Anyone spotted this new stumbling block?

[user1475086949]

On the whole, staff are raring to go and if we're told business as usual or close to it in September will get on with it, subject to risk assessments etc.

However, what with the summer being the one time teachers can get away, and having worked through the last two holidays, we have a very high number of staff already booked on holidays with return travel during the last week of the holidays and who therefore will, under current guidelines, be self isolating for the first 2 weeks of term.

Many staff are hoping their holidays will be cancelled, but if they're not, still plan to go, as they would lose the money if they don't.

I've asked today and roughly 25% of staff are booked to travel home during the week of 23 August or later.

So if all (or most) children are to be back in school from 3 September, the quarantine plan is going to have to go.

Nothing like a bit of joined up thinking

One thing to remember if you are forced to take it as unpaid leave, either you or a family member should immediately get symptoms so you can isolate due to symptoms and be eligible for SSP at least.

(if rules are still as now)

Replan how though?

I agree the new seems odd.

I don't think anyone in any sector should lose money.

I think this is why the government will withdraw this quarantine.

They are already talking about "travel corridors" where quarantine would not apply.

I think by August, people will be able to travel to places like Spain, Italy and France... subject to localized outbreaks in which case the foreign office will issue advice against travel = people will get their holiday refunded.

Quarantine will be removed by then i'm sure of it.

Otherwise teachers who have booked holidays prior to lockdown go and work from home before returning. Anyone who books/ed a holiday after this should be expected to cancel or take unpaid leave so a supply teacher can cover in their absence.

Liknk: www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53177282

We were asked if we'd planned overseas holidays for the last week, then told that if we were going to need to do quarantine, then it was 'ok', but it was unpaid. I don't know how many people will need to do that, but we have a lot of staff from Asia, who often go 'home' for the whole of the holidays. We'll see.

I think guarantine will have been shelved by then though.

As a matter of interest, apart from teaching, which jobs have set windows for taking holiday? I don't mean 'I can't book a holiday if two other members of my team have already booked'. I mean which jobs specifically dictate 'you can only book during these two weeks or this month'. Because as far as I can tell, the problem is that teachers have very specific and dictated periods when they can take time off and other jobs don't.

That's not really all it is Seldomseem. In a job where you get 4/5 weeks leave a year, even though in theory you can take additional leave to cover the quarantine period, you have quite a strong incentive not to use the last of your precious leave to stay at home for 2 weeks.

You've missed my point Ultimate Wednesday. The 'stumbling block' isn't because teachers refuse to use their annual leave to cover quarantine, it's because they have their holidays dictated to them. A different job potentially has the option to use annual leave to cover quarantine even though frustratingly that would use up all their annual leave. But they still have the option. A teacher does not have that option. Which other jobs have the same issue?

I think, actually, very few employers allow a block of 4 weeks' annual leave.

I work in school now but my previous 2 employers only agreed 3 weeks in exceptional circumstances

Before covid, yes of course. But these are not usual circumstances. Most employers wouldn't have granted so much working from home either, for example. I expect there will be employers that still won't allow four weeks but equally there will be several that will, otherwise nobody who has a job can go abroad. So back to my question. Surely there must be another job that has holidays specifically and consistently dictated to them, as teaching does?

Yes I remember the ash cloud we had 6 members of staff out but 2 were with the A level Geography cohort! They are got paid.

Guess it depends upon number of staff involved, if there are any localised shutdowns etc.

Maybe we should ban teachers from any sort of gathering, campsite or beach just in case 😂

Don’t know why people are getting in a tizz about this because who knows?

@Seldomseen there are quite a lot of people who have their holiday dates dictated to them with even flexibility than a teacher. It's one of the reasons why term time holidays should in my opinion be allowed for those who are affected as they literally have no option to go in the school holidays - and is absolutely nothing to do with cost.

Can you tell me what job that is please TheTeenageYears? I don't doubt you for a second, I just genuinely can't think of one where year after year you have zero flexibility on when you can take leave.

Any seasonal work has holidays dictated and lots of companies have a summer and/or Christmas shutdown which staff are obliged to use holiday for.

DS, in an engineering company gets 5 weeks, but he has to take 2 of them for their summer closure and one week for the Christmas break.

@Seldomseen a family member worked in a factory and his holidays were decided for him, FIL also at one point worked in a paper plant and had his holidays assigned 3 years in advance. Many people in those situations are only able to swop dates if they can organise it themselves. I remember my DM mentioning colleagues with husbands who couldn't pick their own holiday dates.

UltimateWednesday thank you for this. To be clear, so your husband can choose when he takes the rest of his leave though (I've also worked in jobs were two set weeks were mandatory but I could decide - roughly - when I took the rest of it) - as can seasonal workers? It sounds like though restrictive, they all still have an element of choice over when they can take leave.

"The rest" is two weeks, I'm not sure what you want to prove Seldom