't get supply staff so had to cover between us which made things even worse. Don't get me started on combining 3 Y10 classes in the hall P5 one day 🙈🙈

Can you speak to someone on SLT? Not to discuss your colleagues absence but to explain that although you understand people are sometimes absent, you are struggling to manage x/y/z when alone and could they look at some support to alleviate the load.

CremeEggThief · 26/03/2023 15:14

I'd probably look for a job in a different school if I were you, as this isn't going to get any better. It's not fair to you (and the children in both classes) from your colleague AND SLT, who will just expect you to keep "holding the fort and managing", even if your own health breaks down as a result.

stargirl1701 · 26/03/2023 15:16

It has been a tough winter for illness - both for teachers and pupils.

CremeEggThief · 26/03/2023 15:26

Stargirl, that doesn't excuse the fact that the OP is being put on to all the time though! What's going to happen if/when she goes off ill as well, because she can't carry on effectively having to manage two classes?
The problem here is unfair expectations.

slowquickstep · 26/03/2023 15:30

This situation will never get better, your colleague knows she can have as many days off as she likes without being held to account. You need to go to the head and ask for help.

Original poster

laughingcowismine · 26/03/2023 16:06

Thanks everyone. I waver between feeling like it's petty to be pissed off, but it happens so frequently now that it just feels like she's taking advantage.

I'll have to talk to the head, I think.

OP posts:

2bazookas · 26/03/2023 16:10

Just stop doing her job for her. Prepare nothing for her class. Then the school, and colleague, will be forced to face the consequences of her poor attendance.

gogohmm · 26/03/2023 16:23

@Enfys1982

Very true, in many private sector jobs you get nothing for the first 2 days then statutory sick pay, amazing people are sick less

Wildspace · 26/03/2023 16:32

Talk to your SLT to get the additional support that you need. There may be other stuff going on that you don’t know about (chronic illness, disability etc).

dapsnotplimsolls · 26/03/2023 16:38

Find out what your school absence policy is.

GiantPandaAttacks · 26/03/2023 16:43

You’re aiming your resentment at the wrong person. If your colleague needs to be off, then she should be. Your SLT should have resources in place for lessons and not be reliant on you for cover.

I say this as someone who was left solely responsible for a 0.5 member of staff’s
timetable when she was long term sick. The marking, picking up teaching in my frees and planning broke me. But it was shitty management’s fault, not hers.

Try your union for help.

lailamaria · 26/03/2023 16:45

why would you speak to the head about your colleagues absences surely you don't expect to know the ins and outs of the situation

Iyjd · 26/03/2023 16:46

CremeEggThief · 26/03/2023 15:26

Which is the fault of SLT, not the teacher off.

dapsnotplimsolls · 26/03/2023 16:48

It depends whether they're taking the mickey or not. There was a teacher at my school years ago who became a rep for one of the unions. Rumour was that she did this so she knew exactly what she could/couldn't get away with in terms of absence.

cantkeepawayforever · 26/03/2023 16:48

Approach head:

’When x is off, I have to do a, b and c for her class. What would you prefer me to stop doing from my normal workload to allow time for me to do this? Or when would it be best for me to take the time out of class to catch up with the normal tasks for my class that I have not been able to do?’

Be assertive and positive - of course you want to help, but the head has to sort out the impact. You may find that instead of either time or you stopping doing things, alternative resource is found to cover your absent colleague - which is fine too.

ChickenDhansak82 · 26/03/2023 16:49

YANBU!

It's not up to you to sort out cover work! That's the head teacher's job!

You need to be firm with your headteacher and state that you are happy to help set the cover, but it will be charged at a supply rate of £X per hour. Or just say you do not have time and it is not your job!

I'm a secondary school teacher and we are expected to set our own cover work if we are off sick unless we genuinely have a good reason why we cannot!

Original poster

laughingcowismine · 26/03/2023 16:51

@lailamaria, I wouldn't talk with the head about the colleague, as I would expect him to protect her privacy. But I will talk to him about the impact of the expectation on me to cover.

Perhaps I am aiming my resentment incorrectly. But when she's calling in sick with minor ailments (three days off for a headache that she said wasn't a migraine and was able to be on her phone posting on Twitter), it rankles.

OP posts:

MrMucker · 26/03/2023 16:52

The problem is not the person absent, because anyone at any time could have an illness or emergency that keeps them from work.
The real problem is the issue of you having to pick up the pieces.
Could you perhaps draft an absence plan and present it to SLT. It ought to cover the basics, which is how the kids are to be supervised when this teacher is absent and a link showing how to find out where they might be in the SoW.
Present it to your managers, stating that it is a plan in case your colleague continues to be absent again. You can tell them that currently it is you and whoever setting all this up. However, it is too much to actually do in the long term and might end up making you ill yourself! (that's not sensationalist, it's true. It's why you felt the need to turn to people here as you are already at your wits end.
That means that if you continue to have to do this then, hell yeah, take time off yourself. You'll know that you left them required info to cover, and they'll know that they were warned this might happen.
There's no easy fix, but you absolutely don't need to be a doormat to picking up the pieces. Your employer has a duty of care to you, and you shouldn't hold back in pointing this out.
Good luck, it's a common enough story, but that doesn't mean you have to roll with it.

Lemonandlime123 · 26/03/2023 16:58

Are you her line manager? If not, you shouldn't be expected to sort out cover.

1415isgreat · 26/03/2023 17:03

Yanbu. Some people really take the piss. I had a friend who worked as a TA and the teacher went off sick. TA stepped up as unqualified teacher for months and taught. The minute lockdown was announced said teacher said she was well to return to work!

Bluebellsarebest · 26/03/2023 17:10

2bazookas · 26/03/2023 16:10

Just stop doing her job for her. Prepare nothing for her class. Then the school, and colleague, will be forced to face the consequences of her poor attendance.

Not really possible in schools though. Children need to be provided for. Someone's got to do it.

BeExcellent2EachOther · 26/03/2023 17:10

Can you speak to your manager and explain what you've said in your OP about how many times you've had to cover and suggest that they get your colleague to draft an absence plan in case she has to be off again as you will no longer be covering for her.

Confirm what you've said in writing and if the colleague is off again, refer them to her absence plan (& if that hasn't been done refer them to your request that she does one and that they should have ensured it was).

Make the absences your colleagues problem and her managers, not yours.

Bobbybobbins · 26/03/2023 17:41

You are right to aim the conversation at the expectation for you to do so much extra work when your colleague is off. Good point above about saying when you will get any time back to complete own workload tasks or something along those lines.

llamazoo2 · 26/03/2023 17:43

The only direct effect on you is the workload, which should be shared by others and not just shouldered by you. As for her actually being off I’m sure she isn’t having fun- be it because she’s poorly, doesn’t enjoy her job or anything other

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