England and Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland


NASUWT recognises that situations arise where members may need to hand in their notice and resign from their substantive post.

The purpose of this advice and guidance is to provide comprehensive information to assist teachers during this time, bearing in mind that resignation can be a big step that requires due consideration.

If you are experiencing difficulties in your school/college, please talk to us so that we can give you further advice and assistance tailored to your particular circumstances.

England and Wales

Schools and colleges will require a reasonable amount of notice if you intend to hand in your resignation and leave your post. This provides the school/college with adequate time to advertise and secure a temporary or permanent replacement.

Your contract of employment should stipulate the notice period you are required to give, so you should check your contract carefully.

If your contract of employment does not stipulate a notice period, then in all likelihood you will be expected to provide the statutory minimum notice period.

If you intend to apply for other jobs, whilst you do not have to advise your school or headteacher, it is important to remember that your headteacher may be asked to provide a reference for you.

As such, it could be seen as advisable to be honest and inform them of this, especially if you may need time off to visit another school and/or attend any interviews.

In addition, you should check your school’s policies carefully, as it is likely it will have a Special Leave of Absence Policy that includes provisions for time off to attend interviews, though this may or may not be with pay.

What should you include in your resignation letter?

When submitting your notice, it is good practice to do this in writing (including email) and that you retain a copy of this for your records in order to avoid any issues in respect of when you gave notice. Indeed, your contract of employment may stipulate as much. Consideration should be given to specifying the date or term when you no longer expect to be employed at the school/college.

Who should you address your resignation letter to?

Unless your contract of employment specifies otherwise, your resignation letter should normally be addressed to your headteacher/principal.

For headteachers, letters of resignation should be addressed to the chair of governors. In situations where there is no governing body, the contract of employment should identify the appropriate person who the letter of resignation should be addressed to.

It is important to note that once you have submitted your resignation, you cannot retract it unless your employer permits you to, although they are under no obligation to do so.

Notice periods for teachers

The vast majority of publicly funded schools in England and Wales operate according to the provisions of the Burgundy Book - Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales which specifies the notice periods for teachers in local authority maintained schools.

Typically, you would be expected to give two months’ notice and in the summer term three months’ notice in order to leave your post at the end of the term.

Inclusive of school holidays, broadly speaking, the dates of the three school terms run from the following dates:

  • for the autumn term, from 1 September to 31 December;

  • for the spring term, from 1 January to 30 April; and

  • for the summer term, from 1 May to 31 August.

Therefore, if you wish to leave your job, you would be expected to give notice by the following dates:

  • to leave at 31 December, give notice by no later than 31 October;

  • to leave at 30 April, give notice by no later than 28 February; and

  • to leave at 31 August, give notice by no later than 31 May.

Whilst you are able to submit your resignation during a school closure period, it is important that you retain some evidence that your resignation was sent to your employer by the relevant resignation date as detailed above, such as a copy of the email sent.

As referenced above, if you provide the appropriate notice, you will be paid up to and including the last day of term, even though school holiday periods start earlier than these dates (e.g. paid until 31 December or 31 August despite the respective holidays usually beginning earlier than this).

Following this, your new contract should begin with your new school/college at the start of each respective new term (e.g. 1 January or 1 September).

However, if you resign at the end of the spring term to take up another teaching post in a different local authority, you will be paid up to the day before the new school opens for the summer term if this is earlier than 1 May.

In doing so, this avoids a situation where you have two contracts that overlap and you are contracted to work for both your current and your new school/college at the same time.

If you find yourself in a position where you have two contracts that overlap, please contact us and speak to one of our advisers.

What if you miss the resignation date for the relevant notice period?

If you have missed the resignation date for the relevant term (see above), you may have to wait until the next resignation date before you can leave your employment. For example, if you resign on 1 June, then you will be under contract until the next resignation window which would be 31 October to leave by 31 December.

Your school does have discretion to waive your notice period and agree to you leaving sooner, including resigning at half term, although they are not obliged to do so.

What if you want to resign early?

It is generally not advisable for you to resign earlier than the resignation deadlines referenced above unless you are in a position where you have already received an unconditional offer of employment in writing from your prospective employer.

If you are considering resigning earlier without future employment to go to, you should contact the Union as a matter of urgency for further advice and guidance.

Early Career Teachers

If you are employed as an Early Career Teacher (ECT) in England, then you have exactly the same resignation dates as other teachers working in a school. Therefore, if you submit your notice to leave, it is likely that the period of time you worked with your school will count towards your qualification.

In situations where you resign and leave outside the aforementioned resignation dates, you will need to check as to whether the time spent with the school/college counts towards your ECT.

If you are considering this, please contact us and speak to one of our advisers.

Headteachers employed in accordance with the Burgundy Book

Notice periods for headteachers work in the same way as those for classroom teachers, but allow for a slightly longer recruitment process.

As such, under the provisions of the Burgundy Book, headteachers are expected to provide a minimum notice period of three months (four months in the summer term) to leave your post at the end of the term.

Therefore, if you wish to leave your job, you would be expected to give notice by the following dates:

  • to leave at 31 December, give notice no later than by 30 September;

  • to leave at 30 April, give notice no later than 31 January; and

  • to leave at 31 August, give notice no later than 30 April.

If you have missed the resignation date for the relevant term (see above), you may have to wait until the next resignation date before you can leave your employment. Your school does have discretion to waive your notice period and agree to you leaving sooner, although they are not obliged to do so.

