Disabled teacher - employment issue

[Forgetcourgettes]

I’m a teacher and have several chronic health conditions so am technically disabled, in receipt of PIP, blue badge holder etc.

I’ve been working in a temporary job share for the last few years and it’s been great to have to ability to work part time. Been better for my health working part time, stress lower which really impacts on my pain levels.

Until the last few weeks when I’ve been pushed to make my job-share permanent, I was happy to do this apart from the most recent job-share arrangement wasn’t working. senior management knew this, head teacher told me they didn’t like the job share teacher and the deputy head told me there were people way more qualified than the appointee interviewed. She has no idea why she was appointed.

I felt like my hand was forced to say I’d go back to work full time.

I don’t want to. At the same time I don’t want to have the stress of working with someone where we don’t gel!

If I return to work full time, I know my health will suffer.

I feel,the school are trying to get rid of me.☹️

My pain and anxiety have been through the roof since I said I’d go full time.

Did you say yes to them? What do you mean, make your job share permanent? It's unfortunate you (and the head) have been talking about your presumably temporary part time arrangement not working out well just now. Maybe you can think of steps to say how it can be improved.
I would think working part time could be classes as a reasonable adjustment in the light of you having the protected characteristic of disability.
What does your union say?

I have said yes to them. They wrote to me using lockdown and gave me 2 weeks to decide. They Head teacher is off sick right now so I haven’t been able to talk to anyone in school about it.

I mean the jobshare was a temporary one but they wanted it made permanent

So they wanted you to become permanent part time? And you said no?
I don't know who you sent the letter to but would a retraction not still be possible - outline concerns regarding your disability in it. Maybe you have sought advice from your GP about it all.

Hi, yes they did and I said no based on being forced to work with someone that I find difficult to work with.

So you want to stay a job sharer but just not with the person you share with? And rather than job share with the person who got the job you would rather go full time? Only you don’t want to go full time, but would prefer someone different to share with? Or am I misunderstanding?

I suspect you are going to struggle to argue that you want to be a job share but aren't willing to work with the person you job share with. Fundamentally, it isn't realistic, unless you come as a job share partnership ready made, too pick who you work with. And pretty much nobody gets to pick whether they like the people they work with.

Regardless of who you are, it is highly unprofessional of the Head teacher and deputy to discuss another member of staff with you. If they have issues which are actionable rather than personal prejudices, they should deal with then formally.

Given your situation I don't think it's unreasonable to ask to remain in the job share as a reasonable adjustment. But it is unreasonable to then say you can't work with whoever else is in the mix.

If the other person is temporary too, and you go permanent part time, then they could advertise for a permanent part time person and it's not likely to be your current colleague since the head doesn't like them.

It is perfectly acceptable to say you have reconsidered and don't want to be full time. However you need to overcome working with the other person.

Yes I want to stay part time but not with the person they've put me with. They themselves told me they hate being job share.

I know it's awful to say I don't get on with someone but I've had 4 other jobshare partners and it's never been an issue, things always went great and I was happy.

I thought a job share meant you worked separate days not at the same time.

Yes I do part of the week they do the other days.

With a jobshare you have a lot
Of contact with the other person during handovers etc

It doesn’t sound like they’ve done much wrong. They want you to make the arrangement permanent. I’m not a teacher but it seems odd to have a temporary arrangement that has lasted years.
They have you a reasonable amount of time to decide.
I don’t know of any job share in the 2 large organisations I’ve worked in in the last 10 years where they’ve been able to pick the job share partner.
What I don’t get is who doesn’t like the other person? I see you don’t but if they head doesn’t I can’t see them making the other person permanent.

Will you actually be working together at all

We are not all keen on our colleagues! You can (try) to deal with any problems through normal channels, you can't make it a condition of your own job.

A job share for a few years isn’t “temporary”.

You can’t make them finding you an alternative job share partner a condition, because you don’t like your current one. It doesn’t work like that.

I feel quite sorry for the other member of staff. Its unkind and unprofessional for the senior staff to be discussing this with you. How would you feel if you were in their position and being criticised on social media.

Vey few schools have actual job shares. They tend to have 2 part -time contracts?