You may be aware from the media that the National Education Union have declared strike action to take place on the following dates;

• Wednesday 1st February
• Wednesday 1st March
• Wednesday 15th March
• Thursday 16th March

Although the strikes will go ahead, there may be some uncertainty as to which schools will be closed.  It is unclear which schools will have a high enough level of teachers taking action to require them to close, and each school will make its own arrangements. Many schools will close completely, but some may have home schooling, while some may require pupils to attend but with a reduced teaching capacity, others will carry on as usual where the number of walkouts is low.  

Some schools may not know whether or not they will be closed until the day, causing more uncertainty and disruption for parents and employers. Employees should be advised to check with the school, as well as monitoring updates from the relevant local authority and the local and national press. 

This strike action may affect your business as some employees may need to take time off to look after their children.

Wherever possible you should discuss the type of leave available to those affected by the strike and who may need to take time off work. Remember, this may extend not only to parents but to grandparents or anyone who has childcare responsibilities and to those who work full time or part time. Employees should however, be encouraged to find alternative childcare arrangements wherever possible.

So what are the options open to you and your staff?

TAKE HOLIDAY.  

You may agree with an employee to take the day out of their normal holiday entitlement. Be careful not to give an extra days paid leave to those that are affected as this benefits them, but does not benefit those who are not affected, and so some employees could end up with additional days holiday.

TIME OFF TO CARE FOR DEPENDANTS.  

This type of leave is unpaid and so may not be useful to some staff, particularly during this current cost of living crisis. Time off to care for dependents rights is usually used for emergencies or unexpected disruptions such as sickness, but it could be used in these circumstances, particularly if the employee genuinely has no other alternative.  An employee is required to inform his or her employer of the reason for the absence, and how long it is expected to last, as soon as possible.  You should check your Time off to Care for Dependents policy and circulate it to those that may be affected.

WORK FROM HOME OR FLEXIBLE WORKING.  

You should consider whether or not employees can temporarily change their working hours or place of work, you should consider: 

• Working from home
• Flexitime
• Changing shifts
• Changing days of work

UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE.  

You should discuss the options with staff and plan what you are going to do to avoid them taking unauthorised absence. Avoid refusing reasonable requests for any of the options outlined above. As an employer you can take disciplinary action against an employee who takes unauthorised absence without good cause, if you are faced with an incidence of unauthorised absence you should look at all the circumstances before taking formal action. We are happy to discuss this with you if this occurs.

If you would like an initial free chat to see how we can help you please contact Iain Lock on

 01920 463777 or email any questions to ilock@qandalaw.co.uk