If you provide the appropriate notice, you will be paid up to and including the last day of term, even though school holiday periods start earlier than these dates (e.g. paid until 31 December, 30 April or 31 August).

Your letter of resignation should be addressed to the chair of governors. In situations where there is no governing body, your contract of employment should identify the appropriate person to address your letter of resignation to.

Teachers on maternity leave employed in accordance with the Burgundy Book

If you are a teacher on a period of maternity leave, then the provisions of the Burgundy Book in respect of notice periods referenced above still apply.

In addition, under the provisions of the Burgundy Book, if you do not return from your maternity leave for a period of 13 weeks, including school holidays and half terms, following the birth of your child, then your school/college is entitled to reclaim part of the maternity pay you received which represents the 12 weeks paid at 50% of your salary.

These 13 weeks referenced above applies if you were working full time prior to your maternity leave. For those working part time, the period required is the equivalent of 13 weeks based on your work pattern.

Your school/college has the discretion to waive any notice period if your circumstances change following the birth of your child, including the requirement for you to complete the 13 weeks’ notice period, and pay back any occupational maternity pay.

NASUWT would expect the employer to deal with any such situations sympathetically and sensitively.

If you are contemplating this, you should contact NASUWT immediately for further advice and guidance.

If you are employed on a temporary basis in place of a teacher who is absent for reasons such as secondment, prolonged illness or maternity, you are exempt from the aforementioned statutory notice periods. This includes supply teachers.

Your contract of employment should state the notice period you are required to give, so please check your contract carefully. If your contract does not stipulate a notice period, then the statutory minimum notice period should apply, which in most cases is one week.

The resignation dates referenced in the Burgundy Book do not prohibit your employer from agreeing to you leaving earlier if you wish to do so, such as at half term. However, this is entirely at the discretion of the school/college, so you may wish to meet to discuss this in more detail with your headteacher.

Teachers working in academies and free schools

Some academies and free schools may operate terms and conditions which do not adhere to the provisions of the Burgundy Book. They are therefore able to set different notice periods.

However, the overwhelming majority of academies and free schools do adhere to the same notice periods as those for maintained schools, but you are advised to check your contract carefully given the freedoms and flexibilities academies and free schools have.

Teachers working in sixth-form colleges

If you work in a sixth-form college, the notice periods are the same as those in maintained schools referenced above.

Teachers working in independent schools

If you are a teacher working in an independent school, you should check your contract carefully as notice periods can vary from school to school.

It is not uncommon for an Independent school to require a term’s notice or even longer in some circumstances.

If your contract stipulates a probationary period, then the statutory minimum notice period should apply, which in most cases is one week.

NASUWT does not hold information on which notice periods apply in individual independent schools, but if you need any further advice please contact us.

What if you are employed on a probationary period?

Despite the fact that NASUWT does not advocate the use of probationary periods for teachers, the Union is aware that some schools/colleges which do not adhere to the provisions of the Burgundy Book employ teachers on contracts that include provisions for a probationary period.

As such, the statutory minimum notice period should apply, which in most cases is one week.

What is the notice period if I no longer want a job I have just accepted?

Once you have accepted a teaching job, it could be argued that you are bound by the relevant notice periods stipulated in the contract of employment, including situations where the offer of employment is conditional on satisfactory pre-employment checks (e.g. Disclosure and Barring Service - DBS) and references.

If you are contemplating this, you should contact NASUWT immediately for further advice and guidance, as it may be the case that a mutual agreement can be reached between you and the school/college.

Breach of contract

Irrespective of whether or not you are leaving teaching, it is important to note that you are still bound by the relevant notice period.

If you leave your school/college without giving the required notice period, this could be seen as a breach of contract, as well as having a detrimental impact on any reference provided by the school/college.

Whilst school leaders do have the discretion to waive your notice period, they are not obliged to do so.

If you are contemplating this, you should contact NASUWT immediately for further advice and guidance, as it may be the case that a mutual agreement can be reached between you and the school/college.

Northern Ireland

For a permanent teacher, or a temporary teacher paid as if you were permanent, the contract may be terminated by giving notice in writing of at least three calendar months for termination on the last day of any month, except for termination on the last day of August or September when at least four calendar months’ notice is required.

The contract can be ended earlier than this by mutual agreement.

A teacher employed through the Northern Ireland Supply Teacher Register (NISTR) without a defined end date can leave employment at any time, but it is good practice to give a week’s notice.

Where a teacher is employed though NISTR with a defined end date, they should email the NASUWT Northern Ireland Centre for advice.

Scotland

Teachers on the main grade scale, teachers on the Chartered Teacher spine, music instructors, Education Support Officers, Quality Improvement Officers and Education Psychologists must give a minimum of four working weeks’ notice to terminate their employment.

All other teachers, Quality Improvement Managers, Principals and Depute Educational Psychologists must give a minimum of eight weeks, which includes four working weeks.

A working week comprises any week in which a school/establishment is open on any day for pupils and/or any employee covered by the terms of the SNCT Handbook, regardless of the number of hours that the school/establishment is open or that employees work in the said week.

Notice periods for teachers and associated roles who are employed by local authorities and subject to the SNCT Handbook of Conditions of Service are set out in SNCT Handbook Part 2: Section 9 - Other Provisions.

If you are a teacher working in an independent school, you should check your contract carefully as notice periods can vary from school to school.

If you need any further advice on notice periods and resigning from your job, please contact our Scotland National Centre.

 


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