PART-TIME TEACHERS:
PAY & CONDITIONS
This NUT guidance is for part-time teachers and for any other teachers
considering moving to part-time teaching.
It contains advice on the following areas:
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the advantages of part-time work from both the employee and
employer’s point of view;
pay, conditions of service and pensions and working time obligations of
part-time teachers; and
the implications of new legislation governing part-time working.
In 2006, the School Teachers Review Body began a review into the pay and
conditions of part-time teachers. The NUT has played a key role in this
process, which, it is hoped, will lead to the pay of part-time teachers more
fairly reflecting the actual hours they work. Up-dated information will be
published as soon as the outcome of the review is known.
This guidance refers to regular part-time teaching and does not deal with
supply teaching or other short notice employment. Separate NUT guidance is
available for members on the latter areas.
Separate NUT guidance is also available specifically about job sharing for
members seeking job share arrangements or already working on a job share
basis.
WHY PART-TIME WORKING?
Who might be interested in working part-time and why?
Many teachers need to combine their teaching career with other, equally demanding,
priorities, including family and caring commitments, voluntary or other paid work and
full or part-time study. Part-time working provides a means for such teachers to
juggle the various facets of their life.
Many teachers, not just those currently working full-time, find the prospect of working
part-time to be an attractive alternative to an undesired career break. Part-time
working can appeal in particular to the following groups:
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women teachers returning to work after maternity leave;
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teachers who wish to pursue courses of study or work in other types of
employment but also retain their involvement in teaching;
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men and women teachers seeking part-time employment to allow them to
play an active role in rearing their children or to undertake other caring
responsibilities;
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mature teachers who, after an absence of some years from the profession,
would like to return to teaching but not initially on a full-time basis; and
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teachers with disabilities or progressive medical conditions who may, with a
lightened teaching load, be able to remain in employment.
Why should employers be interested in part-time working?
Part-time working can help employers with recruitment and retention as well as
demonstrating their commitment to equal opportunities. In particular, it may
encourage more women teachers to remain in teaching after maternity leave or to
return to teaching. It can also reduce turnover because teachers with convenient
hours of work are more likely to stay in post. It may also reduce teacher stress,
tension and illness, enabling teachers to come to the job fresher and more
energetic.
Schools then benefit by having more highly motivated teachers who feel that their
professional experience and expertise is well rewarded. The results have been
demonstrated by OFSTED research which found that the quality of work of part-time
teachers was “significantly above the national average” with benefits for the quality
of educational provision and pupil progress.
SEEKING PART-TIME WORK
There is no general legal right to move to part-time working from a full time post.
The law, however, protects you against unfavourable or discriminatory treatment. If
you are employed to teach full-time but wish to request a move to part-time working,
it is good practice for employers to consider such requests objectively and in some
circumstances employers may be legally obliged to do so.
In some cases teachers are able to rely on local agreements or informal requests for
flexible/part time working. Where such requests are not granted teachers with a
child under the age of 6 may seek to exercise their statutory right to request flexible
working. Further information on this statutory right, which was introduced in April
2003, can be found in the NUT briefing ‘NUT Guidance for Members on the Right to
Request Flexible Working’, available on the NUT website at www.teachers.org.uk
Applying for and securing a vacant post advertised as part-time due to the particular
needs of the school is more straightforward. It is, however, also possible to apply for
part-time working in vacant full-time posts on a job-share basis. Again, where you
do so, the employer will be obliged to consider this request objectively.
Some local authorities and school governing bodies will be sympathetic to requests
for part -time working or a job share agreement. Others may have a number of
reservations. Once you have decided to seek part-time work it is helpful to
investigate a number of matters.
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Is there a part-time working or job sharing agreement in place in the local
authority or school?
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Is there an equal opportunities agreement which refers to part-time working?
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Are there any other teachers in similar posts or circumstances who are
working part-time or in a job share?
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If other teachers have been refused such an arrangement, what were the
reasons for the refusal?
Having considered these questions, you will be better prepared to put your case.
If there is a job share or part-time working agreement in place, the employer should
follow its terms. A refusal to do so could be a breach of contract by the employer.
In some circumstances, the refusal of a request for part-time working may be a
potential breach of equalities legislation. For example, it may be a breach of the Sex
Discrimination Act 1975 to refuse a female teacher’s application to job share for
childcare reasons if there are no objective reasons to justify the refusal. It is not
sufficient for an employer simply to cite “continuity of pupils’ education”, for example,
as a reason for refusal. An employment tribunal will investigate whether the request
has been considered fully and the NUT has successfully challenged such assertions
at tribunal. Furthermore, male teachers in similar situations should also be treated
equally.
