4.10.1 Teaching Staff

The annual school year consists of a minimum of 179 school days of which 12 are regarded as public examination days. The annual leave of teachers is established with reference to this requirement. (See 11.11, The School Year)

Part-time teachers are entitled to paid annual leave in accordance with the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, viz. 8% of the hours a part-time teacher works in the period 1st September to 31st August of the following year (but subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks). [See CL. 54/98]

4.10.2 Special Needs Assistants

Department of Education and Science circular letter SNA 12/05 (with attached SNA contract document) sets out the Terms of Probation and Employment, including Holiday and Leave entitlements for Special Needs Assistants in post-primary schools.

4.10.3 The Annual Leave Year

The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, states that the statutory leave year is 1st April to 31st March. There is provision, however, for employers to use different 12-month periods provided the same leave year is used consistently.

4.10.4 Permanent Secretarial Staff

The current annual leave provision for permanent Clerical Officers is 20 days, increasing to 22 days after five years service for those serving in schools with more than 40 wholetime teacher equivalents, plus public holidays and Good Friday.

With effect from the leave year 1999, The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, allows paid annual leave equal to 4 working weeks for secretarial staff, plus public holidays and Good Friday, in a leave year in which the employee works at least 1365 hours (unless it is a leave year in which s/he changes employment).

4.10.5 Permanent Caretaking Staff

The leave entitlement of permanent Caretaking Staff is 20 days, plus public holidays and Good Friday, in respect of any leave year and may be exercised only at times suitable and agreeable to the school authorities.

4.10.6 Part-time Caretaking Staff, Cleaning Staff, Secretarial Staff

All employees, regardless of status or service, qualify for paid holidays. All time worked qualifies for paid holiday leave.

Under the terms of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, an employee is entitled to paid annual leave equal to: -

• One-third of a working week for each month in the leave year in which s/he works at least 117 hours, or
• 8% of the hours s/he works in a leave year (but subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks).

Bank holidays and public holidays should be paid where they fall on a day on which the part-time employee would normally work, provided she/he has worked 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks (C.L. 54/98).

4.10.7 Leave Records - Teaching, Secretarial and Maintenance Staff

Under the terms of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, employers are obliged to keep records of holidays and public holidays for a minimum period of three years. It is also a requirement of the Department of Education and Science that a record is kept of Secretarial and Maintenance staffs leave which may be subject to scrutiny by the auditors.