temporary contracts question

miss_edith

Hi, just looking for a bit of advice as I can't seem to get any straight answers about this.
I have been working at a school since September 2006. I had a temporary 1 year contract in the beginning, then in September 2007 I was given another 1 year contract. I then had to apply for my own job and be interviewed for it which resulted in me being given a 3 month contract in September to last until December this year. I now have to re-apply again and be re-interviewed to get a 6 month contract through to next Summer. There are other applicants for the position so I could be out of a job.
Is it reasonable for my employer to do this? I don't know if I have any rights with having separate temporary contracts but this seems a bit unfair after over 2 years in the job.
Any advice or feedback would be appreciated.

LittleVoice

I think your individual contracts should be added together - assuming they are edge-to-edge but if there was a gap each year in August then I think that prevents them being seen as one continuous contract.

Liz_the_Whizz

hi edith,

Fixed-term contracts are a bit of an employment law minefield and employers appear to adopt quite different approaches. But it's hard to see why your employer is taking this course of action, unless it is on the back of some Equal Opportunities policy that every post has to be opened up to competition.

On the face of it, you do have over 2 years' continuous service (definitively if you have no gaps and probably still legally if the gaps were "engineered" by the employer and could be regarded as temporary cessation).

So assuming that the job advertised is your job and not a new role, if there is money available, the employer should extend YOUR contract not open it up to others. Even if the role is different, you should be considered for it if your skills and experience are suitable.

If you are not appointed, they cannot claim you are redundant as the role is still in existence. But the end of a fixed-term contract is in law a dismissal, and if you are not selected, it could well be deemed unfair.

Do you belong to a union who could ask questions about your situation? If not, if you feel it will not compromise your position, you could approach the education authority to ask about policy with regard to fixed-term contracts. Depending on your working relationships, the best approach might then be to ask the Head see reason.

Hope this helps and that you are able to sort it out - work is stressful enough without this sort of nonsense.

maman

Liz_the_Whizz wrote: »

Do you belong to a union who could ask questions about your situation? If not,

Join a union PDQ!

if you feel it will not compromise your position, you could approach the education authority to ask about policy with regard to fixed-term contracts.

There should be no problem approaching Personnel for advice/clarification of your situation.

Depending on your working relationships, the best approach might then be to ask the Head see reason.

I think you should definitely talk it through with the Head and ask why you are being asked to 're-apply for your own job'. Presumably you must be doing OK for them to have kept you on this long and you'd know anyhow from Performance Management outcomes. If you aren't happy with the outcome then tell her you plan to take advice from Personnel/Union.

quote]

I agree with previous posters that after this time you should have all the rights of a permanent employee. The trouble with these situations they always leave a nasty taste and you end up feeling you don't want to work there anyhow.

miss_edith

Thanks for the replies. I am in the union but wanted to find out a bit more information before getting a colleague involved (who is the union rep).
The school is an independent one so can't go to the LEA. The problem is that I'm an unqualified teacher and suddenly at the end of the last school year the new headteacher and governors decided that they want someone qualified instead. But they will not help me to get qualified, I must do and pay for that myself. It annoys me that I did the job for 2 years before this problem really arose. I have not been told that I'm performing badly and I get positive feedback from lesson observations with a list of objectives for the next one. I just get the impression that they are happy to keep on handing me new contracts until a qualified person comes along. I love the job itself but all this going on around it is affecting my confidence so it does leave a bad taste and makes me wonder if I'd be happier leaving.

Zoetoes

Is it term time only? This could be why they just keep renewing your contract, to avoid paying you through the holidays.

maman

You could call your union direct for advice at Head Office or a local helpline if you have one. As for getting qualified have you thought about Graduate Teacher Programme? You will be paid (not a lot but much cheaper than being a student). Might your school support you in this?