PAY, CONDITIONS OF SERVICE AND WORKING TIME:
PART-TIME TEACHERS’ ENTITLEMENTS
Part-time teachers can be employed in a variety of different situations which involve
different contractual relationships and duties under those contracts.
Some part-time teachers are employed on permanent contracts while others are
employed on fixed term contracts. Some are employed on a job-share basis, either
permanently or temporarily, sharing a single full-time post. Some supply teachers or
home tutors are referred to as part-time teachers, even though their hours of work
will vary during any particular period when they may in fact work the same number of
hours as full-time colleagues.
As noted above, part-time teachers’ rights and duties will depend upon the precise
nature of the contractual relationship with their employer. The following sections
consider typical arrangements and the legal rights and responsibilities which apply.
“REGULAR” PART-TIME WORK
Many part-time teachers have contracts which refer to a stated proportion of full-time
employment (e.g. 0.4 or 0.6 contracts). These contracts are often referred to as
“regular” part-time contracts.
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Ensuring Fair Pay
Part-time teachers must, as laid down under the School Teachers’ Pay and
Conditions Document, be paid that proportion of the appropriate full-time salary
which corresponds to the proportion of the school week they work.
In order to ensure that part-time teachers are paid the proper “rate for the job”, it is
therefore essential that the job, both in nature and number of hours, is accurately
defined in the contract of employment and that the appropriate fraction of a full-time
teacher’s salary is determined by reference to that figure.
Simply stating that the teacher is employed on a “0.4 contract” is unsatisfactory and
likely to lead to problems. More detail on this point is set out in the following section
on “Working time”.
Working time
Under the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, full-time teachers must
be available for work for 195 days each year and for a maximum of 1265 hours of
directed time. In addition, they must work such additional hours as are necessary
for the effective discharge of their duties, including in particular marking, preparation
and writing reports on pupils.
The provisions of the Document do not, however, satisfactorily define the position of
part-time teachers, particularly as far as the relationship between pay and working
time is concerned. The working time obligations of full-time teachers under the
Document do not apply to part-time teachers. The DfES’s advice is that the working
time of part-time teachers should be set out in their contracts.
This is, however, rarely the case. As noted above, most contracts simply provide
only that the teacher is employed on, for example, a “0.4 contract”. This refers only
to the fraction of the full-time salary which the teacher is paid. It does not of itself
specify adequately the working time obligations of the teacher with regard to
teaching and non-teaching activities. Failure to define working time obligations
properly in teachers’ contract can, in particular, lead firstly to disputes over
obligations to participate in non-teaching activities and secondly to part-time
teachers not receiving salaries which reflect the full extent of their working time
compared to that of full-time teachers.
It is obviously preferable that matters such as working time obligations are resolved
at the outset, when part-time employment starts, in order to avoid subsequent
difficulties. The NUT believes that every part-time teacher’s contract should,
therefore, clearly specify the teacher’s working time obligations in terms of both
teaching and non-teaching activities.
Specific provisions should therefore set out part-time teachers’ working time
obligations and contractual working hours in each of the following areas:
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the days of the week on which they are expected to work;
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their teaching time obligations, which should include an allocation of noncontact time which is pro rata to that of full time teachers employed at the
school (note that part time teachers also now benefit from the 38 hour annual
cover limit, calculated on a pro rata basis and, as of 1st September 2005, from
the entitlement to planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time
equivalent to 10% of their timetabled teaching time);
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their working time obligations in respect of other duties such as registering
attendance, supervision of pupils, and attendance at staff meetings, parental
consultation evenings and in-service training;
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for those part time teachers with leadership or management responsibilities, a
reasonable allocation of time within school sessions to support the discharge
of their responsibilities.
By setting out their total contractual working hours in this way, the appropriate salary
can be determined accurately as the fraction of the working hours of full-time
teachers employed at the school.
Further guidance on this area, including examples of how this approach works in
practice and the difference this can make to part-time teachers’ salary entitlements,
is set out in the Appendix at the end of this document.
Problems over Working Time Obligations
Any part-time teacher or prospective part-time teacher who needs advice about their
contract of employment, including on any of the issues addressed below, should
contact the relevant NUT regional office or, in Wales, the NUT Wales Office, NUT
Cymru, for assistance.
Part-time teachers often experience problems in relation to attendance at activities
outside the classroom, such as staff meetings and INSET, on days when they do not
normally work. Many part-time teachers find that their headteacher expects them to
attend all staff and parents’ meetings and all INSET days. As noted above, where
this is not taken into account in the terms of their contracts then part-time teachers
are likely to find that that their salaries do not reflect the actual time which they work
in comparison to full-time teachers.
It may, of course, be the case that, due to other commitments, part-time teachers
are genuinely unable to work on those days when they do not teach. Where this is
the case, the NUT believes that headteachers should respect this position.
