Parental leave request. Anyone help?

[navyeye]

My partner is a secondary school teacher, obviously he can't take time off in school term and when my son goes to school he won't be able to get time off in term time either.

Each year at June time my extended family go away but my partner has never been able to come. However, following the birth of our son in 2013 he applied for a weeks parental leave; this was refused (initially outright but after 3 months they did say he could have the week after off) for businesses reasons:

1. Have to pay supply staff (but he doesn't get a wage so they covers it)
2. Year 10 controlled assessments (that can be timetabled differently)
3. Unfair to expect supply staff to have same control over class as he does (he has "naughty" classes)
4. Schemes of work (which can be timetabled differently).

Anyway he took the rough with the smooth and took the week after off just to spend time with our son and missed most of the holiday. But he applied immediately for the same week off in 2015. He was told they couldn't tell him yet if he could have it off as the timetable hadn't been done.

We've just found out now, 3 months later that he can't have it off for the same 4 reasons. Reasons 1&3 are not valid reasons, however, reasons 2&4 are business reasons. However, last year in the end they didn't do any schemes of work on this week, they did them beforehand and the same for controlled assessments, a different teacher entirely did it a few months before!

Is there anything he can do about this? Is there a definition of "reasonable grounds" for refusal? I just think it's so mean of them! We can't change the week of the holiday as it coincides with my Nans birthday, my mum and dad's anniversary and my brothers birthday.

Also another thought occurs, our sons nursery is closed the week we go away. I can't take Ds by myself due to health issues (this isn't true, but just for fun say it is), so DP will have to look after him. Would everyone think it was outrageous to take PL for this reason?

I do think the other two examples you give aren't really comparable. It's not possible to refuse (postpone) someone's maternity leave for a start, and it would be very unusual for a teacher to want to start maternity leave early unless there were physical reasons, which I can't imagine anyone on here would argue with. And I think most people would have a lot of sympathy if there were an unexpected breakdown in childcare arrangements beyond your DPs control.

But in your situation its an annual holiday which is not an emergency and could very easily be postponed for a few weeks and your DP already gets 13 weeks a year to spend with his family, not the 5.6 most people get.

I'm not saying teachers shouldn't be entitled to parental leave. I'm a school governor and I fully understand how hard teachers work, and also that they don't in fact put their feet up the minute the children are not in school. But in the circumstances you describe I don't think you should be surprised at people being a bit about him exercising that right.

Also, I can visualise the response from parents if a teacher were given a week off during term time to go on holiday. That may or may not be a factor in his school's reluctance as well.

Anyway, I hope you can work something out so that you get the holiday and maintain DPs working relationships going forward.

I can't even begin to imagine the bad feeling this would generate within my department legal right or not. Taking this leave is unheard of in teaching AFAIK.
You have 13 other weeks, use one of those instead. The quality of teaching from a supply is nowhere near that of the usual class teacher.
As flowery says, what would tye response be from parents.

navyeye
He isn't going to ask for 3 or 4 weeks, it just seems very odd that there is literally no business reason to refuse a request of 1 week unpaid leave not 4 weeks as is the entitlement

I'm being obtuse but isn't the "business reason" to refuse the fact he is a teacher asking for leave in term time?

I'd see this as a complete piss take to be honest and if I was forced into giving it, I imagine there would be other instances where I would be less than accommodating. Your husband pushes this and he should be prepared for push back in other areas - he can't be so naive as to not understand how this will completely piss off his colleagues and bosses? Is it really worth it?

I think it is completely beside he point that there is no financial cost to the school (although I bet the cost of 1 week supply IS more than your husband's wage for the same week) - it's just unnecessary disruption.

Agree with others, you and he are being totally unreasonable to expect time off in term time when so much other time is available. I suggest he rethinks his career path if this is your expectation.