Part time teachers- what happens if you are asked to change days?

[mrsflux]

I work mon and tues. Head has asked me to do mon and fri next year as class share. The other person would do tues - thurs.
I really don't like the idea of mon and fri.

Can I say no?
What are my options?

I work PT and as my understanding was that as long as they offer you your 0.4 and are blocking it then you really have little choice. A different matter if it was spread over the week in 1 or 2 hours blocks.

I know at my school it would be a case of they have met your PT requirements and we cannot pick and choose days. In fact we are lucky to get full days off!

You would need to have some rock solid personal reasons for not wanting those days or why can't the other person swap?

P.S I hate this time of year as timetables always = tension and lots of negotiations.

I can't stand the thought of spending the weekend waiting to go back to work.
More importantly tho it would mean more change for the children as they'd be swapping teachers twice a week rather than just once if we did start/ end week. When I had to come out of class in jan to cover ppa it was all for the continuity of the children etc so might try to push that angle.

What does your contract say your hours are and does it say anything about changing them?

What contract?!?

You have never had any kind of contract, or a letter about your hours or anything? Did you start off part time, in which case how was the job advertised, and if you have reduced your hours was this not recorded in writing at all?

Is this a state school??

Just a letter offering me 0.4 when I went back after maternity leave.

Oh and it is a state school.

i work part time and have always chosen the days I work. thought that was the way it was done!

i would hate to work both days flanking the weekend. hope you can get it changed.

I would think that if you have no contract specifying your working days then the days you have been accustomed to working become your contracted working days. My employment lawyer told me that if it becomes accepted and established practice for you to work certain hours or days then these become your contracted hours even if you do not have a written contract specifying them. Requiring you now to work different days would therefore constitute a chenge in your contract terms which cannot be imposed without your consent.

Anyone like to clarify this?

Possibly.

OP was there literally nothing in your letter other than 0.4? No mention of days or anything like that? How long have you been working Monday and Tuesday? Do other people work part time and change their days each year as a result of timetabling?

I've never seen a teachers contract which specifies the actual days you work. It simply says 0.4, or 0.8 or whatever.

The rest of your terms and conditions will be as they were in your original contract.

As a general point, this doesn't sound like a great arrangement for the children. Much harder to ensure continuity of progress across the week, much harder to plan effectivly. Do you know why you are being asked to change?

i'm being asked to change so i can job share with mrs x as previously they've had a floating teacher to cover ppa but can't justify that for next year.
they did ask me to do this swap earlier on in the year at very short notice but i said no as we had already paid/ been invoiced by nursery and it would be too disruptive for ds who was only 9mo at the time.
i think nursery would be fine with the change as there's plenty of notice BUT i don't want to do the start and end of the week.
i'm also not keep on sharing a class with mrs x but that's another story, and something i can't avoid.

i don't have a proper contract - not sure anyone does at our school.
i've only ever worked mon and tues (since went back in sept 09)
mrs x i think has only ever done tues-thurs. BUT her children are all at school now and her mum does pick up/ drop off so possibly less of a child care issue for her.

i wish i could just say no!

Phone the LEA staffing and salaries department and ask them for a copy of your contract.

Could you speak to your headteacher and say that you are happy to change your working days, but would like to work two consecutive days - either Monday & Tuesday or Thursday & Friday. Say that you feel the arrangement he is suggesting is more disruptive for the children, and will impact on your childcare arrangements and you would like him to re-consider his suggestion.

This shows that you are willing to be flexible.

My understanding is that part time teachers are employed for their hours and it is up to the school which days the hours are timetabled on. They quite often change the days from year to year and they are not even obliged to block the hours together.

Yes but they would have to state in the contract explicitly that the days can be changed at any time by the school to suit them. If this is not stated I don't think they can impose it. In the absence of an explicit clause in the written contract you would have to look at what has actually been the practice in the OPs case, and if she has never yet had her days varied by this employer I think she has the right to regard the days she has always worked so far as being part of her contract.

Willing to be put right on this, but as far as I know that is the law.