Headteachers may not, on any case, direct teachers to work in circumstances where
such a direction would be unreasonable.
Part-time teachers should be offered the opportunity to attend all INSET days,
including those which take place on days when they do not normally teach, for
professional development reasons and should be properly paid for doing so. Failure
to allow part-time employees the opportunity to attend training available to full-time
employees is now unlawful.
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The NUT supports part-time teachers’ right to have access to the full extent of
professional development opportunities available to their full-time colleagues. In
such circumstances, payment should be made by including this time in their
contractual working hours as outlined above. Where it has not been so included,
part-time teachers should be paid on a supply basis for attending INSET on days
when they do not normally teach.
Other Salaries Matters
With regard to other matters affecting pay, the rules of incremental progression on
the pay scale operate in the same way for part-time teachers as full time teachers.
Part-time teachers are entitled to an incremental spine point if they have worked
during at least 26 weeks of the previous school year. There is no requirement to be
employed to work the full week. Periods of time taken up on sick leave, maternity
leave or parental leave are counted for incremental purposes.
The same is true of access to the post-threshold pay scale and progression on that
pay scale. Part-time teachers are entitled to apply to cross the threshold in the
same way as full time teachers when they reach the maximum point of the
incremental pay scale.
Finally, the rules governing placement on the leadership group pay scale are also
the same for part-time teachers as for full-time teachers.
Conditions of service
Part-time teachers have equality of entitlement in relation to contractual conditions of
service such as sickness and maternity benefits. Entitlements to sick pay, sick leave
and maternity pay are pro rata on the same basis as salary entitlements. The length
of service requirements for these benefits, however, and also the length of maternity
leave, are the same as for full-time teachers and are not calculated on a pro rata
basis.
Pensions
Part-time teachers are fully entitled to membership of the Teachers’ Pension
Scheme (TPS). Until 2007, part time teachers were required to decide positively to
opt into membership of the TPS. This sometimes created problems for teachers
who did not realise that they had to opt into the TPS and consequently lost service in
the scheme. From 1 January 2007, however, the rules of the TPS have changed.
Part-time contracts commencing on or after that date are automatically pensionable
unless you elect to opt out of the TPS. However, if you have a part-time contract
already in existence at that date, it does not become automatically pensionable and
you will not become a TPS member until you make an election or a new contract
comes into effect.
Moving from full-time to part-time teaching will affect pension entitlement. Your
length of pensionable service will be reduced because only the days on which you
work will count towards pensionable service. Also, although pension is calculated
on the basis of the full-time equivalent salary, moving to a part-time post at a lower
salary grade may affect the “final salary” against which your pension is calculated.
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There are, however, provisions in the TPS which will give some protection, including
various arrangements for buying additional pension benefits and arrangements to
protect “final salary” for those close to retirement. Teachers who work part-time or
are interested in doing so can obtain specific guidance on the pensions implications
of part-time work from the relevant NUT Regional Office or, in Wales, NUT Cymru.
Other entitlements
For statutory protection relating to job security, the length of service necessary for
entitlement to protection from unfair dismissal and to redundancy payments is the
same whether the teacher is part-time or full time.
JOB SHARERS
Job sharing is an arrangement whereby two teachers share one single full-time post
between them. As such, job sharing is a form of part-time work.
Teachers working in job share arrangements are in the same position as teachers in
“regular” part-time work with regard to their contractual entitlements. They will,
however, have particular obligations with regard to co-ordination of working
arrangements between job share partners and, usually, there will be specific
arrangements for dealing with situations when one job sharer leaves.
Full details and NUT guidance on this area are set out in the NUT’s Job Sharing
guidance document which is available from NUT regional offices or, in Wales, NUT
Cymru and is also available on the NUT’s website, www.teachers.org.uk
SUPPLY TEACHERS AND HOME TUTORS
Supply teachers, whether they are employed directly by local authorities or individual
schools via supply teaching agencies, are in a different position with regard to pay
and conditions of service. NUT guidance for supply teachers on pay and conditions
matters is available on the NUT’s website.
Home tutors, who may be employed on a full-time or part-time basis, are also in a
different position with regard to pay and conditions of service. Again, NUT guidance
for home tutors is available on the NUT’s website not only on pay and conditions
matters but also on professional rights and expectations, travelling allowances and
health and safety precautions when visiting students at home.
TEACHERS RETURNING TO THE PROFESSION
Many teachers are interested in taking up part-time employment after a break in
service. Specific NUT guidance on pay and conditions relevant to such teachers is
also available on the NUT’s website, covering issues such as salary entitlement on
return, credit for non-teaching experience gained during breaks in service, their
effect on sick pay, maternity pay and pensions entitlements and their effect on
redundancy and other statutory employment protection rights.
