Guidance Note G62 – Updated April 2014
Conditions of service – Support Staff
Summary
The conditions of service for support staff are those adopted by Suffolk County Council for the appropriate groups of staff, as determined by both national and local agreements. Schools must observe the contractual entitlements conferred on support staff by their conditions of service and may not vary them at school level, other than as County Council agreements allow. This guidance sets out the main elements of the contractual rights and entitlements of support staff. Matters of pay and grading are dealt with in Guidance Note G22.
Contents
1. National Conditions of Service / 1.1 / General Information1.2 / Working arrangements and holidays
1.3 / Sickness pay
1.4 / Resignation and notice periods
1.5 / Term time only working
1.6 / Retirement
1.7 / Pension Scheme membership
1.8 / Residential accommodation charges
2. Specific Categories of Support Staff / 2.1 / Caretakers and Cleaners-in-Charge
2.2 / Nursery Nurses
2.3 / High level teaching assistants and specified work
2.4 / Casual appointments
Schools’ Choice Endeavour House 8 Russell Road Ipswich Suffolk IP1 2BXPage 1 of 5
1.National Conditions of Service
1.1General Information
The conditions of service of all school based employees other than teachers are governed by the National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service of the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services. The document produced by the NJC is known as the ‘Green Book’, and is held for reference by the Schools HR team. In general it is not necessary for schools to hold their own copy. Schools wishing to hold their own copy may subscribe via the Employers Organisation. The agreement set out in the Green Book (the “Single Status” agreement of 1997) harmonises terms and conditions of employees who were formally either salaried (APT&C) staff or manual workers. The County Council has reached a number of local agreements to achieve harmonisation, which supplement the provisions of the national agreement and schools should not rely upon the Green Book without consulting the Schools HR team about such local agreements.
Support staff in Voluntary Aided maintained schools in Suffolk are generally employed under contracts of employment with the LA and are therefore subject to the same terms and conditions as employees in community and controlled schools.
1.2Working Arrangements and Holidays
37 hours constitutes a normal full time working week for support staff. Any working arrangements to suit operational needs, including “averaging” arrangements may only be determined by negotiation at County Council level. Employees paid at or below point 28 of the pay spine,that work more than 37hours per week, are entitled to be paid at time and a half on Monday to Saturday and double time on Sunday for the additional hours, unless there is a County Council agreement for alternative arrangements, as in the case of Caretakers and Cleaners-in-Charge. Employees who work less than 37 hours per week are paid for additional hours at normal time.
Holiday entitlements for part time staff are calculated pro-rata to the full time entitlement. The rate of pay for “term time only” employees is enhanced to include the correct pro-rata holiday entitlement. Further information is set out in guidance note G22 Pay and Grading of Support Staff.
Holiday should normally be taken during school closure periods.
1.3Sickness Pay
Entitlement to sickness pay depends upon service as set out below:
- In first year of service: one month’s full pay and (after 4 months) two months half pay
- In second year: 2 months full and two months half pay
- In third year: 4 months full and four months half pay
- In 4th and 5th year: 5 months full and five months half pay
- After five years: 6 months full and six months half pay
Any sick leave in the twelve months prior to the start of the most recent period of sickness is offset against the employee’s full entitlement.
1.4Resignation and Notice Periods
Support staff may give notice to leave at any time. Periods of notice required vary and schools should check contractual requirements. The minimum period of notice required by national conditions of service is the period between pay periods – this will normally be one month or four weeks. These are the minimum contractual notice periods which the employee should give. The period of notice which the school is required to give may be longer, as determined by statutory entitlement. All employees have a statutory entitlement to receive one week’s notice for every completed year of service up to a maximum notice period of twelveweeks. Employees with long service may therefore have a longer statutory notice period than their contractual notice period.
It is good practice for Head Teachers to monitor the reasons for resignations. If a person leaves in circumstances where there is known to be an unresolved grievance or dispute about the job or its duties, or about the employee’s treatment, the Head Teacher should investigate and record the circumstances to satisfy himself/herself that there are no grounds for a claim of “constructive dismissal”. The Schools HR Team should also be consulted.
