Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association

Member Bulletin – Thursday 30 January 2025

Reduction in Teacher Contact Time (90 minutes) – Deadline Approaches and COSLA needs to Act

The Scottish Government committed to a reduction in teacher class contact time from 22.5 hours to 21 hours. This commitment was made in recognition of the workload pressures that Scotland’s teachers faced. The SSTA and other teacher unions will declare a formal trade dispute if no proposal is received by Monday 3 February.
 
Teachers see the 90-minute reduction in class contact time as an important step by the employers in recognising the increasing pressure on teacher workload and an acknowledgement of how teachers are valued by the employers. The Scottish Government is committed to a reduction, but we have no such statement from COSLA (the employers). Local Authorities are finalising council budgets in the coming days and we can only wait and see that funds agreed with the Scottish Government remain in education. The deadline approaches and COSLA needs to act.


‘Reasonable Adjustment’ at work

The term reasonable adjustment comes from the Equality Act 2010, but are also known as workplace adjustments, accommodations or simply as ‘changes.’
 
Employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees or potential employees who apply for jobs. The purpose of adjustments is to remove or reduce barriers to a disabled employee performing the job well. Reasonable adjustments are specific to an individual person. They can be for physical or mental health conditions. They can cover any area of work. It’s not enough for employers to provide disabled people with exactly the same working conditions as non-disabled people. Failing to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people could be disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. (Definition of disability https://www.acas.org.uk/what-disability-means-by-law)

For example:

  • finding a different way to do something
  • making changes to the workplace
  • changing someone’s working arrangements
  • providing equipment, services or support

Employers must make reasonable adjustments when:

  • they know, or could reasonably be expected to know, someone is disabled
  • a disabled staff member or job applicant asks for adjustments
  • someone who’s disabled is having difficulty with any part of their job
  • someone’s absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of, or linked to, their disability

See more detailed information here https://www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments

The SSTA is seeking information from members who have sought ‘reasonable adjustments’ and had changes made or refused. Please help by completing this short survey.

Behaviour Action Plan Webinar – Thursday 6 February, 5.00pm – Online

Poor pupil behaviour is a major driver of stress and increased workload and the SSTA has continued to press the Scottish Government for a unified approach to support teachers in meeting the needs of pupils. The Scottish Government produced a ‘Behaviour Action Plan’ and this event gives an overview of the plan and the way forward.

Please follow the link above to reserve your place.

To keep up with the latest news follow the SSTA at: –

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