NUT Guide toSixthFormCollegeTeachers’ Pay andConditions
September 2010
This NUT briefing gives guidance on the pay and conditions for teachers in sixth form colleges and highlights the main features of the Red Booknational pay and conditions agreement and other relevant documents.
The NJC national negotiating machinery
Teachers’ pay and conditions in sixth form colleges are set out in the “Red Book”, the national agreement of the National Joint Council (NJC) for Sixth Form Colleges.
The establishment of the NJC, following sixth form colleges’ transfer out of local authority control in 1993, was due largely to the efforts of the NUT. The NJC’s establishment maintained national pay and conditions structures for sixth form college staff and avoided “local bargaining” on pay and conditions within individual colleges.
The NUT leads the national negotiations for the teacher unions (the other recognised teacher unions are ATL and NASUWT). The Sixth Form Colleges Forum (SFCF)provides the employer representatives for sixth form colleges collectively.
The teacher unions’ priority over the years has been to maintain parity with pay and conditions for school teachers in the face of continuing issues over college funding. Despite a common funding formula for post-16 students, in practice sixth form colleges receive less funding per student than school sixth forms. The teacher unions work with the SFCF nationally to seek to secure improved funding levels for sixth form colleges.
From 2010 onwards, sixth form colleges have a distinct legal status separate from other FE colleges. Although they now have a closer relationship with local authorities, they remain independent institutions. The NUT and the other teacher unions will continue to work to maintain national pay and conditions for sixth form college teachers comparable with those in schools.
The “Red Book” national agreement
The formal name of the “Red Book” national agreement is the National Conditions of Service Handbook for Teachersin Sixth Form Colleges. It covers matters such as:
- pay structure and pay levels
- working time and professional duties
- conditions of service such as sick pay, maternity pay, notice periods
- guidance on performance management, worklife balance and bureaucracy.
The full “Red Book” agreement, together with NJC joint guidance and NUT guidance on pay and conditions matters such as pay progression, performance management and workload/working time, are available in the Sixth Form Colleges section of the NUT website at
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Pay structure and pay levels
The pay structure for sixth form college teachers consists of:
- the Main Scale and PSPRange, applying to teachers who do not occupy posts of additional responsibility; and
- the ManagementRanges, applying to teachers in such posts.
Newly qualified teachers start their career on the six point Main Scale. Progression up the Main Scale takes place annually unless performance has been unsatisfactory.
Teachers who have reached point 6 of the Main Scale can apply for an assessment under the Professional Standards scheme. This is the sixth form colleges’ equivalent of the “threshold assessment” procedure in schools. Successful applicants can move to the higher PSPRangepay scale from the following September.
The PSPRange has three points in the same way as the Upper Pay Scale for schools. Progression takes place on a two yearly basis provided that teachers show evidence of continuing to meet the PSP standards.
The following figures compare pay scale points in sixth form colleges and schools for September 2009 (the date of the most recent sixth form college pay agreement):
6FCs£ Schools£
M121,098M121,101
M630,879 M630,841
P336,009UP335,929
A338,421UP3/TLR2a38,406
D345,341UP3/TLR1b45,289
Teachers who occupy posts of additional responsibility are paid separately on one of the five ManagementRanges (A to E), each of which again has three points. The colleges’ pay structure does not provide discrete responsibility payments as in schools. Progression on these ranges similarly takes place on a two yearly basis provided that teachers show evidence of continuing to meet the PSP standards and separate criteria related to management roles.
Guidance on the PSP assessment process,on pay progression on the PSPRange and Management ranges and on performance management (including theNJC’s agreed performance management framework) can be found on the NUT website.
Sixth form college teachers in London and the Fringe Area continue to receive separate London area allowances. The Inner London allowance for sixth form college teachers has not yet been increased to match the significant increase for school teachers implemented via the Inner London pay spine for schools. Securing increases in these allowances remains a major priority for the Teachers’ Side.
Part time teachers are entitled to be paid on a pro rata basis determined according to the fraction of the timetabled week for which they are employed.
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Principals and other senior postholders in colleges are outside the scope of the NJC negotiating machinery. Their pay and conditions are determined individually.
Working time & professional duties
Sixth form college teachers have the following working time obligations, which are similar to those for teachers in schools:
- they can be required to work for up to 195 days in any year, and can be required to teach on 190 of those 195 days
- they can be required to work for up to 1265 hours directed time per year to be allocated reasonably by the principal.
The balance between teaching and non teaching duties is subject to the reasonable direction of the principal
Part time teachers’ working time obligations are determined on the same pro rata basis as their pay entitlements.
As in schools, there is an open-ended obligation to work “such additional hours as may be needed” to discharge their duties effectively, in particular on marking, report-writing and preparation.
Sixth form college teachers’ conditions also include a requirement to teach for up to 6 hours over 2 evenings per week. A number of safeguards protect teachers against unreasonable demands in this respect.
Where colleges find it necessary to ask teachers to work additional hours, the agreement provides for compensation through additional pay or time off in lieu.
All teachers are allowed a break of reasonable length between sessions or between 12 noon and 2 pm and, where evening teaching is required, before commencing evening teaching as well.
Appendix 4 to the national agreement sets out an exhaustive list of teachers’ duties, including in particular teaching and associated tasks, reporting on student progress, attending meetings and cover.
The NUT has published detailed guidelines on workload and working time for teachers in sixth form colleges. Advice and support is always available to NUT college representativesfrom the NUT.
Conditions of service
The “Red Book” national agreement contains detailed provisions on sick pay, maternity pay and notice periods. All of these are very similar to the national agreement for school teachers (the “Burgundy Book”).
The national agreement also includes a range of other provisions such as leave for exam board work, for sitting examinations and for jury service; compensation for assaults; travelling expenses; and copyright and intellectual property rights.
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The national agreement provides that leave of absence for reasons other than those listed above is at the college’s discretion. Each college should have a policy on this area.
The following matters are not yet covered bythe national agreement:
- disciplinary procedures covering issues of conduct, capability or ill-health;
- grievance procedures; and
- procedures for reorganisation, redundancy and safeguarding.
Local machinery for negotiation and consultation
There are no nationally prescribed procedures for negotiation and consultation within individual colleges. Each college should have its own locally-agreed machinery for this purpose. The NUT has issued guidance and a model constitution for local negotiating machinery.
National Union of Teachers
September 2010