To say no! Twilight sessions (unpaid)

[LorlieS]

Can't sleep I'm so stressed!!
I'm working as a HLTA - paid hours 8.30 until 3.30.
Just picked up an email sent today telling me I need to attend two twilight sessions from after school until 6pm. Needless to say these will not be paid for and the first one is this week!
AIBU to say no?
Oh, and I also have a 3 yo and her childcare only runs until 4.30.

I would just say I don’t have childcare at such short notice and not attend.

At my school level 3 TAs and HLTAs have to attend twilight sessions. It's part of the contract.

But wouldn’t they (or one of them) come round to help you out as a one off (or 2 off as you say there is 2 sessions)?

Then you don't work for free.

She isn't working for free. If OP is on a typical HLTA contract then she is contracted to work 195 days: 190 teaching days and 5 INSET days. The twilight sessions will combine to form the equivalent of one full INSET day. This will be her TOIL if it is easier to think of it that way.

Then you probably need to look at other childcare options full stop.
If your mum is struggling so much she can't do another couple of hours it's probably not a suitable arrangement.
If you had other care like nursery then your mum could do wrap around.

If its an extra session ask if you can have time off in lieu that morning and drop your DC off later so mum is doing same number of hours.

I wonder whether the OP means £30K a year take-home, rather than gross.

I thought she probably was contracted to work somr twilight shifts, but in lieu of day hours. She seems to think not.
We can't answer it. It's all in her contract I guess.

Husband is not NHS, where does it say that? I earn just over £1k per month.

Yes you're right @TheCompactPussycat I mean £30k pa take home.

You need to check your contract as a first step. It is not uncommon for contracts to state x twilight hours per annum. You will then know if you’re negotiating the terms of your contract or politely enforcing them.

Not much you can do about it though - there are plenty of threads on here from people who find it hard or impossible to make friends, especially people you know well enough to trust with your children or feel you can ask a favour from.

@enchantedsquirrelwood Exactly. A huge thing that gets in the way for me is the fact that the hours I'm in work (start at 8.30, finish at 3.45ish) mean that I miss out on all school drop offs and pick ups. So many people assume TA'ing is very "child friendly" but actually it's incredibly inflexible in term-time.
I had desperately hoped to make new mum friends during my final pregnancy, especially considering that I was really starting again as an older mum and as my sons were 10 and 13 when my daughter was born. However, I had my daughter at the very height of lockdown in May 2020. No classes, no even leaving the house!!!

@AnneValentine Will go and check, thanks. It's the last-minute nature here that's made it impossible.

It can be separate things. When I worked as a TA we had an hour's training a week that wasn't considered inset, it was written into our contracts, so essentially just an extended school day. We didn't always have training, sometimes we'd have a meeting or just class organisation time.

Are you new to paid employment OP?

@BunniesRUs Not quite... been in education 20 years!!! Never been asked to do twilights as a HLTA with two days' notice, however.

That’s a bit weird as schools have to publish twilight in advance. But regardless check contract.

@AnneValentine I double checked with SLT that I hadn't missed anything as I'm always good at putting it on my calendar. I hadn't. There were no such twilights listed for support staff.

Is it listen for teaching staff? Because HLTA’s often fall into teaching staff

You should have a decent relationship with with then OP. Hopefully they're reasonable if you're honest. I've had luck with asking a nursery staff member to do work outside of the nursery. Also you could ask your husband to take off the time next week if possible. Or your older children could help out next week? 2 days is short notice but 9 days should be more doable. Well done on the course acceptance.

I don’t think I have ever seen a thread escalate so quickly from a grievance to handing in notice!

This is surely easy to solve. Do you normally attend INSET days? If so you should attend twilights. Sounds like someone screwed up and forgot to tell support staff they were expected. YANBU that it’s too short notice for this week. They will have to put on a catch-up (I’m sure you won’t be the only one). For the other one you will have to arrange childcare however if you normally attend INSET.

@BunniesRUs My older children don't live with me the vast majority; they live with their dad. He hates my daughter; would never in a month of Sundays allow the Court Order to be varied so they could sit their half-sister!!

@YippieKayakOtherBuckets It's not just this at all; this is just the final nail in the coffin. Schools are in bits. There's got to be easier ways to earn pretty much minimum wage...

Sorry to hear that, OP. Sadly your experience seems increasingly common.

Do you normally attend INSET days?

Ah, sorry, so non NHS emergency mental health care. Private? But for minimum wage?