Upper Pay Scale for Teachers – A Two Edged Sword

Posted on 26th January 2013 by barred

Th e Upper Pay Scale for teachers provides deserved recognition for many teachers but there is a catch. There is no way currently for a teacher on UPS to return to the Main Scale. As in many professions, individuals often enjoy the core of their job but do not necessarily want to continue forever with the extra responsibilities they have taken on. However, such responsibilities are a continuing requirement of the Upper Pay Scale (UPS).

The UPS dilemma for Teachers and Head Teachers

What options do you have when faced with an effective classroom teacher who no longer wishes to demonstrate that his/her “achievements and contribution are substantial and sustained” (1) over and above the role of a classroom teacher? Similarly, what can you do if you have a teacher who you believe should focus on their real strengths as a classroom teacher rather than continue not to fulfill the additional responsibilities of a UPS teacher? Unfortunately, there is no provision in the Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document to allow a teacher to volunteer to step back to or to be transferred to the Main Scale. Progression to the UPS is for life effectively.

This issue is accentuated as schools look for savings and may face an imbalance of the number of teachers on UPS compared to the Main Scale. Some Heads have turned a blind eye to the actual contribution of a UPS teacher but that is less likely now as financial pressures grow. The contribution of a UPS teacher is more likely to be questioned if the perception is that he/she is not producing value for money. Here, I am referring to teachers who have become trapped on UPS but are still effective classroom teachers.

Voluntary Agreements to Change Grade are not Enforceable

Once a teacher has crossed the threshold and been awarded Upper Pay Scale status, that grade stays with the individual for the rest of his/her career or until he gains promotion. The Teachers’ terms are recognised by statute. So a voluntary agreement to return to the Main Pay Scale will not be enforceable if the individual changed his mind at a later date. The individual would not have to apply again to cross the threshold as he/she is already legally entitled to be paid on the Upper Pay Scale. Trade Unions are also unlikely to support such voluntary changes as that would undermine the ‘natural’ salary progression route for career teachers.

If an individual requests to be paid on the Main Pay Scale for personal reasons, the Head will need to weigh up the risk of:

the individual later changing his mind and requiring to be paid on UPS.
the School acting outside its statutory authority in agreeing such a change.
other interested parties seeking to challenge the school to pay the UPS salary.

The Two Edged Sword is too Sharp

If a school does not wish to take those type of risks, then the Head Teacher may have no choice but to pursue capability action to either secure the required contribution over and above the role of a classroom teacher or to reach the point at which the teacher is required to leave the school. That is neither a sensible nor responsible course of action as it fails to recognise that there are thousands of effective classroom teachers who may reach a point in their lives when they want to return to their strengths and focus on continuing as a classroom teacher.

Let us hope that the DfE addresses this issue in the 2013 Conditions Document.

An Honourable Way Forward

Providing a way for teachers to return to the Main Scale would recognise the needs of both such individuals and the school without forcing Heads to pursue capability actions or restructurings to overcome this issue.

If an individual is within 10 years of retirement, a decision to return to the Main Scale may not have a major effect on the teachers’ pension. The average of the best three years of pensionable earnings over the last 10 year period is used to determine the pensionable salary for calculating a Teacher’s Pension. An individual must check the effect on his/her pension before making such a decision as individual service history and the current pension rules may affect the amount of pension.

Maintained Schools not Alone

The above affects maintained schools and other types of school which have contracted to follow the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. Therefore, academies may find themselves faced with the same issues – but see the next section regarding academies.

Additional Solutions for Academies

An academy could change the terms of teaching staff and adopt contractual clauses which would overcome the above issues. For example, the terms could be amended so that sections referring to Upper Pay Scale included clauses which allowed a teacher to request to be paid on the Main Scale and forgo the entitlement to be paid on the Upper Pay Scale.

In addition, clauses in disciplinary and capability policies could be amended to provide alternatives to dismissal such as a transfer to a lower grade or demotion. So when a Head Teacher believes a UPS teacher is not meeting the requirements to continue on UPS but would still be an effective classroom teacher, the Head would not be faced with losing a skilled, experienced teacher but could offer a Main Scale role as an appropriate alternative.

I emphasis that the above is not referring to instances in which individuals are not effective class room teachers or simply have lost interest in or the energy to teach effectively. The above is focused on those effective teachers who wish to scale back their responsibilities and return to being a dedicated classroom teacher.