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FIXED TERM CONTRACTS
Part-time teachers employed on fixed term contracts are in the same position as
“regular” part-time teachers with permanent contracts with regard to their contractual
entitlements.
They do not, however, have the same security of employment as teachers with
permanent contracts. The NUT believes that too many part-time teachers are
employed on fixed term contracts in inappropriate circumstances. Fixed term
contracts are appropriate only where there is a genuine short term purpose for the
teacher’s employment. For example, they might be justified where teachers are
employed to cover for teachers absent on maternity leave, secondment or long term
sick leave, or for full time teachers who are working part-time for a certain period
before reverting to full time work.
The NUT believes strongly that in other circumstances teachers should have
permanent contracts of employment in order to provide them with security of tenure.
It is not acceptable for teachers to be offered fixed term contracts for inappropriate
reasons such as fears of possible budget shortages.
The NUT will support members in challenging the inappropriate use of fixed term
contracts. In particular, since most part-time teachers are women, offering part-time
teachers only fixed term contracts could constitute unlawful indirect sex
discrimination.
It is important that teachers who are offered a post only on a fixed term contract
should seek NUT advice before accepting the post or as soon as possible
afterwards.
THE NUT - FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PART-TIME TEACHERS
There are many ways in which employers may seek to disadvantage part-time
teachers. Denial of part-time work and misuse of fixed term contracts have already
been mentioned. Other examples include the attempts which some employers make
in reorganisation or redundancy situations to implement redundancy procedures
which target part-time teachers in particular.
The NUT always seeks to protect part-time teachers against improper treatment by
employers. As noted earlier, one approach is to use discrimination law to protect
against policies which could constitute unlawful indirect discrimination. Another
approach will be to use recent legislation which protects all part-time workers against
improper treatment.
The law now requires that part-time employees are treated no less favourably by
their employers than full-time employees. This is the result of legislation following an
EU Directive protecting part-time workers. Although part-time teachers already
benefit from equal treatment in most areas of pay and conditions of service, this
legislation will also help in securing equality of treatment in other areas such as
access to training, use of fixed term contracts, threats of redundancy etc without
having to go down the time-consuming road of establishing indirect discrimination.
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Any part-time teachers who feel they are being unfairly treated by their employers
should therefore contact the relevant NUT Regional Office or, in Wales, NUT Cymru
without delay. Together we can overcome your problems.
National Union of Teachers
August 2006
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APPENDIX :
PART-TIME TEACHERS’ CONTRACTS – SECURING FAIR PAY IN PRACTICE
This appendix includes two examples of the NUT’s approach to part-time teachers’
contracts applied in practice and the difference this can make in terms of fair salaries.
In each, the morning teaching session is assumed to be 3.5 hours and the afternoon
teaching session to be 2 hours.
Calculating total working time for the individual part-time teacher
Total working time should be determined as follows:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Teaching time, also including timetabled non-contact time
(proportionately equal to full time colleagues)
Registration and supervision duties
Staff meetings, parental consultations and miscellaneous duties
(including a reserve for unforeseen requirements)
Working time required on non-pupil days
"Disturbance" travel time allowance
NB : (v) should apply to compensate part-time teachers for additional travel time
required in undertaking an additional journey to return to school for activities outside
the school sessions where full-time colleagues would not have to do so.
Example A : Part-time teacher teaching five mornings per week
This example assumes that the teacher is required to attend a one hour weekly staff
meeting with one hour’s “disturbance” travel time for the double journey that day.
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Teaching time (including mid-morning break)
and non-contact periods:
Registration and supervision
(ten minutes before and five minutes after
morning session assumed):
Staff/departmental meetings etc.:
Parental consultation:
Miscellaneous/reserve:
Five non-pupil days (INSET etc):
“Disturbance” travel time:
665 hours
47.5 hours
39 hours
30 hours
10 hours
30 hours
39 hours
Total:
860.5 hours
= 68.0% of 1265 hours
The part-time teacher should therefore be paid 0.680 of the appropriate full-time
salary. This compares to 0.64 based simply upon 3.5 hours out of 5.5 hours of the
pupil day.
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Example B : Part-time teacher teaching two full days per week
This teacher is not required to work at all on non-teaching days. The time in (iii) for
meetings etc is only 25 hours and there is no “disturbance” travel time.
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
Teaching time (including mid-morning break)
and non-contact periods:
Registration and supervision
(30 minutes per day assumed)
Staff/departmental meetings
Parental consultation
Miscellaneous/reserve:
Five “non-pupil” days:
418 hours
38 hours
25 hours
15 hours
10 hours
30 hours
Total:
536 hours
= 42.4% of 1265 hours
The part-time teacher should therefore be paid 0.424 of the appropriate full-time
salary. This compares to 0.40 based simply upon 2 out of 5 days each week.