Colleague not pulling weight

[ProudCat]

I'm the HOD of a small dept - none core, secondary. My colleague routinely responds to requests with 'I've got a free [says when free is] and I'll see if I can do it then.' She comes in at a leisurely pace and often leaves within 10 minutes of the kids. The thing is, we're on the same point of MPS and I'm pretty much doing lots of her job for her, e.g. apparently tidying her classroom doesn't fit into her frees so I'm doing her recycling to stop the place becoming a pit (it was dumped in my office), she hasn't sorted out any assessments or mark schemes, she hasn't set any homework using our system. In other words, she's like a warm body in the classroom, wants all resources provided, and doesn't appear to understand she's meant to be contributing anything at all (seems to believe that everything is the HOD's job and she only needs to do 32.5 hours a week). Oh, and her behaviour management is terrible.

It's her appraisal soon.

Advice?

Are you her line manager? Have you spoken to her yourself? My first thought would be for you to speak to her and delegate her responsibilities and provide deadlines as her leader. Be really clear with what you want her to do.

If you get nowhere, you then go to your line manager and explain that she isn't doing what she is asked. Be absolutely sure though that you are being completely fair with sharing out the work load, as I am sure you would be.

Are you her line manager? Have you spoken to her yourself? My first thought would be for you to speak to her and delegate her responsibilities and provide deadlines as her leader. Be really clear with what you want her to do.

If you get nowhere, you then go to your line manager and explain that she isn't doing what she is asked. Be absolutely sure though that you are being completely fair with sharing out the work load, as I am sure you would be.

I am her line manager. I'm not sure that I could be any clearer, deadlines are ignored and when I remind her it's always met with this scripted response 'I've got a free [says when free is] and I'll see if I can do it then.' But things never get done. This means that I end up doing it myself. For example, at the beginning of term I asked her to set an assignment task. I set the other five. She didn't get it done in her 'free' and so I ended up doing it as we ran right out of time waiting for her next 'free'.

I'll talk to my line manager. In the meantime, I'll start minuting tasks with deadlines in the shared dept meetings folder rather than going via email.

In that case, I would go ahead with speaking to your own line manager for advice. However, without knowing her, is she being purposely difficult and / or lazy with a bad attitude or is it that she is struggling and needs help? Just a thought, because it will enable you to know what stance to take.

One thing I have done with people struggling but willing, is to sit down with them and plan with them. Literally saying to them "Come on, write down what you will do in lesson 3, let me see you do it now, so that I can help, let's do it now and get it iff the list. " Literally get the planning done together. I appreciate this might not be logistically possible, and takes up your time but it's something I have done before with some success. They have to get the work done, as you are there, making sure they do it! Could you ask to have free periods at the same time as her?

As I said though, I don't know her, and if she is being deliberately difficult and not following your instructions because of laziness etc, you will need support from above you to take a tough line.

You need to speak to your line manager, and start documenting everything.

Stop doing the things for her. If she's asked to set homework, and she doesn't. Document it. If she's been asked to create a mark scheme and doesn't. Document it. If she's dumping recycling in your shared space, take it back to her room and document it.

Also start following up requests with a written email. That way you're starting to create an easily proven trail of evidence. Doesn't have to be anything fancy.

"Hi Jane, just following up that you're going to produce the final piece of homework for the Year 8s this half term, as we discussed. Thanks, OP."

She is perfectly entitled to leave within ten minutes of the kids, if that's when your directed time ends.

I was just about to say this.

The stigma around leaving school once you're allowed (if you don't have meetings etc) is poor. I often leave 10 mins after the kids, sometimes I take work home and other times I don't, and there's no shame in that. Often people comment 'oh you're leaving early... to which I reply that I'm leaving on time! I work hard and do extra hours when I need to, but I don't work myself into the ground and if something doesn't get done today then it gets done tomorrow. It's taken a while to get to this point, but I spent too many years constantly ill and exhausted before realising that nothing is worth more than your physical and mental health.

Toxic productivity is a huge issue in teaching and we shouldn't be glamorising working all hours of every day.

That said, I fully appreciate that as a HOD (I have no additional responsibilities beyond classroom teacher) your workload is much higher!

I'm not implying that she isn't neglecting her duties elsewhere, she should be sorting assessments etc., but I don't think it's right to use the time that she leaves against her, the issues lie elsewhere.

I think if she's actually done her job she's entitled to leave - but it sounds like the classroom is a tip and she's not done lots of bits of her job.

Sorry but being a teacher doesn't mean working hours - it means doing a job and if the OP is having to do literally everything and her own job as well then this isn't fair.

I just find this attitude of wellbeing ridiculous when this one staff members wellbeing is being massively prioritised over the head of departments. That HoD should do everything because they're paid £100 more a month? Don't think so.

Log everything like you're doing.

Also I would tell her that you're struggling because you're asking for things to get done.

Also don't tidy her classroom for her - if it's a tip then that's on her and she needs to be pulled up on it.

So long as you've actually told her what you're feeling - I think you then need to make sure every time you follow things up with an email you cc your line manager in - then you are doing fine.

She entitled to leave when directed time ends, no matter whether she's done her job or not.

The "doing of her job" in terms of whether she's done the tasks that's she's required to do is actually a different matter.

Thanks all. I'm already doing what's suggested here - coplanning, modelling, providing exemplars, setting deadlines, following up with emails, etc. I just can't seem to get past the script - the one that says if work can't be done between school start and school end, then it's not her responsibility.

