3.3 Contracts of Employment.

 

3.3)            Contracts of Employment.

 

Teachers, as employees of the Board of Management, have certain statutory rights. These rights are conferred by legislation, notably The Unfair Dismissals Acts of 1977 to 2007, The Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2001. The Industrial Relations Act, 1990, the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 to 2001, the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, Employment Equality Acts 1998 - 2008, Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001, Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Work) Act, 2003.

See National Employment Rights Authority (NERA)

 

Boards of Management should have contract documents available to be offered to all new employees.

Such contracts fall into two distinct categories:

 

Fixed-term Contract

Given to a person who enters a contract of employment with an employer where the end of the contract is determined by an objective condition such as arriving at a specific date, or completing a specific task or the occurrence of a specific event.

e.g.

• substitute for an employee who is on a career break.
• part-time employment which arises from a job sharing arrangement with another employee.
• substitute for an employee who is on maternity leave.
• Substitution for an employee who is on sick leave

This objective condition(s) must be stated explicitly in the contract.

 

Contract of In-definite Duration (CID)

A person employed on a contract of indefinite duration means that the person has an expectation that, subject to the normal date of retirement in the employment, she or he will be retained in the employment and will not be dismissed without there being any good reason such as misconduct or unfitness for their position, or other compelling or unavoidable circumstances. Any dismissal shall be achieved by the application of the agreed termination arrangement for the particular sector or the application of the relevant statute, as the case may be.

 

Since there is, currently, no redundancy scheme applicable to teachers, a CID is, in effect, a permanent contract. In the context of the 2011 Croke Park Agreement a redeployment schemes has been agreed which guarantees continuous employment for teachers with CID contracts who are over quota in their present positions or in the event of school closure. Details of this scheme are contained in DES CL. 25/2011 Appendix 2.

 

Sample contracts for use in these circumstances are provided on the ACCS website

Terms of Employment

The Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001 oblige employers to give new employees a written statement containing the particulars listed below within two months of the commencement of employment. When an existing employee so requests, he or she must be given a written statement within two months of the request.

 

Particulars to be included in a written statement

• The names of the employer and employee.
• The address of the employer.
• The place(s) of work.
• The title of the job or nature of the work.
• Date of commencement.
• Expected duration and, if it is a fixed term contract, the date on which it expires.
• If it is a fixed purpose contract, the details of the purpose for which it is given.
• The remuneration.
• Frequency of remuneration.
• Details of the hours of work, including overtime.
• Conditions relating to paid leave (other than paid sick leave).
• Conditions relating to sickness/injury, paid sick leave and pensions.
• Notice.
• Reference to any collective agreement in force.

 

If any change is made or occurs in any of the particulars of the statement, the employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing of the nature and the date of the change. Such notification must take place no later than:

• one month after the change takes effect, or
• where the change results in the employee having to work outside the State for more than one month, the time of the employee’s departure.

 

There is no requirement on the employer to notify the employee of a change which occurs as a result of changes in statutory or administrative provisions or collective agreements. It would, however, be good practice to do so, as an employee’s ignorance of changes arising from these sources could give rise to unnecessary problems.