AIBU to ignore GCSE results queries during holidays before maternity leave?

[LilyGreenJade]

Currently 38+5 pregnant. Teacher and so fortunately finished for the summer as normal in July. Had it not been the summer holidays, I would have taken maternity leave at 37 weeks anyway. DH and I have also been ill for a few days this week with a fairly bad stomach bug.

GCSE results’ day yesterday. Only Heads of Department and senior staff expected to be in school/contactable on the day, which I am not. This is stated in contract.

Received an informal Teams’ message from Head of Department yesterday saying they needed to speak with me regarding a particular student (a simple case of organising a remark which only HoD can do anyway) and could I let them know when I was free to talk. I felt really annoyed that firstly I was being contacted during the holidays, secondly that they are fully aware I am close to my due date/would have been on maternity leave otherwise, and thirdly that there is nothing I can do to help. HoD has form for passing on work which is their’s to do. I ignored their message. I then also had several students sending me messages on Teams late last night regarding remarks. I very briefly replied to them saying to speak to the HoD.

I emailed the HoD and Deputy Head Academic this morning explaining that although I had seen the overall results, I was not really in a position to begin analysing paper breakdowns, discussing remarks, and contacting students/parents. I said I was happy for any remarks to be processed. As of tonight, I have had no reply.

YABU - results are important and you should be involved as their teacher.
YANBU - You should not be contacted during school holidays as per your contract, and especially given the proximity to your due date and that you would have been on maternity leave anyway if not for the holidays.

The replies expecting OP to work during annual leave time really annoy me. In no other profession would it be considered acceptable to be expected to do work when on leave. Teachers do have longer holiday periods but this is also reflected in wages. Often contracted to work 200 working days a year with salary spread over 12 months.
Your should not be expected to be on call or to work during holiday periods. Most teachers do as they can’t get everything done otherwise but this should never be an expectation!

I think yabu with a GCSE class because it sounds like you are not actually on maternity leave yet, it just sounds like you conveniently picked the start of term to start maternity leave.

No I'm not. As I have said more than once, I'm doing reviews for my class today. My choice.

But it's not a low key task, especially if the person asked to do it isn't standardised on the paper they're being asked to look at.

My point is, the mat leave is a red herring - it's the HOD's job.

You’re not on Mat leave though? I don’t think it’s that unreasonable to support on results day. I was a teacher and have supported several results days (two whilst actually on Mat leave)

My babies were born before the days of year long maternity leave, with No 1 my waters broke on Wednesday, a month early, so I was kept in hospital, it was just 2 weeks after I stopped working, on that day I marked some exam papers I'd promised to mark, on the Thursday I wrote my newspaper column and on the Friday she was born! Kept me from being bored out of my skull.

You may not officially be on maternity leave but you are on holiday. Stop looking at TEAMs! Job done. Maternity pay for teachers is so poor that it’s an actual scandal. Don’t be guilt tripped into working above an and beyond your contract. The papers can be remarked without your involvement. Rest up and prepare for motherhood x

As several PP have pointed out, it is absolutely acceptable and even sometimes expected to be reachable during holidays in other professions.

You aren't on maternity leave and although I know teachers are not actually paid for the whole 10 weeks holiday (only for the usual 28 days) you are still employed by the school and you ought to have replied about the remarks if only to say you don't feel you can participate much at 39 weeks but will help in any way you can. It would have been polite and you are not on maternity leave - are you not thinking of going back to the school? Because if you are, the HoD won't forget this and schools are political minefields.

You can't really believe that?
It's fairly normal in any professional job to have to be contactable sometimes when on leave

Just as it is fairly normal in professional jobs to have to do long hours at evenings and weekends.

I don't understand teachers who think these things are unique. Do you not know any other professionals?

No, it isn't universal to be expected to be reachable when on holiday. And teachers are not actually paid for most of the time off so it's unpaid overtime. Teachers are paid for 1265 hours plus directed time (staff meetings, training days, parents' evenings, marking etc) and get the same (up to) 28 days paid leave everyone else gets. Their salaries are paid across the year but I have long thought that pay should be for term time and paid holiday so we are clear that the rest of the holidays is not for school work. (One would have to save from salary to cover , of course, and I am not suggesting lowering salaries, just not spreading payments across the year.)

Teachers frequently work 60 hour weeks and are not paid at the same rate as e.g. solicitors or doctors.

YANBU, Jeez they want their pound of flesh don't they? You are not only likely to give birth but unwell also.

Are you on actual booked annual leave? In that case YANBU. Just put an Out of Office on your email and forget about it. You’re allowed to have a holiday!

It's universal but common enough to not seem unusual. My husband takes phone calls, sends the occasional email during holiday, I often do the same. I took my work laptop on honeymoon, joined a zoom meeting whilst abroad on holiday with a 6 week old etc. Oh, whilst getting paid less than a teacher.

It's not ideal and I've tightened my boundaries in recent years, but something relatively brief soon a long summer holiday doesn't sound particularly arderous to me.

More fool you. People fought for their right to annual leave. Why give it up so freely?

I dont recognise the notion that only teachers and the best paid professionals (eg lawyers & accountants) work 60 hour weeks & are expected to work whilst on annual leave.

Plenty of solicitors will earn less than teachers. Not all branches of the profession are high rolling.

And I can think of many other professions (particularly many public sector workers I know) who do long hours and pick stuff up when on holiday.

Agreed. It's always worrying to realise how many teachers seem to have no concept of what many jobs are like

How would the teacher who emailed you know that you would have chosen to start maternity leave already? I chose not to start until 39 weeks and wanted to be involved in stuff until I went out.
Just chat with him if you are capable of it.