Teachers holidays not 'protected'

[LaurieFairyCake]

In discussions (slightly frustrated ones) with dh he says that the school holidays aren't protected in his contract.

This is prompted by him having to go in on odd days through the holidays meaning there is only one week in the six he can actually go away on holiday.

Apparently all the staff are miffed (new management), some have already booked 2/3 week holidays and are able to take them.

Dh is smt but has literally no say in any of this. Yes obviously he's going to be looking next year as this is a long line of taking the smeg.

Does he work in a state school? What does the union say?

Yes state school. He has not (and won't) talk to his union.

Sound like he does actually want to go in. No reason not to chat to union. You don't have to start any kind of formal complaint

It's me that's miffed. He's just going to put up with it.

He says that it doesn't say in his contract that holidays are protected so it must be ok.

I'm wondering if holidays are protected (I'm not a teacher)

He should have a set amount of directed time in his contract i.e. 196 days or similar that he is contracted to work through the year. That also includes inset and non teaching days I think. Has he looked at his contract?

Is this an academy? Is he on leadership pay spine?

Or it could even be in hours than days. I'm a part time teacher so I work 0.6 of our directed time which means I do 0.66 extra time on top of my teaching but it has to come out of that total and can't be in addition if that makes sense?

The directed time things a total joke, I've given up even talking about that. The head schedules meetings with him at 06.30, there's meetings after school every day until 6, parents evenings/open evenings every Thursday. And the latest is a compulsory training weekend.

That's why I'm picking on this. I'm getting nowhere with talking to him about directed time.

I'm wondering if not being able to take a 2 week holiday is usual in other schools?

Yes academy, yes leadership

Sorry, this not being able to take a 2 week break is the last straw for me.

It's not usual at all, no. But you can't help someone who won't help themselves. The union rep would not be allowed to disclose who had spoken to them. Is this happening to everyone in the school, or just senior staff? As I'm amazed no one else has raised it.

I'm in an academy and I'm only entitled to 30 days annual leave. I get school holiday but they can call me in to meetings or to carry out other tasks in school at any point.
It makes plenty trips away very difficult.

Planning, not plenty

Ok, so it is happening elsewhere. He's pretty much there all the time.

It's happening to all staff but even more to senior staff. The ones who were clever enough to book longer holidays are not being told they have to cancel or anything. One has booked to go for a month away.

It sounds like he is happy to do it or it has become the norm in his school and he's afraid to rock the boat in case it makes things difficult for him in future.

SLT can be required to go in during the holidays. It's the norm for them to be expected to be in for a couple of days for A Level Results and maybe 3 days for GCSE Results in my school. Between them they also cover every Saturday and day of half terms and Easter on rotation.It very much depends on what their responsibility is but someone in charge of data or head of sixth form for example will have to be in at least a few times in the summer. Some SLT definitely do more than others though. Ordinary class teachers should not be required to go in although many like to go in for results.

SLT do not have the same directed time arrangement. My previous principal required me to be in school in the holidays such that my only opportunity for a two week break with my family was the Christmas holidays. One of the reasons I left that school.

Fuckng hell, this is madness.
Nothing useful to add except, only sympathy

The main perk of teaching is the holidays. I'm not saying that's a reason to take up teaching but the cons are low pay, serious hours during the year, lots of paperwork, lots of pressure and inspections and difficult classes/children/families.
The pros are changing children's lives and.... Long holidays . Why stay teaching if he's getting all the cons and none of the pros??

Yes it's literally all cons. In at 6 every day, never home before 7. And on Thursdays not before 9. At weekends at least 2/3 rds of one day marking/planning. And now this stupid training weekend where because he's away Friday/Saturday he will then be marking Sunday

I had just stopped moaning constantly about this when he dropped the 'I don't have any time off longer than 7 days in the holidays'.

I honestly thought that I would get pretty much six weeks to make up for the above.

He's been in teaching 15 years and this is the first year all of the above has happened all at once.

I left teaching about three years ago. Last night I had a teaching related nightmare.
You have my sympathies OP.
And the general public still thinks teachers work 9-3 and have stupidly long holidays and don't appreciate those who have to work in the real world.

That's dire and not normal in my experience of working in private schools. They own us in term time but the holidays are sacred.

SMT can be directed at any point during the year, sorry. It is indeed in their contracts. They have different working conditions to other staff. It's one of the reasons I've never gone for SMT roles.

Despite that, it's a bit shit of the school to not allow for holidays! If I were him, I'd just say "sorry, not available that day" when looking at the days he's expected to be in.

Anything else is unreasonable.

Move to Scotland. Those arrangements are completely insane.