Re: some of the strange comments about directed time, toxic productivity, leaving, etc., as a HOD my duties are outlined in my JD. For some reason this person seems to think it's everything she doesn't do between first and last bell. Both the Teachers Standards and the STPCD state this isn't the case.

If you're referring to my comments about directed time as strange, I am simply pointing out that you can't make anyone stay on site after directed time ends and it would be unwise to try.

If there are specific things that she's not doing which are definitely part of her job, then she needs to do them. And you need to follow up when she doesn't because it may be lack of ability or it may be lack of will.

Her suggesting that things will have to wait until her next free isn't unreasonable in itself. I can't do jobs when I'm not free, and I don't imagine you can either.

For clarity:

No work is done off-site, so leaving time is relevant. I'm not trying to make anyone stay on site. It seemed strange to me that this appeared to be the conclusion reached as if I was trying to bust someone's 1265. I'm not. And perhaps I'm wrong in thinking that teaching requires more than around 30 hours a week of work.

The issue isn't that something will have to wait until the next free. Not sure why this has been misunderstood. As I said, the issue is that it doesn't get done in the next free, or the free after that, or after that. In other words, the can gets kicked down the road / into the long grass and deadlines are missed. As the HOD that means I have to pick up the slack. Of course, I've now realised that I don't if I'm willing to let things break providing I have a clear email chain to back me up.

Thanks for all the constructive replies.

It sounds like she is someone with really strong boundaries about not doing additional work outside of her contracted hours, which is colliding with the fact that the education system only works if teachers work much more than they’re actually paid for. Did she work in a different industry before teaching? Since leaving teaching, I’ve noticed that her attitude is normal in many (most?) places. You work the hours you’re employed for and if it is physically impossible to do the job in those hours, then the person delegating you the unreasonable number of tasks in the one who is “responsible” for creating an impossible role. If every teacher acted like her, the school system would collapse, but she isn’t wrong. It probably should collapse and then hopefully be replaced with a system which doesn’t run on goodwill, guilt and exploitation. That does not help you though.

I don’t think it’s ‘strange’ to suggest that she’s within her rights to leave at the end of her contracted hours, even if the to-do list isn’t done. Why should she stay and work for free? It’s an outrage that teachers get paid 32.5 hours a week - most of us work far in excess of that, for free, and it’s wrong! So I kind of admire her sense of boundaries. Is she filling her time in her free periods? If she’s lazing about eating biscuits or staring at the wall, you’re well within your rights to feel frustrated. If she’s working consistently through PPA time and is unable to complete the workload you are giving her, perhaps the workload is the problem. Have you considered the issue from this angle? It may be illuminating. And reducing the workload may reduce the excess you are picking up too. You should not be worked to the bone either. I hope it all works out.

You make so many valid points here, highlighting the problem of workload in teaching. It's so difficult to fully understand the situation without actually knowing the people involved, but I enjoyed reading your post. If we all worked our exact hours, didn't work at home, didn't work at the weekend and told our Headteachers collectively it's just too much, it's home time so that report will just have to wait until you give me time to do it, then perhaps there would be real change in education.

From your follow up messages OP I think you've done everything you can on your own and it needs to go to your LM now. You are quite within your rights to delegate bits of the smooth running of the department to them (obviously proportionate to your levels of responsibility), and I presume they haven't expressed any other difficulties. Equally they are within their rights to work to their directed time and the scope of their role BUT there is that 'any other reasonable requests' bit tin the STPCD (that for most people makes a mockery of 1265 and causes workload issues) but in this person's case is potentially meaningful.

Hand your timeline to your LM, explain it's affecting your own workload and the smooth running of the department and see what they suggest in the context. Obviously this then depends on the quality of your LM but you can't keep on doing everything just because you're the HoD. Definitely don't touch their room, if there's an issue with that in our school it would be the site manager or team that had a word about that.

OK, an update, but to answer a couple of points first:

Why should she stay and work for free?

She wouldn't be. Teacher's pay and conditions (Burgundy Book / STPCD) states that as well as their teaching hours (32.5), a teacher must work any reasonable additional hours to discharge their duties. It's not working for free. It's literally in the contract / job description. And I suspect the reason that it's there is because it would be very weird for a public sector employee to be on 5 hours less than the average worker pw and get 13 weeks holiday a year.

I have considered the workload from this angle - of only working 39 weeks per year at 32.5 hours pw - and I consider that this doesn't meet Teachers' Standards.

I should also point out that she doesn't work outside of school. So 32.5 hours is the maximum. How do I know, because there's no evidence of any other work.

Anyway, I had the difficult conversation and it turns out this member of staff doesn't know how to use a diary or calendar, hasn't worked anywhere else in their life (previous roles were supply) and doesn't understand time management. They were basically drowning and using avoidance strategies. We had a really good chat, worked out a plan, and they've been fine since - doing about 40 hours a week on site and nothing at home. They're much happier. A bit annoyed at the script they were encouraged to use by someone who was manipulating them for their own purposes - which I didn't know about when I first posted here. We also talked about boundaries and how important it is to set them, communicate them and be able to stand up for yourself in terms of keeping to them.

I think we'll be fine going forwards. The colleague wants to flourish. That doesn't necessarily mean working all hours of the day and night.

That sounds great, and v well handled on your part as a HoD. I see your point about hours, and 40 hours on site with none at home does seem reasonable. Glad it all worked out!

That was really positive to read. You sound like a great HOD and I’m glad for you both at the eventual outcome. Thank you for coming back to update!