Part timers - staff meetings?

[tiredteacher8]

I've just started a part time 0.4 jobshare at a new school. Love the school and I'm hoping to stay there long term.

I work mon/tue. I was told today that I'm expected to attend 40% of staff meetings. Fine. Except they fall on a weds which is a non working day for me. This would mean I would have to put my children in an afterschool club and be available 3-5pm including travel time every Weds! This wasn't mentioned at interview.

I don't want to seem awkward or unwilling but I have other commitments on my non working days. As a compromise I've said I'll attend 40% of the remote ones whilst we're on teams.

What do other part timers do?

Is it a state school or a private school?

As a compromise I've said I'll attend 40% of the remote ones whilst we're on teams

Don't do this. It's attendance by another name.

Email them to say you have other commitments. Do not apologise. Do not explain what these are. Say you will catch up via written minutes of the meetings.

As union rep I'm anticipating this where I work, where meetings are far more strictly regulated than they are in the UK. If you have to sit through a recording, you are at the meeting, therefore working outside your hours.

Thanks. I was just checking I wasn't being unreasonable. Nothing was mentioned at my interview, just the 2 days each week of I'd be in school.
I think it's a knee jerk as my jobshare partner has kicked up a fuss recently about not attending them all. As far as I know other part timers who work on different days don't attend.

It's a LA state school so burgundy book applies I think?

If they want you there, would they consider moving the staff meeting day? So 40% on a Tuesday and 60% on a Wednesday?

I’m 0.5 and my job share and I work alternate Wednesdays, which is when our staff meetings are so works nicely.

@ChittyChittyBoomBoom

If they want you there, would they consider moving the staff meeting day? So 40% on a Tuesday and 60% on a Wednesday?

I’m 0.5 and my job share and I work alternate Wednesdays, which is when our staff meetings are so works nicely.

That's a good suggestion. I think I will suck up attending 40% of the remote ones, which let's face it, will be for the foreseeable future. During this time I will have got my feet under the table a bit.

When we switch to face to face I'll have the conversation if they push the issue.
I'm also going to speak to other part time staff at the school as I'm pretty sure that the other part time staff member who works the same days & is a 0.4 doesn't attend them.

Don't attend them. If you start, it's difficult to go back. Once things do go face to face they can just beam you in remotely and you'll be stuck with it.

Don’t attend them, even remotely. I work 0.6 and only attend meetings on my work days. I would have to pay for extra childcare to attend meetings on my days off, and there’s no way I’m going to pay to go to work! Just so happens this year that most meetings are on my days off. The only exception for me is that I will do parents’ evenings on my days off, as it’s easier than the alternative of phoning or emailing all the parents individually.

I’m the same as bubble
Been part time for 4 years now and never attend meetings or inset on my days off.
I will do parents evening on a day off if I’m the only teacher who can (I’m science so most of my classes are shared).

Unions are clear, only do staff meetings on days you are in school. (Says she who does them anyway as otherwise left out of the loop - my school is not good at minuting and distributing.)

Could they move them/rotate them so you could attend some?

In one school, they were at the start of the week for one half term, then the later end for the next. That worked really well.

Equally, your colleague who happens to work on a Wednesday should not attend 100% of them if she is part time.

I'm a HE lecturer and our department meetings were always on my afternoon off. They have now twigged I never attend and they move days. Bother!

@ItsIgginningtolooklikelockdown

Equally, your colleague who happens to work on a Wednesday should not attend 100% of them if she is part time.

Absolutely! She should only attend 60% and I fully support her in that. When she put this to SLT though their answer was that as we jobshare one of us should always be there, hence requiring me to attend the other 40%. I'm happy to attend 40% but not on days I don't work.

Yes they are just wrong about that. In teaching they seem to think you can be paid part time but the rest of the time you are sort of "on call" - no you are not.

I work a staff meeting day but it obviously then equates to much more meeting time than I should be in. However I've found that I'm then very out if the loop so I do like to attend. We have a number of part timers and so the head worked out our directed time % and added up staff meeting time we should be at and what would be "over."

It's varied depending on how we've been doing twilights and training days but it generally means we can get a day (or more sometimes) back in lieu, miss a twilight etc.

The down side of working on the staff meeting day is that you do loose that valuable after school tidy up, prep, marking time.

Remote staff meetings shouldn't be a reason to attend though. I wouldn't be able to attend due to child care if it wasn't remote.

If they are demanding it you should get the time back. But they have no grounds to demand. Occasionally staff here have not done a staff meeting day and they just didn't do them.

I’m the 0.6 of a jobshare with most staff meetings on a Wednesday, when I work - I go to any on a day I’m in because it’s just easier & I’m there anyway.

However once or twice a term we have them on a Tuesday instead which then means the other half of the couple of jobshares we have can go. And then everyone feels like it’s a bit fairer.

They definitely can’t expect you to go on your non working day - you could have another job to be at them!

Then.

Why can't they minute them?! That's what we do.

I've never attended meetings on my day off. I will go in for parents' evenings. I'm not attending meetings remotely on my day off either this lockdown. I've learnt from last March onwards where people seemed to forget i was part time with days off. Make your boundaries now and stick to them.

It seems there's quite a consensus!
I've only ever worked the other end of the week before and meetings have always fallen on my day. I've just attended them all as it didn't really bother me.
I'm going to tell them no and take it from there. Might as well start as I mean to go on. I'm expecting them to push back so I think I will send an email to my union just to get their take on it.

Just tell them you'll attend if paid pro-rata each time for half a day. That should sort it.

I do 60% and asked for my days to include our meeting day then I do that 60%. Could your days be changed?

@Smileforthecamera

I do 60% and asked for my days to include our meeting day then I do that 60%. Could your days be changed?

I'm in primary so we job share one class. I do two days and she does the remaining three. We are never in school at the same time so as it currently stands one of us would always miss the meeting if it is held in the same day each week.