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.

Holy shit - that's insane. If that's how things are going, the mass exodus from the profession is going to get a whole lot worse. Dh is a deputy head and works long hours. He does work in the holidays of course, but he chooses when. No meetings etc except in the very last few days of the summer holidays.

I really think he needs to be speaking to his union - he doesn't need to do it with the school union rep, just go straight to the union itself and explain the situation. I can understand why he perhaps doesn't want to rock the boat in school but what you are describing is utterly insane. You are allowed to take annual leave uniterrupted from your job - it is entirely reasonable that he gets to take at least a 2 week holiday out of 6 so-called 'holiday' weeks.

Encourage him to fight this. Is his school a member of a MAT by any chance? Just because they aren't governed by the local authority anymore doesn't mean basic employment law doesn't apply.

Yes in SLT there is no limit to hours.

People were told that this would happen when state schools became academies.

I'm in SLT and contacted to work more days than non-SLT staff. I will be in for at least 5 days in the summer and can only go on holiday in the first 3 weeks of summer, the rest of the time I might need to be in.

At our school any staff can be called in over the holidays (private school) and often we have training in the holidays, although they do tend to give us advance warning. The people who come in for results day know about it so they have to book holidays around it. SMT have weeks of the holidays when they must come into work or be on standby to come into work and certain weeks booked in where they can take holiday - I think it's a 2 week period for each of them so that no part of the holiday goes "uncovered".