NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union today condemned a London Academy Trust which is seeking to force dozens of teachers from their jobs and using underhand tactics to try and shut out unions from any meaningful consultation process.

Harris Federation, whose Chief Executive Sir Dan Moynihan is the highest paid academy boss and earns over £500k a year, is trying to make 45 teachers redundant and refuses to hold a collective consultation with trade unions, including NASUWT.

Alongside refusing to hold a collective consultation, Harris have failed to provide a business case for the redundancies or any financial justification at all. At the end of the last academy trust financial year the Trust had reserves of £21.5 million.

The NASUWT is calling for:

• An immediate halt to the 45 proposed teacher redundancies, given Harris’s £21.5 million reserves and lack of any business case or financial justification.
• A proper collective consultation under TULRCA, not fragmented school-level processes.
• Full transparency on the rationale for redundancies.
• Respect for trade union rights, including fair notice for consultations and funding facility time to enable union representation.

NASUWT Acting General Secretary Matt Wrack said: “Harris Federation are trying to make dozens of dedicated teachers redundant and are using underhand tactics to try and force this through.

“Their disgraceful behaviour is causing untold stress to our members and will only serve to damage children’s education.

“This Academy Trust has tens of millions in the bank, pays its boss more than the Prime Minister and yet is seeking to get rid of 45 teachers in its schools.

“There needs to be an immediate halt to the proposed redundancies and a proper collective consultation with NASUWT.

“NASUWT teachers are angry at this attack by their employer. They are united in their resolve and tell us that sacking teachers will only harm education provision and shatter already low morale across the trust.”