1.5Term Time Only Working
Many school-based employees do not work during school holidays and are therefore employed for part of the normal working year – for example 38 weeks or 40 weeks contracts are common. The method of calculating salary is set out in Guidance Note G22. Payment of salary is made in twelve equal monthly instalments. No adjustment is normally made on leaving in respect of either technical overpayments or technical underpayments. The calculation set out above operates fairly provided that schools ensure that on appointment employment starts (at the beginning of term) on the first of the month before the start of the new term and employment ends at the end of the month following the last day of the term when employment ended (or on 31August at the end of the Summer Term). Employment starting or ending over the Easter break may need to be approached differently. Schools should ensure that employees leaving are not deprived of a reasonable proportion of the payment of salary made during school closure periods.
Term-time-only working arrangements do not apply to Caretakers, Cleaners-in-Charge and Nursery Nurses.
1.6Retirement
There is now no requirement that employees retire at the age of 65. Employees wishing to retire at 65 however can still do so. The Head Teacher may meet with the employee prior to their 65th Birthday, to confirm their intentions for the planning and provision of future resources.
1.7Pension Scheme Membership
Support Staff have the right to join the Local Government Pension Scheme. Suffolk County Council administers its own pension fund under the terms of national legislation. Enquiries about pension matters should normally be addressed to the Pensions Team on 08456 053000.
1.8Residential Accommodation
Accommodation charges for caretakers and cleaners-in-charge are a standard charge determined by a regional agreement. HR and Payroll will make arrangements for charges to be deducted directly from the employee’s pay on appointment.
Accommodation charges for care staff in residential special schools are determined by the County Council from year to year, with due allowance for the employee’s requirement to reside, and these will vary depending on the property occupied. The Schools’ HR team will have the relevant details for individuals.
2.Specific categories of Support Staff
2.1Caretakers and Cleaners-in-Charge
Working arrangements for caretakers and cleaners-in-charge are determined by a Suffolk County Council agreement, which allows for the flexible use of working time and contains arrangements for payment for premises “lettings” where the caretaker works less than full time hours. The agreement is available as Policy Document P65.
2.2Nursery Nurses
National provisions apply to nursery nurses working directly with children in classrooms up to the age of seven or working with children attending a special school or with children with statements of special educational needs. In this case a full working year consists of 195 working days of which 190 days will be days when pupil contact is required. For such staff 32.5 hours constitutes a “full-time” working week. The provisions for “term-time-only” working do not apply in this restricted case. Part time nursery nurses should be paid pro-rata to the proportion of the 32.5 hours working week for which they are employed.
2.3High Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) and Specified Work
The Education (Specified Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2012 define specified work as:
a)Planning and preparing lessons and courses for pupils;
b)Delivering* lessons to pupils;
c)Assessing the development, progress and attainment of pupils, and;
d)Reporting on the development, progress and attainment of pupils.
* “Delivering” includes delivery via distance learning or computer aided techniques.
A member of support staff may only carry out specified work to assist or support a qualified teacher, who directs and supervises the work (but need not be physically present), where the Head Teacher is satisfied that s/he has the necessary skills, expertise and experience. In determining skills, expertise and experience the Head Teacher should have regard to the professional standards for HLTAs:
The standards provide Head Teachers with a useful measure of the expected competence, necessary when making judgements required by the 2012 Specified Work Regulations (as to whether a member of support staff is sufficiently skilled to teach, including planning and delivering lessons, under the direct supervision of a teacher). Head Teachers should consider whether a member of their staff has demonstrated through practice that they meet the HLTA professional standards and are, therefore, competent to take on the role of HLTA.
The external HLTA assessment process previously facilitated through Regional Providers of Assessment, contracted by the Dfe, ceased on 31 August 2012.
2.4Casual Appointments
Guidance on making casual appointments of support staff is contained in GuidanceDocumentG09.
Schools’ Choice Endeavour House 8 Russell Road Ipswich Suffolk IP1 2BXPage 1 of 5