Safeguards

Safeguards would need to be added to prevent abuse of the new options. Effective consultation with staff representatives should take place to gain understanding. The academy would also need to check its funding agreement to ensure that it was not restricted in implementing such changes.

Further Help Required?

To understand the risks or to proceed with the type of changes outlined above, you are advised to consult experienced human resource management professionals who understand both the terms of employment applying to teachers and the employment law and employee relations context.

For further ideas of how to address issues in schools see our main web site www.hr-management-dimensions.co.uk. contact form <a href=“office@hr-management-dimensions.co.uk”> You may also contact us by using this link</a> or telephone us on the number in the footer.

References:

(1) Sections 19.6 and 19.5 of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document 2013.

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Pay Standards and Teachers’ Standards

Posted on 6th September 2012 by barred

Several subtle but important changes have been included in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document 2012.

Teachers’ Standards and Pay Standards

The standards for Post Threshold, Advanced Skills and Excellent Teacher assessments are now referred to in the Teachers’ Conditions as Pay Standards. This no doubt serves to underline that the Teachers’ Standards are the benchmark for all teachers** irrespective of their role and includes the teaching practice of Head Teachers. That is reinforced further by the replacement of the core standards with the Teachers’ Standards. There is one exception though in which the core standards apply still which is noted later.

The Teachers’ Standards will have a wide effect as they have been reinforced by several links within the Document and elsewhere. Such examples include:

Teachers who are covered by the 2012 Appraisal regulations must have their performance assessed against those Standards.
Pay determination should be made with reference to the Teachers’ Standards. The scope for maintained schools to exercise pay flexibility is limited but when using the flexibility that exists, Head Teachers will need to take account of the Standards.

** QTLS holders may be appraised against any of or a mixture of: the Teachers’ Standards, other standards approved by the Secretary of State or other professional standards relevant to their teaching role.

Dealing with Post Threshold Applications

The application process falls, in effect, into two stages as in previous years but with a few changes.

Stage One – to determine whether the teacher meets the requirements of the Teachers’ Standards. The latter have replaced the core standards with one exception noted later. This stage must be passed successfully otherwise the application must not proceed.

Stage Two – to assess whether the teacher meets the Pay Standards. That is the new term used to denote the standards which are used to assess applications for Post Threshold, Advanced Skills and Excellent Teachers. Despite the new name, the standards for post threshold assessment in stage two are the same as before.

The exception to using the Teachers’ Standards at stage one arises in the following conditions:

The teacher applies for assessment between 1st September 2011 and 31st October 2012 and
His application is based on performance management evidence for a period prior to 1st September 2012 and
The individual is subject to the 2006 performance management regulations or the 2012 appraisal regulations and
At stage one, the Core Standards set out in the 2011 Document are used to assess the individual..

If the core standards are met, the assessor then proceeds to stage two to consider whether the individual’s application meets the Post Threshold Pay Standards in the 2012 Document.

Effective Date of UPS Salary Award

A successful assessment should lead to the teacher being placed on the first point of the Upper Pay Scale with effect from 1st September 2013 if he meets the conditions below..

1st September 2013 will be the effective date provided the individual is a Qualified Teacher and:

Is subject to the 2006 Performance Management regulations or the Appraisal Regulations 2012 and
Is on point 6 of the Main Scale for Teachers and
Made his application either in the 2012-13 school year or on or before 31st October 2013.

If a teacher is not subject to the 2006 Performance Management or the 2012 Appraisal regulations but he applied in the 2012-13 school year, the same effective date will apply

In both the alternative cases above, the application must be assessed as successful within the application year. If the assessment is not completed until after the threshold year, the effective date may have to be later than 1/9/2013 as the date will depend on what is specified in the 2013 Document.

Payment should not be backdated to an earlier date unless the individual fulfils the specific exceptions in the 2012 Document as summarised below.

Effective date 1st September 2012

Scenario 1

The application was made between 1st September 2012 and 31st October 2012 and
The teacher is subject to the 2006 Performance Management Regulations or the Appraisal Regulations 2012 and
He is on point M6 at the date of application and was also on point M6 in the school year 2011/2012 and
His application is determined to be successful in the application for threshold year.

Scenario 2 – The same effective date will also apply in the following conditions.

