Employers and Disputes
Employers – different types of schools, different types of employers
In our table of schools, the second column tells you who the employer is.
Where the school is a LA maintained school (community school), the employer is Leeds City Council. Trade unions have a TURA with Leeds which includes holding JCNCs. Community Schools have their own Governing Body, and National terms and conditions of employment for staff apply.
There are many schools listed as ‘Trust Foundation Schools’. These are maintained schools and operate within the same frameworks as community schools. A technical difference is that the Governing Body becomes the employer, not the Local Authority. National terms and conditions of employment apply.
Voluntary Aided Schools often have a religious faith-based character and operate within the same frameworks as community schools. These are another form of maintained school once more where the school’s Governing Body is the employer.
Free Schools are usually stand-alone academies directly funded by central Government and are the employer. They do not have to follow the National Curriculum and have considerable independent control over how they run their school. They are accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. They may or may not recognise Trade Unions, may or may not incorporate National terms and conditions of employment. It is advised to ask on these matters if you are considering working at a ‘Free School’ and read proffered contracts of employment carefully.
Academy Schools can be standalone schools or be part of a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) along with other academies. As a standalone school, they are the employer and are directly funded by central Government. They do not have to follow the National Curriculum and have considerable independent control over how they run their school. They are accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. They may or may not recognise Trade Unions, may or may not incorporate National terms and conditions of employment. It is advised to ask on these matters if you are considering working at an academy, and read proffered contracts of employment carefully.
Multi Academy Trusts (MAT) are created where several academies come together under direct control of a Trust. The Trust are the employer and are directly funded by central Government. Individual academies cease to be a legal entity in their own right. The Trust do not have to follow the National Curriculum and has considerable independent control over how they run their schools. They are accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. They may or may not recognise Trade Unions, and may or may not incorporate National terms and conditions of employment. It is advised to ask on these matters if you are considering working for a MAT, and read proffered contracts of employment carefully.
Disputes with Employers
You all have, as employees, either statutory or contractual terms and conditions of employment. On occasions, these entitlements and obligations are not adhered to. Where Unions have good working relationships with employers this is usually easily rectified via JCNCs or individualised support. Where a TURA exists with an employer who contributes to the Facilities Fund, NEU Leeds Officers can play a supportive role during working hours to help resolve issues at the lowest possible level as quickly as possible. The NEU always seeks to work with employers constructively and avoid disputes developing into industrial action whenever possible.
You are also subject to ‘working conditions’ when carrying out your professional duties as educators. These include everything experienced in your role, from workload to behaviour, from meetings to admin tasks, and more. Working conditions can become difficult, exhausting and stressful. Where Unions have good working relationships with employers, this can be tackled often arriving at effective mutually agreeable ways forward. Where good working relationships exist, formal disputes can be avoided through meaningful consultation and collaborative processes.
Often where we see poorer working relationships between employers and Unions, with an absence of TURA, JCNC, and no contribution to Facilities, there can appear to be a lack of willingness to work collaboratively. There often appears to be a lack of compliance with national terms and conditions, resulting in excessive workload and higher levels of stress in a demoralised workforce. This can result in increased staff turnover and increased staff absence along with difficulty recruiting new staff. Such situations are not good for anyone, particularly the pupils and students that educators want to give their best to.
Where we do encounter employers unwilling to be reasonable despite our best efforts in seeking negotiated settlements, we do sometimes need to resort to industrial action. Although always a last resort, we do find this can result in the desired sought-for changes, whether in recent local action or in national action such as the action over teacher pay two years ago and current action for fair treatment and pay for Sixth Form Colleges.