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Appointments
In the ETB sector, appointments are made under the terms of Memorandum V7 and subsequent circular letters from the Department of Education. Teachers employed by ETBs derive their contracts of employment from Memo V7 and are employed by Education and Training Boards (rather than individual schools). Teachers in Community and Comprehensive schools are guaranteed conditions of service no less favourable than Memo V7.
Community and Comprehensive schools are constituted upon separate Deeds of Trust that provide for a Board of Management which employs teachers. The same is true of Voluntary Secondary schools. Members should note the Teaching Council registration requirements for appointment to and retention of teaching positions paid for by the State (www.teachingcouncil.ie).
Job Security
A member’s job is permanent provided the post is sanctioned as a permanent whole-time position or as a Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID). A CID has the same status as a permanent contract. Permanency under a CID or where initial appointment was on a permanent basis may be in respect of fewer than wholetime hours.
Contracts
The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 prescribes a timeline for the provision to an employee of relevant information regarding his/her appointment.
ETBs - The contract specifies the nature of the post, salary, duties, notice of termination and must be signed by the teacher and Chief Executive. Only the agreed contract/s derived from Memo V7 should be signed by teachers employed by ETBs. The agreed fixed term contract is appended to Circular Letter 20/03 and the agreed contract of indefinite duration is appended to both Circular Letter 10/06 and Circular Letter 24/15. The employer of teachers in a Vocational School or Community College is the Education and Training Board.
Community & Comprehensive and Voluntary Secondary Schools - There is no agreed contract for permanent wholetime appointments in the Community & Comprehensive or Voluntary Secondary sectors. The agreed contract of indefinite duration for both sectors is appended to Circular Letter 24/15. The agreed fixed term contract is appended to Circular Letter 19/03. In Community & Comprehensive schools and Voluntary Secondary Schools, the Board of Management is the employer.
Probation & Induction
Every teacher/lecturer at both second and third level on first appointment to an employment is required to serve a probationary period of a maximum of one year’s duration. At the end of this period the appointment may be confirmed. It should be noted that if there is good and sufficient reason, the probation may be continued for a further period or, in exceptional cases, the appointment may be terminated with the sanction of the minister. In the event of a probation being terminated or extended the person concerned should have been advised of his/her shortcomings regularly throughout the period concerned and the process used should have been agreed nationally at the appropriate industrial relations forum.
To be eligible for full registration, newly qualified teachers in all Post-Primary schools are required to complete the Droichead induction process. Details are available on the Teaching Council Website and through your principal or the national office at www.nipt.ie
Suspension/Dismissal
Teachers/lecturers may be suspended by the employer where the view is formed that unfitness for office exists. Such unfitness is determined following due process which may involve an inquiry. Removal from office only occurs where it is established that unfitness for office exists or that the teacher has failed to perform satisfactorily the duties of such office. Suspension and removal from office of teachers in the ETB sector and of lecturers in Institutes of Technology/Technological Universities may take place in accordance with the provisions of the Education and Training Boards Act 2013, Institutes of Technology Act 2006, the Technological Universities Act 2018 and the relevant processes for the C&C and Voluntary Secondary sectors respectively. Teachers/Lecturers should be paid while on suspension.
The inspection procedures for schools provide for dismissal in certain circumstances following the issuing of three adverse reports on the teaching performance. An appeal mechanism in such cases is available to the teacher.
Teaching Council Procedures (Part 5)
Part 5 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 commenced in the autumn of 2016 and the Council’s investigative and disciplinary functions are now operational in respect of registered teachers. Any member who receives correspondence from the Teaching Council in relation to a Part 5 complaint should immediately contact the union at janderson@tui.ie and adolan@tui.ie.