In the school year before his application, he was employed as a qualified teacher other than by a local authority in a maintained school or by a Governing Body with a delegated budget or by a local authority as an attached teacher and
The individual has completed at least six years of employment as a qualified teacher at the date of making his application
The years of employment come within the acceptable service definition in section 1.8 of the Document which refers to, for example, the minimum teaching requirement in a year and permitted absences for this definition.

Scenario 3 – Another alternative for which the same effective date will apply is:

This is the first application fby the teacher for assessment against the post-threshold pay standards and
He was placed on the leadership pay spine in any previous school year and
Would have been placed on point M6 had he not been placed on the leadership pay spine.

Effective date 1st September 2011

This date will apply only if the teacher meets a fuller set of conditions which include:

The application was made between 1st September 2012 and 31st October 2012 and
The teacher is subject to the 2006 Performance Management Regulations or the Appraisal Regulations 2012 and
He is on point M6 at the date of application and was also on point M6 in the school year 2011/2012 and
Is assessed as successful in the threshold application year and
In the School year of 2010/11, the qualified teacher was employed other than by a local authority in a maintained school or by a Governing Body with a delegated budget or by a local authority as an attached teacher and
Has completed at least six years of employment (as defined in Section 1.8) as a qualified teacher at the date of making his application.

Alternatively the teacher may be eligible for payment from the same effective date if:

This is his first application for assessment against the post-threshold pay standards and
The teacher was placed on the leadership pay spine in the 2010/11 school year or in any previous school year and
He would have been placed on point M6 had he not been placed on the leadership pay spine and
Is assessed as successful in the threshold application year.

The UPS 1 salary payable from 1st September 2011 is as per the UPS table for 2011 and from 1st September 2012 the salary in the UPS table for 2012 applies. I am sorry if your hopes are rising as both tables contain currently.the same salaries Perhaps this is an indication that the DfE is looking ahead to when general pay rises are restored.

In all the cases of effective dates above, you should note that if the assessment is not concluded until after the threshold year, the effective date will not necessarily be the same as it will depend on the date specified in the subsequent Document to the 2012 Document

Unsuccessful Applications

As in previous years, if a teacher’s application does not pass the first stage of the assessment, the application must be turned down and the individual notified within 20 working days of the decision being communicated to the Governing Body etc.

Safeguarding of Temporary or Fixed Term TLR Allowances

Safeguarding has not been extended to temporary or fixed term contracts in the past but a slight change has been made which may lead to some extra costs.

Safeguarding will now apply if:

A TLR allowance is awarded on a temporary basis or to a fixed term contract holder and
The allowance is ended earlier than specified and
The teacher’s contract is extended beyond the end of the TLR allowance.

It is presumed that the safeguarding will only last until the end of the contract in this exception but clarification is awaited.

Non Consolidated Allowance for Some Instructors

Instructors employed on points 1 or 2 or 3 of the Unqualified Teachers Scale should be paid £250 from 1st September 2012 for one year. The allowance should be paid in twelve monthly installments. Part time staff should be paid a pro rata amount.

Working Time

The annual working days are back to 195 days and 1,265 total hours for the 2012/13 school year.

If you are experiencing issues with arranging for part time staff to attend parents’ evenings etc, you may find it useful to read the Guidance in Part 3 on this matter. There is limited, but nevertheless, some flexibility available to Head Teachers in arranging such evenings as part of the contracted working time or agreeing a mutual arrangement.

Professional Conduct

One disappointment is the standards of conduct in Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards. Those are drawn too wide to be of much help in many of the professional conduct issues that arise. School leaders will need to consider what a reasonable employer should expect of a professional person and also the circumstances in which the essential trust and confidence in employing an individual in a school has been destroyed.

Confused by references to the 2002, 2006, 2011 and 2012 Regulations?

Just remember that the 2012 Regulations refer to the Appraisal Regulations and the 2006 Regulations refer to Performance Management in England.

The 2011 Regulations and the 2002 Regulations apply to Wales and refer respectively to the appraisal arrangements and performance management arrangements.

We trust that this summary is helpful. Are there other areas of the Teachers’ Conditions or other School HR type issues about which you would like to see articles? If so, please let us know as we may produce articles on those topics. You can e-mail us via help@hr-management-dimensions.co.uk.

Visit our main web site to learn about commercially focused hr management solutions to effecting change in your school or college – www.hr-management-dimensions.co.uk

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