Instructions for members undertaking industrial action short of strike action in sixth-form colleges in England from Monday 18 September

The NASUWT National Action Committee is initially instructing members to limit their working time by working to rule in the following ways, which are within and subject to their contractual obligations, including teacher and headteacher/principal members:

1. Refuse to undertake inappropriately directed duties outside college session times (ASOSA 6FC England)

Members shall not undertake directed duties, including attendance at meetings or training, outside college session times on weekdays in circumstances that would require the teacher to:

  1. perform duties specified by their employer for more than 1,265 hours in the college year (pro rata for teachers working part time); or

  2. exceed the 48-hour working time limit (Working Time Regulations 1998).

If it is unclear whether the time to perform the duty in question is within the 1,265 hours, members should request their employer to provide a copy of the directed time calendar and perform the duty only if their employer confirms to the member that the time is included within the 1,265 hours of directed time.

2. Refuse to be directed to undertake extracurricular activities (ASOSA 6FC England)

Members shall refuse to be directed to undertake extracurricular activities, unless these have been specified and allocated within the annual 1,265 hours of directed time (pro rata for teachers working part time).

If it is unclear whether the time to perform the duty in question is within the 1,265 hours, members should request their employer to provide a copy of the directed time calendar and perform the duty only if their employer confirms to the member that the time is included within the 1,265 hours of directed time.

Where members volunteer freely to undertake extracurricular activities and have not been placed under pressure to do so, the action short of strike action instructions are not intended to prevent those activities from continuing.

3. Refuse to be directed to undertake any work-related tasks or activities during their lunch break (ASOSA 6FC England)

Where a member is required to be available for work for more than one college session on any day, members will take one break of reasonable length each day, for at least 30 minutes, either between sessions or between the hours of 12 noon and 2pm.

Members shall refuse to be directed to undertake any activities during their lunch break.

4. Refuse to be directed to undertake work-related tasks or activities on weekends or bank holidays (ASOSA 6FC England)

Members shall refuse to undertake directed work-related tasks or activities, including planning, marking, sending/responding to work-related emails, on weekends or bank holidays or to the extent that would deprive the teacher of a satisfactory work/life balance, unless the teacher’s contract expressly provides for this.

Where the member’s contract requires the teacher to work on a Saturday, this should be included in the calculation of the teacher’s 1,265 hours of directed time.

5. Refuse to be directed inappropriately to cover for absence (ASOSA 6FC England)

Cover for absence is not an effective use of teachers’ time.

With the exception of teachers who are employed wholly or mainly for the purpose of providing cover, members will refuse to cover for absent colleagues:

  1. after the teacher who is absent or otherwise not available has been so for three or more consecutive working days;

  2. where the fact that the teacher would be absent or otherwise not available for a period exceeding three consecutive working days was known to the college two or more working days before the absence commenced; or

  3. the member is a full-time teacher at the college but has been assigned by the principal in the timetable to teach or carry out other specified duties (except cover) for less than 75% of those hours in the week during which students are taught at the college.

6. Refuse to undertake routine administrative and clerical tasks (ASOSA 6FC England)

Members will refuse to routinely participate in administrative, clerical and organisational tasks which do not call for the exercise of a teacher’s professional skills and judgement.

Voluntary activities

The action short of strike action is designed specifically to tackle the issues of excessive teacher workload. Where members volunteer freely to undertake extracurricular activities and have not been placed under pressure to do so, the action short of strike action instructions are not intended to prevent these from continuing.

Extracurricular activities include college teams, music/drama productions and clubs.

Where members make a professional judgement and volunteer freely to undertake any activities outside their directed time, these may continue.

Where a member intends to withdraw from activities that they have previously volunteered to undertake, they should inform the principal as soon as possible.

Advice on directed time

Working hours are essential in order to help colleges and teachers plan so that the college day is effectively managed and teachers are able to achieve a satisfactory balance between work and home.

A teacher employed full time must be available for work for 195 days, of which:

  • 190 days must be days on which the teacher may be required to teach pupils and perform other duties; and

  • five days must be days on which the teacher may only be required to perform other duties.

The days that a teacher should be available to work must be specified by the employer or the principal.

A teacher employed full time must be available to perform such duties at such times and such places as may be specified by the principal for 1,265 hours. Those hours must be allocated reasonably throughout those days in the college year on which the teacher is required to be available for work.

The hours you can be directed to work should be set out as part of your terms and conditions when you start work. This is referred to as directed time.

Your college should publish a directed time calendar which should not be changed unless there are exceptional circumstances and following consultation with staff and unions.

Any work undertaken outside the teacher’s directed time must be determined by the individual teacher, not the college, and it is up to you to exercise your professional judgement regarding this.